Who is not using AC yet? (Austin, Round Rock: apartment, how much, big house)

[veloman777]

My roommate and I, in our ground floor 2bd shaded apt, have yet to put the AC on. There were a few nights were it did get warm but not unbearable.

Also, how about AC in your car?

LOL, well I don't even drive my car, I ride my electric bike (No sweating) everywhere and it uses 1/10th of the power that a car AC uses....

It's been dry lately, so the heat isn't too bad IMO.

I just jumped in the outdoor pool which is cool, and I feel completely comfortable now. I have a fan in the window now that it's below 80 outside.

[atxcio]

I turned it on almost exactly May 1 (mostly for the wife)... but then it got cool again, and we turned it off for a few days. But we've been using it the last two days. We do have lots of windows facing SW, and not much tree cover in that direction (should probably have solar panels). So our home is not optimal when it comes to natural cooling.

Congrats to you for sticking it out. Looks like the weather might ease up for a couple of more days and allow you to continue to save on electricity. After that, it's pretty much constant heat till Halloween. But hey, only 5 months of needing A/C this year is pretty good.

[veloman777]

A friend at work said his electric bill in an old house with 3 other guys last summer was $700 a month.

That's insane.

Yeah, there are many factors that go into how much you need to cool your place. Trees on the southern side help a lot. It was cold here in the winter, but that was minimal. Now we are saving.

[cmaxmor]

I haven't turned mine on yet. The electric rate here in Round Rock is way higher than in Austin.

[austinitelookingtohelp]

I am still driving with my windows down... I don't think it's hot enough yet to have to have the a/c blasting in your car, unless you are already over heated.

[FalconheadWest]

The AC is on in my car year round... The AC has yet to be turned on in my house. The windows are opened and it's very nice. The house faces north south so we don't get much "direct" sun except in my office at the front of the house because it's a HUGE window... man, I need some shades. Been in the house over a year and still no shades/curtains on any of the windows...

[jobert]

I haven't yet, but today might test me. It's been 80 degrees the last two days in my house when I've gotten home around 6pm.

The southern exposure isn't the problem, it's the east-west exposure that will heat your house up. Hypothetical: If your house has a rectangular footprint, you want the long axis to run east-west (the longest exterior walls to be the north and south faces).

[calel]

I've turned mine on twice so far. Recently for the comfort of my guests and then last night because I was ill and really needed the cold air to sleep.
Without the A/C on, I open the windows and it's a little warm, but there's generally a good wind blowing and my ceiling fan keeps things bearable.

[eileenkeeney]

Turned my AC on in April sometime (but I did not use heat at all this winter, but was out of the state during the cold snap in December).

They put these programmable thermostats in our apartment, that were pre-programed at the temperatures Austin Energy considered appropriate.
I think it was programmed at 85 at night (I need it cooler at night than in the day).

I am considering funneling all the air coming out of the various cooling vents to one spot, and sleeping there.

I have a two story apartment (town house style), with the bedrooms upstairs.
In the winter I liked that, felt safer opening the windows than I would have downstairs.
But now I am thinking I will move the bed downstairs, and just let the upstairs get hot.

Since my electric bill is almost $100 when I do not even use the AC, I am expecting it to be several hundred for April.

I don't have a car, I walk and ride the bus.

[centralaustinite]

Shoot! I have a great big house and when we don't run AC our monthly electric-only bill is about $40. Allergies force us to run the AC more than we would like, as do the high low temps. Couldn't believe how warm it was this morning at 6 am. Summer is coming!