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BUT....as much as I love Alamogordo...and as beautiful as the area is, it would be better to live in an area where no cooling is needed at all.
I think Alamo gets cool enough at night (most of the time at least) that a house with good thermal mass and insulation, and few windows on the east and west sides wouldn't need cooling at all... except for opening the windows and maybe running a fan. Design the house with plenty of south windows and it wouldn't need much heat in the winter either. It isn't that complicated, but there don't seem to be very many developers/builders who consider these things.
Don't need cooling in Ruidoso, but it is a great place for solar heat in the winter... as is most of NM.
In the Southwest (this is even true in Phoenix), the nighttime temperatures start to be cooler by the last week of August. This is due to the fact that there is simply less solar radiation available to heat things up.
Daylight on August 20th is approximately the same as daylight on April 20th.
It still gets hot during the day since the Monsoon season with it's elevated moisture levels is still around and the ground itself is warmer.
You'll still have uncomfortable days, but after sunset, things are noticeably different.
I think Alamo gets cool enough at night (most of the time at least) that a house with good thermal mass and insulation, and few windows on the east and west sides wouldn't need cooling at all... except for opening the windows and maybe running a fan. Design the house with plenty of south windows and it wouldn't need much heat in the winter either. It isn't that complicated, but there don't seem to be very many developers/builders who consider these things.
Don't need cooling in Ruidoso, but it is a great place for solar heat in the winter... as is most of NM.
Since my house is already built, no, those things can't be taken into consideration now.
My insulation is such that the AC doesn't run at night much with the thermostat set at 76. It's comfortable with 52-inch ceiling fans along with that AC. In the winter, the thermostat is set at about 66-68. When I forgot to get the them to come and get my roof-mounted gas furnace heat going (I'm used to 35 years of total electric) in late November (with temps below freezing at night), my house never got below 66 at any time.
Windows on the east side? My front room with the best view of the Sacramentos faces east, and it's the hottest room in the house. I may put in a tree later, but I don't think so.
I'm setting up my second desktop in the opposite guest room with windows facing south next summer. Even with that, it's so much cooler than this room that it's not even funny. I'll use the computer in here in the dead of winter.
The MBR has windows that face north, and yet it is the most comfortable room in the house all year long, even in the dead of winter. Go figure that one out.
I couldn't stand it if the nights didn't cool off like they do. I must be turning into a polar bear in my old age. Most evenings are quite breezy and pleasant, even in July!
I'll figure out how to get most of my coons all up one tree one of these days! I want a higher/cooler elevation, but I like the convenience of living in town. I'm still looking at properties around here at the high 5s-6,000 ft, but nothing yet says, "This is it!"
If you are comfortable with ceiling fans only inside when it is 103 outside, you are much more tolerant of heat than I am. It will still be close to 83 inside.
Yuck. But at least it is cooler and drier here than what I left in WT.
Last edited by Cathy4017; 07-31-2008 at 09:27 AM..
The humidity drives me nuts, too. I live in Albuquerque, and last week could've been described as pastey. I woke up one morning and wondered if I'd been teleported to Dallas. One hope is that the current humidity has been extra high due to Hurricane Dolly. It should mellow out to normal soon, especially if you live at the Northern NM elevation or Southwest NM desert.
In May, the daytime highs in the high 80's are hot and draining.
In late August or early September, those high 80's are positively crisp.
In NM, after the single-digit humidity in June, 20-30% feels positively tropical.
People in NM (me included) that complain about the weather are just whineybags.
Give me highs in the 50 and 60's and I'm just ducky.
I'll take a 45 degree high over 85 every time.
I'll also take 25 over 95 every time.
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