Help need advise (Hilo, Hawaiian Paradise Park, Kilauea: leasing, houses, landscaping)

[Linrobark]

We just moved into our home in Keaau, Hi about 600' from the ocean. We're having a real problem with
trying to cool off our home. It's 86' indoor and it's cooler outside. We put on our overhead fans, one floor fan where ever we're at. We have all the windows and doors open. We just recently put wooden blinds on the windows and a black-out shade over the sliding door. During the hot time of the day we close the blinds, close the shade and close the front door trying to keep the heat OUT ! without success. It's almost unbearable in here and we can't sit outside all day we've got work to do in the house. What can we do to survive this horrible feeling?

[whtviper1]

Originally Posted by Linrobark

It's almost unbearable in here and we can't sit outside all day we've got work to do in the house. What can we do to survive this horrible feeling?

We aren't even at the hot time of the year yet.

Buy an air conditioner.

[Jungjohann]

Originally Posted by Linrobark

What can we do to survive this horrible feeling?

Adapt, or look around for that return ticket


"OMG!!! No one said ANYTHING about it being hot in Hawaii!'

[KauaiHiker]

This is the tropics, and this time of year, the sun is directly overheard (actually slightly to the north now) all day long. So you are being heated by the sun on your roof. What kind of roof do you have and what color is it?

A lot of the shingles now are lighter colors, and the greenish white roof we got recently is supposed to keep us a few degrees cooler. And I can tell the difference since we used to have dark brown shingles. The neighbor has a business truck advertising "cool roof." I don't know if it is a coating or a new roofing shingle, but you could look into that. We also got ridge vents when the roof was installed, which probably helps just as much as the shingle color. I bet those can be installed without replacing the roof. You'd also need soffit vents.

But you could also look into active venting such as an attic fan, to get the hot air away from your ceiling. There are wind-powered vents (the spinning silver ball type) and solar powered vents, both of which you can get at Home Depot and install yourself if you're handy. You can also install an electrical fan with a thermostat if you have any vertical attic walls facing the outside.

The second way to cool your house is to get the cooler outside air in. You're close to the ocean, so you should be getting the trade winds when they're blowing. Often it's the orientation and design of the house that wasn't optimized for airflow. Other than adding windows and knocking down interior walls, there's nothing you can do to fix that. Or you can build up a second story to catch the winds and funnel them into the house, but that's not a short term solution either.

If you're not feeling the winds, maybe you have vegetation or landscaping blocking them. I'm no expert, but it makes sense that you have to have a clearing between the house and the direction of prevailing winds (NE for our tradewinds) so the airflow drops down and into the house.

But the easy solution was already given: air conditioner, probably starting with a window unit in your office so you can get work done.

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by Linrobark

We just moved into our home in Keaau, Hi about 600' from the ocean.

Sorry, but you seem to be confused. Kea'au (there are six letters in the name) is about 9 miles from the ocean, and the official altitude is given as 359' above sea level. Are you trying to say you're at 600' altitude?

We're having a real problem with trying to cool off our home. It's 86' indoor and it's cooler outside. We put on our overhead fans, one floor fan where ever we're at. We have all the windows and doors open. We just recently put wooden blinds on the windows and a black-out shade over the sliding door. During the hot time of the day we close the blinds, close the shade and close the front door trying to keep the heat OUT ! without success. It's almost unbearable in here and we can't sit outside all day we've got work to do in the house. What can we do to survive this horrible feeling?

Hmmmm. Not sure how you got moved into a house in Kea'au without knowing it would be hot this time of year.

"Dreamers" please note, this is why the regulars here consistently recommend that you rent in the area on a short-term basis at least before committing to buying or leasing long term!

Running an AC will cool you off, as well as spending your children's inheritance on the power to run it. At about 45 cents/kWh you can easily run an electricity bill of $600/mo with steady uses of air conditioning. On the other hand, running an AC is one of the few things that will help reduce the effects of Vog when the wind is in the northerly direction from Kilauea.

Traditional "sugar shack" houses in the area depended on a vent at the peak of the roof to create a chimney effect for creating cooling breezes inside. And the big porches and lanais were a practical way of living outside as much as possible during hot weather. Without a peak vent (can you add one?) the best you can do is try to create a cross breeze by opening the windows from the top on the hot side, and from the bottom on the cooler side so that the temperature differential creates a thermal siphon that stimulates air movement as a cross breeze. Surprisingly, this can be more effective than just opening all the windows when there is no wind.

Also, look at shading the outside of your glass door and windows, rather than just the inside. Once light gets through the glass it's inside heat, which is the principle of greenhouses, and while an inside shade helps a bit, it's tiny compared to blocking the light from reaching the inside altogether. Simple and cheap, roll-up bamboo shades outside can be quite effective, as is the more expensive approach of applying solar film.

Other than that, dress light and loose, in natural fibers like cotton and silk and linen, and think of all the people who wish they could trade places with you.

Good luck!

[whtviper1]

Originally Posted by KauaiHiker

But the easy solution was already given: air conditioner, probably starting with a window unit in your office so you can get work done.

I'd get a quote from of the AC places - the ductless units like Mr. Slim aren't very expensive, are very good at cooling, and are very quiet (don't underestimate the quiet part). Depending on how robust a model you need/size of your place, $2,500 give or take installed if a single level home.

[ILoveLidoBeach]

Open D, he said he is 600 ft from the ocean, not altitude. I read it as 600ft altitude the first time as well.

Could this be a real post? I notice it is his one and only post. How could someone buy a home and not know it is hot in Hawaii?

Maybe he is from Canada where they have no sun and is not used to the heat.

[Jonah K]

Originally Posted by OpenD

Sorry, but you seem to be confused. Kea'au (there are six letters in the name) is about 9 miles from the ocean, and the official altitude is given as 359' above sea level. Are you trying to say you're at 600' altitude?

Actually, it sounds like the OP might be in one of those poorly-designed "hotboxes" in Hawaiian Paradise Park (HPP) that happens to be located near the ocean (probably on Beach Rd. or at Kaloli Point). Since HPP uses the Keaʻau post office, many folks that live in HPP often say that they're located in Keaʻau.

Originally Posted by OpenD

Running an AC will cool you off, as well as spending your children's inheritance on the power to run it. At about 45 cents/kWh you can easily run an electricity bill of $600/mo with steady uses of air conditioning. On the other hand, running an AC is one of the few things that will help reduce the effects of Vog when the wind is in the northerly direction from Kilauea.

The cheapest way to "cool" the place down without A/C is to get an "evaporative cooler." A good one usually costs a few hundred bucks and they can occasionally be found at the Home Depot in Hilo. To test out the "evaporative cooling" effect, put on some damp clothing and stand in front of a fan.

[whtviper1]

Originally Posted by OpenD

Running an AC will cool you off, as well as spending your children's inheritance on the power to run it. At about 45 cents/kWh you can easily run an electricity bill of $600/mo with steady uses of air conditioning.

With a ductless AC, unless you have a VERY large area to cool AND run it 24 hours a day, it is not going to run $600/month.

Even if you use 2 kWh and ran the unit a solid 8 hours per day, every day per month (which you probably don't need to do), you are talking $220/month or so.

[leilaniguy]

Assuming it has flat ceilings you could add batt insulation to the attic. A friend did that to her house (also about 600' from the ocean) and it dropped midday temperatures by about 10 degrees.