[nevadaned]

I would not leave it off if you have nice furnishings or paintings. That would be a very, very expensive lesson to learn. I luckily learned it back when I couldn't afford very nice things. Some stuff will actually melt, buckle, and crack. Keep it 85 or below unless you furnish your house at RC WILLEY. lol

[Danknee]

Originally Posted by nevadaned

I would not leave it off if you have nice furnishings or paintings. That would be a very, very expensive lesson to learn. I luckily learned it back when I couldn't afford very nice things. Some stuff will actually melt, buckle, and crack. Keep it 85 or below unless you furnish your house at RC WILLEY. lol

Bwahaha! What melted?

I keep my original Picasso and Monet paintings on the island I own next to Richard Branson's Necker island.

I am not sure that a good definition of quality is items that fall apart over 85 degrees. My upstairs is routinely hotter than 90 degrees, my main house is often hotter than 85 when nobody is home. When on vacation last summer my house was in the 90's for a week (AC completely off).

Pretty sure Scoop recommended types of wood that are hardy in our dry climate in another thread....Scoop?

[ScoopLV]

Unfortunately, I didn't have any recommendations. Wood joints will fail because of the wood drying out. Although heat will speed that process, it is ultimately decided by humidity. I make furniture by first drying the wood all the way down to below 8%. Only then do I start working the wood. I lose quite a bit to checking, cupping and twisting as it dries out.

We have left our AC mostly off for FIVE YEARS. We keep our house at 90f during the summer. We use perhaps 200 hours of AC all year. And we have nice stuff. No issues. Nothing has melted. The Matisse and Chagall in the hallway are still in good shape.

It's more important to run the furnace when you're away in the winter. If it gets too cold, cracks will develop at the drywall seams.

[MediocreButArrogant]

I keep my house at 85F downstairs and 88F upstairs when we're gone for extended periods. There are some food items and medicines that don't like higher temperatures. I suppose I could put all the chocolate in the fridge, but even the wine refrigerator is too cold for some medicines.

[lvoc]

Scoop has an advantage in that his home is quite well insulated.

It is a bad idea to allow a conventional home in this climate to go without air. Many will achieve 120 degrees or more in the height of summer. I have seen fancy (probably beeswax) candles that melted and actually dripped unto a revolution period chair. This was a house which had an extensive humidification system as all of the formal furniture were good antiques. An electrical failure left the house without power

It should have had an alarm.

As temperature get above 120 and cycles get to 30 or 40 degree you will damage wallboard and pop nails. One can often go into a house which has been without power for a long period and see substantial damage. In one instance a window frame actually warped and rotated enough to break the window. It is quite common to see multiple tape failure in a celing.

[ScoopLV]

Originally Posted by lvoc

Scoop has an advantage in that his home is quite well insulated.

It is a bad idea to allow a conventional home in this climate to go without air. Many will achieve 120 degrees or more in the height of summer.

Well buy a lottery ticket or something because I'm in agreement. Any house that gets over 105f in the summer needs SOME way of cooling it down. It doesn't need to be AC, which is basically just giving your money to NVEnergy. Evaporative coolers, beefing up the insulation, adding solar screens, improving attic ventilation -- these are all more cost effective than simply cranking the AC.

But if your house is like mine, and stays in the 80s and 90s during the summer, there is really nothing more that has to be done.

As for the person who tried to humidify their way into keeping colonial period furniture in the house -- bad plan. There is no beating the lack of humidity in this town. It's a losing battle. The only question is when. The desert will eventually win. There's no getting around this. People who want to fill their houses with priceless Shaker furniture should move elsewhere.

[lvoc]

Originally Posted by ScoopLV

Well buy a lottery ticket or something because I'm in agreement. Any house that gets over 105f in the summer needs SOME way of cooling it down. It doesn't need to be AC, which is basically just giving your money to NVEnergy. Evaporative coolers, beefing up the insulation, adding solar screens, improving attic ventilation -- these are all more cost effective than simply cranking the AC.

But if your house is like mine, and stays in the 80s and 90s during the summer, there is really nothing more that has to be done.

As for the person who tried to humidify their way into keeping colonial period furniture in the house -- bad plan. There is no beating the lack of humidity in this town. It's a losing battle. The only question is when. The desert will eventually win. There's no getting around this. People who want to fill their houses with priceless Shaker furniture should move elsewhere.

We happen to know if at least a half dozen homes with good antigues including one where some of the pieces approach priceless. A proper humidity control system can easily keep it on a reasonable level. You may need to get into industrial systems but in fact controlling humidity in a home in a 10% range is quite doable.

We do agree on the rest. It is keeping the temperature within a reasonable range that is important not how it is done.

I saw one house last year that had swamp cooled the attic and garage. I wonder how well that works? Should cut off any heating from the attic.

I am skeptical on swamp cooling a normal tract home. Hard to do well without the central vent you find in an AZ home and the room vents.

I agree that insulation always helps though there are limits. I think the insulation guys talk a better game then they deliver.

[ScoopLV]

Originally Posted by lvoc

We happen to know if at least a half dozen homes with good antigues including one where some of the pieces approach priceless. A proper humidity control system can easily keep it on a reasonable level. You may need to get into industrial systems but in fact controlling humidity in a home in a 10% range is quite doable.

Until the system fails or the power goes out or similar. Eventually, the desert will win. Entropy eventually wins all battles.

[lvoc]

Originally Posted by ScoopLV

Until the system fails or the power goes out or similar. Eventually, the desert will win. Entropy eventually wins all battles.

Nah. Maintaining the situation to whatever limit desired is straightforward. First off entropy works in many ways. A house properly humidified can go days without new moisture without damage. Comes out of the rugs and upholstery etc. And you can back up to whatever level desired. Generators and water tanks are generally available. We have a generator capable of maintain our refrigeration and my ham equipment in case of an event. That could easily include a humidifier if that was on our critical list.

[ScoopLV]

Originally Posted by lvoc

Nah. Maintaining the situation to whatever limit desired is straightforward. First off entropy works in many ways. A house properly humidified can go days without new moisture without damage. Comes out of the rugs and upholstery etc. And you can back up to whatever level desired. Generators and water tanks are generally available. We have a generator capable of maintain our refrigeration and my ham equipment in case of an event. That could easily include a humidifier if that was on our critical list.

OK, you might not live to see it, but the desert is going to win...eventually.

Are we finally in agreement?