[craigtnelson]

Originally Posted by CHASLS2

Plan on using A/C 9 months out of the year.

That's a fair estimate that any sane, reasonable person moving down here (or who already lives here) would agree with.

Doesn't necessarily mean it'll be running constantly, but you'll want to keep the thermostat set to cool for around that many months a year.

[Sunshinecc]

Originally Posted by craigtnelson

That's a fair estimate that any sane, reasonable person moving down here (or who already lives here) would agree with.

Doesn't necessarily mean it'll be running constantly, but you'll want to keep the thermostat set to cool for around that many months a year.

So gone will be the days of $20/month electric bills, huh? It actually peaked this past month with the heatwave and went over the $70 mark. Good thing I'm saving up, haha.

[craigtnelson]

I miss the days of $20 electric bills in my top floor apartment up north during winter.

Everyone's home is different, so we can't give you a somewhat reasonable estimate until you have a place picked out down here. Our winter power bills in the townhome we rent have been around $50, summer's anywhere from $130-$160. Not that bad overall. It's pretty well insulated and stays chilly for a good long while in the day after we raise it back up. We both like to sleep in chilly temps so we turn it down to 72 at night (I know you're probably thinking 72 sounds balmy, but for a FL summer it's chilly). 74 or 75 during the day. 78 if we go out of town.

[The Villages Guy]

Originally Posted by Sunshinecc

Bucfan, what weather site do you use?






I'm coming down assuming I will get no sea breeze and have hot summers, lol. So I'm making sure that wherever I end up renting either has AC, lots of ceiling fans, or both.

And I'm not an umbrella person but I think I need to invest in something, even if it's a colorful trashbag to keep in my vehicle.

I'm not sure what site he used, but when his showed 84 degrees it was 91 at my house. There could have been clouds wherever he lives. BucFan posts quality and accurate information, so I do not question his source. Remember, BucFan's link showed it to be 84 degrees, not me.

According to the daily maps, inland temps in the summer are usually hotter than within several miles of the coast. It also appears many days that St. Pete is both warmer and as higher dew points than the north half of Pinnellas.

Always assuming it will be worse than it is, is a great way to go about it. That way you may be pleasantly surprised. I knew all along, from checking weather daily, that moving to Florida would provide us with far far fewer really hot days. We would no longer have the 100+ days we had experienced for so many years, so that was not a surprise. What was a surprise was the lack of extra high dew points. I made an assumption that if the dew points were 72-76 where I was and even higher when I lived in Texas, that they would be much higher here. Yet they are not really higher. So the combination of lower temps, comparable dew points, almost daily storms and the constant breeze makes it far superior for us.

Now you will be coming from a colder climate, so I suspect you will need to adjust the other way. Rather than adjusting down in temps like we had to, you will need to adjust up in temps and dew points. You may love it or you may not. For us, about 7 months of the year has no house AC running and windows open. About 5 months of the year has the house AC running. I have yet to use the AC in my truck, except in rain, as I just roll my windows down and it is fine......for me.

Again, all the data I provide is from the local, educated, trained professional meteorologists. I am simply relaying what the professionals state every day when I watch them. I think they know what they are talking about.

How things feel to "me" is subjective and will be different for different folks.

[Sunshinecc]

My bill has been around $20 up 'til about 2 months ago. In the winter it's actually higher only because lights go on sooner because of how dark it gets early. I don't think much will change. I'll trade a heating bill for a high electric bill.

I have a tower floor fan (not sure what you call it actually but it's, well, it's a tower shape) so with that on at night and the ceiling fan, most nights I can deal with no ac and I think that keeps it around the low 70 mark, based on the thermostadt anyway.

[Sunshinecc]

Originally Posted by PriusH8r

Always assuming it will be worse than it is, is a great way to go about it. That way you may be pleasantly surprised.

That's my mindset for most things. If things go better than planned...bonus! I have a good outlook, pretty laid back, but I'm also a realist so call me cautiously optimistic, lol

[The Villages Guy]

Originally Posted by Sunshinecc

So gone will be the days of $20/month electric bills, huh? It actually peaked this past month with the heatwave and went over the $70 mark. Good thing I'm saving up, haha.

You will certainly pay more for your electric bill here in the summer, but it has been far far cheaper for us here with a much bigger house than what we paid to heat a much smaller energy efficient house in MA. Overall, our costs for total a annual climate control is drastically less here. We heated with a new oil furnace up there and then had to use window AC units in the summer. The total bills were much more up there.

We run the AC at 77 when we are home and turn it down to 72 when sleeping......during the 5 month period when AC is needed in the house for us. We run the heat way more in the morning in the wintertime than we ever thought we would.....to get the chill out.

People who run the AC at 74/75 or even less are usually the ones who do not like the temps outside, as they never allow themselves to acclimate. They stay artificially cold and therefore feel a huge difference when walking outside. A pet peeve of mine is how damn cold they run the AC in retail/professional buildings 'round here.

[Spring Hillian]

Yep, exactly. Let it kick on as needed. Other wise its not on all the time, just available.

Originally Posted by craigtnelson

That's a fair estimate that any sane, reasonable person moving down here (or who already lives here) would agree with.

Doesn't necessarily mean it'll be running constantly, but you'll want to keep the thermostat set to cool for around that many months a year.

[LKJ1988]

Another hell like day. Get ready for the reverse west windflow to come back.

[The Villages Guy]

One to watch, but probably more for increased rain chances:

Atlantic Graphical Tropical Weather Outlook


On another note, another glorious day today. After an appointment this morning, I spent the afternoon laying out by the pool. Simply spectacular today. JMO of course.