Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I also work from home and know what you mean about using the AC
However, one must do what one must do!
I assume you know---
You can write off your utilities--pro-rated-as a business expense, even if you don't take a home office deduction.
Anything you buy specifically for your home office is a deduction, like heavy drapes, fan, etc, it doesn't have to be just office equipment
If your office is a seperate room, try a window unit AC, cheaper than AC the whole house
Try closing off unused rooms in the day
Work naked
Hope some of these tips help!
Thank you Marylee,
Yes my CPA does the home office deduction and all related business expenses. I guess I can take solace in that.
Haven't tried working naked. The FedEx guy already thinks I'm odd, but that might put him over the edge
Your housemate and my wife would get along great
$200 electric bills are nothing. We hit almost $500 last summer even with me running around the house playing "AC Nazi" with the thermostats
Holy cow! How big is your house? My highest power bill in the 13 years I've lived in my house was $68.
Holy cow! How big is your house? My highest power bill in the 13 years I've lived in my house was $68.
You don't live in Dallas...
My house is a 2-story, 3000 sq ft. and I now pay 0.08550 cents per kWh.
The really bad bill last summer was when my rate wasn't as good:
Rate 0.12330 x 3963.0000 kWh = $488.64 plus taxes, regulatory stuff.
Now do you see why I don't want to turn my AC on! LOL
I think my sister said their bill can run between $700/$900 a month (AZ and 3600+ sq ft).
We're in coastal SoCal - I don't think we need the air on as much as the husband does but he said he's s[ent too much time in Yuma/29 Palms/Iraq etc while in the Marines to be hot in his own home He says it in overly dramatic Scarlett OHara fashion "As God as my witness, I'll neve be hungry/hot in my own home again!
We used A/C twice during our first summer in FL. After that, we used ceiling fans and it was much more effective. It helped that we had seven ceiling fans and the floor was tiled. There was mold problem in SW FL especially with on-the-water properties, but with humidistat set at 55 and ceiling fans circulating the air all day long, we had no problem at all.
While everyone else's electric bill was ~$250, ours was $80/m in the summer and we were always very comfortable.
Last edited by Ol' Wanderer; 04-25-2012 at 04:32 PM..
I put beans in the pressure cooker, and later realized it was getting a bit warm in the house, so I looked at the 'stat and it said 90. I thought that's OK, it'll cool down after I turn off the stove. It's 85 outside. But it's not so bad, it's still 90 inside and I feel no temptation to turn it on, I have a ceiling fan on. It's still very dry, with dewpoints down around 60. The benefit to me of AC is to dry the humid air, I don't care how warm it is. I normally, in the humid summer, set the AC 'stat at 86.
I lived in Indonesia without AC, and I drove my car across Saudi Arabia in September without AC (that really was uncomfortable), but unlike soldiers, I've liked all the places I've ever been, so I don't mind being in an environment that reminds me of them.
Location: ๏̯͡๏﴿ Gwinnett-That's a Civil Matter-County
2,118 posts, read 6,373,965 times
Reputation: 3547
Quote:
Originally Posted by BigD_JT_14221
Ok, so it's 87 degrees out right now. I work from home and try use the AC as little as possible because the whole point of my negotiating the ability to work from home was to save money. Inside temp is 81. I have not had the AC on today at all.
I'm in shorts, a tee shirt and have a fan going in my office. And yes I am bordering on uncomfortable.
Am I being overly "cheap" by not closing the windows and using the AC?
My wife thinks I'm bat-***** crazy. LOL
What does the frugal living community think???
Look into getting an attic fan.
Also plant some trees (size & site appropriate) near the house for shade.
I could never live in DFW because of the extreme heat. I'm in the ATL area and I keep the air off as long as I can. A lot of the time I can leave it off downstairs but have to turn it on upstairs at night and once it gets to the temperature I want it, I turn it off.
To answer your Q, I don't think you're crazy for doing it so long as you're doing to save up money to move to a more efficient home. If you're planning on staying in a house that you can't afford or don't want to pay to cool and still leaving it off then that's silly.
Also plant some trees (size & site appropriate) near the house for shade.
I could never live in DFW because of the extreme heat. I'm in the ATL area and I keep the air off as long as I can. A lot of the time I can leave it off downstairs but have to turn it on upstairs at night and once it gets to the temperature I want it, I turn it off.
To answer your Q, I don't think you're crazy for doing it so long as you're doing to save up money to move to a more efficient home. If you're planning on staying in a house that you can't afford or don't want to pay to cool and still leaving it off then that's silly.
We have dual attic fans. We also have "radiant barrier" under-roofing.
We frequently have just the upstairs AC on at night, as all our bedrooms are up.
We have one large tree that blocks some of the afternoon sun. Our house was new built 8 yrs ago, so the trees aren't big enough yet to totally shade the house.
As far as sitting here in the heat, I can afford to pay just about any size electric bill, it's just something that I try to exercise some degree of control over. I would prefer to save money on the electric bill by any means available!
You don't live in Dallas...
My house is a 2-story, 3000 sq ft. and I now pay 0.08550 cents per kWh.
The really bad bill last summer was when my rate wasn't as good:
Rate 0.12330 x 3963.0000 kWh = $488.64 plus taxes, regulatory stuff.
Now do you see why I don't want to turn my AC on! LOL
Your house is twice the size of mine and I have a basement to hide out in. Do you cool all those rooms? Is your house well insulated?
My rate is.0870 per KWH then .092749 for each KWH > 400. My highest KWH used was 677.
A humid summer day here is when RH is greater than 40%.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
