A/C in Evergreen (Denver, Pueblo: how much, houses, neighborhood)

[epymsam]

We have been looking at a house in Evergreen, but it does not have A/C. Does anyone have experience of living in Evergreen, and could advise as to whether this could be a problem in the middle of summer? How hot does it get up there?

Any advice much appreciated.

e.

[bluescreen73]

Where do you live now? The climate in CO is so dry that A/C really isn't necessary. Yeah it gets hot at times but even when it's in the 90s during the day it can cool off into the 50s at night.

[blacksmith76]

We live in Littleton where it gets a lot hotter, and only have a whole house fan. It only gets uncomfortable during the hottest days in July and August. If we had a portable evaporative cooler in addition, the house would stay totally cool.

[sunsprit]

It's pretty rare that you need whole house A/C in the summer in Evergreen.

Summer temps rarely exceed the high 80's, which due to the dry climate and mild breezes feels a lot cooler than it would at sea level in a humid environment.

Especially if your house is sited with some shady trees to block the sun during the summer, it won't get very hot.

Of course, your perception of "it's hot" and desire for cooling into a lower temp range is a personal decision. You may find that a "swamp cooler" and some air circulating fans will be all that is needed to make the difference for the few hottest weeks of the year. Or, if you're acclimated to having A/C refrigeration cooling, you may yet "need" A/C.

I've lived all over the Colorado front range and up into the mountains, and never had A/C ... and rarely felt a need for it, even in the houses where all we had was a couple of room-sized swamp coolers. Two houses had "whole house" swamp coolers and a large ceiling exhaust fan, and the cooling power was far in excess of what we needed; we were able to run them on the minimum setting during the hottest part of the day and turn off the swamp cooler as soon as the sun set, leaving only a couple of windows open as the large exhaust fan drew cool night time air into the house.

[Scott5280]

Evergreen will receive some 90's in the summer, but generally speaking will be much more comfortable than lower elevation Denver..The key is to take advantage of the cross breeze up there..a fan or two in your house should easily suffice..Evergreen is usually very pleasant in the summer upper70's -mid80's day-low 50's night and dry ..AC for myself up there wouldn't be a deciding factor on a home purchase...AC in Denver however is necessary..

[steveco.]

It will also depend on how much sun the home recieves to. We lived in evergreen on a slope that had sun the entire day. Sometimes it would get up to 85 or 90in the house in the worst months.

[sunsprit]

I'd take exception to the "need" for A/C in Denver.

Having lived in the area since 1965, I've never had A/C in any house ... not central air, not room air, none. Have lived in almost every neighborhood around central Denver, Englewood, Littleton, KenCaryl, in the foothills around Boulder, and up in the mountains..

What works is using appropriate shade trees/plants to block the sun during the hottest portions of the day, or using curtains to block the direct sunshine. With the overnight temps dropping as much as they do during the few "hot" summer months, a whole house fan and cross flow ventilation has always been more than adequate, especially if augmented by an evaporative cooler during the day.

The key to all this is the high elevation and low humidity for comfort. At Evergreen's altitude, it's even more significant.

[McGowdog]

I lived in Denver and I lived in Evergreen.

I would say you absolutely need AC in Denver (swamp cooler at very least and central air or a combination of the two at best for efficency/cost) and in your car and you absolutely do NOT need it in Evergreen... at least where I lived. I lived 5.5 miles up Upper Bear Creek Road and it could be 95 in Denver and about 75 in Evergreen. 80 would be unusually hot for that place and that's during the dog days of summer.

Even in Denver, it gets very nice and cool at night, but you may have to open windows and run a fan to cool the inside of your home off, or run the AC for a bit at night.

That's my experience, and I'm sticking to it.

ADD: There again, I have lived in Evergreen AND Conifer and I guarandarntee you that you will NOT likely walk into a hot house, especially if you follow some of the common sense tips that Sunsprit mentions.

Pueblo is another story and I'll turn that baby on if it gets above 70, regardless of what time of the year it is. Our home gets down to 62 in the mornings still and I like it on the cool side. This is why I like winter so much.

What would Joss know about swamp coolers or the 60s? Nothing. He has opinions on the two.

[Josseppie]

I would get it but then again I have my a/c on in Pueblo already, as I HATE walking into a hot house and I like to crisp cool air of the A/C. Forget the swamp cooler, that's so 1960's.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by sunsprit

I'd take exception to the "need" for A/C in Denver.

Having lived in the area since 1965, I've never had A/C in any house ... not central air, not room air, none. Have lived in almost every neighborhood around central Denver, Englewood, Littleton, KenCaryl, in the foothills around Boulder, and up in the mountains..

What works is using appropriate shade trees/plants to block the sun during the hottest portions of the day, or using curtains to block the direct sunshine. With the overnight temps dropping as much as they do during the few "hot" summer months, a whole house fan and cross flow ventilation has always been more than adequate, especially if augmented by an evaporative cooler during the day.

The key to all this is the high elevation and low humidity for comfort. At Evergreen's altitude, it's even more significant.

Well, it can take 30 years or more for the trees to grow large enough to actually shade the house. I've found curtains, blinds, etc not to be entirely adequate. This is in Louisville. In Evergreen, I doubt you'd really 'need' anything more than maybe a room A/C that you can run on occasion. It does depend on whether someone will be home a lot during the day, too. If so, the house will heat up a lot quicker than if eveyone is gone.