AC on constantly!! (apartment complex, house, law)

[Aundine]

Hi!

If you don't get northern exposure (like I do...hehe) your apartment will be like an oven when you get home, even if you have the air on... I say call maintainence and see if there is a glitch. If not, you might need to buy a few fans and keep the air low to keep the air conditioning from blowing your electric bill up!

In the mean time, unplug stuff you don't use during the day. (Things that are plugged in but not being used, still use energy...unplugging them can save you a few bucks.

ALSO, if you have SRP, they have a new program that allows you to save money on off peak hours... Call them and ask about that. (I saved $6 last month...)

[wit-nit]

Hot in AZ...
Sounds like several factors here working against you. Poor insulation, second and third story not ducted properly, low rated AC unit.
You could put a portable cooler in the garage to expel some heat.
West exposure is the worst for hot weather months. Like others said, put up some foil or heavy drapes/curtains.
Most newer 3 story homes now have 2 units, one for each floor living area.
AC,s always run more efficiently when set at one temp and left alone. 74-78 seems to be the norm.
Also check to see if the air filter is clean. Clogged air filters are hard on AC's.
A good, licensed, reputable, qualified AC mechanic should be able to advise you as what is needed to run your unit efficiently.

[Leaving AZ]

Originally Posted by mortimer

Leaving AZ stated:

> ... not until the end of Oct does it cool down and usually thats
> just the night and mornings.

Oct 1st ave high = 96 (record = 108) ave low = 69
Oct 31st ave high = 80 (record = 95) ave low = 54

By the end of September, you can have your windows open after the
sun goes down till the morning.

Earlier, I wrote:
M> The length of daylight is more than an hour less on Oct 1
M> than it is on Sep 1.

It is also an hour less on Oct 31 than on Oct 1.

Sorry but 96 isnt really desirable weather to have the windows open like I said the mornings and nights are nice but during the day it is still warm even in Oct and last year in Nov we were in the 80's, because the sun is so intense here and we dont really have a nice cool breeze 80 or even 90 feels alot different here then in most places.

[johnfthorley]

The heat is the least of the problems here, the real problem is the lazy worthless people who won't lift a finger to justify their existence.

[mortimer]

Magnum Mike corrected me:

> ... the length of daylight hours from October 1 through October 31st
> is 33 minutes.

Nope: According to *your* cite, here are the numbers:

Sunrise Sunset daylight
.......... 10/01 -- 6:22 -- 18:41 -- 12:19
.......... 10/31 -- 6:54 -- 17:38 -- 10:44

.......... difference in sunrise time: -- 0:32
.......... difference in sunset time: -- 1:03

.......... Total difference in daylight -- 1:35

Since the autumnal equinox occurs on Sept. 23, 2007, 5:51 A.M. EDT
you'll find the maximum rate of change in daylight hours from day-to-day
occurs around those times.

[mortimer]

Leaving AZ didnt read my post correctly:

>> Oct 1st ave high = 96 ...
>> By the end of September, you can have your windows open
>> after the sun goes down till the morning.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

> Sorry but 96 isnt really desirable weather to have the windows
> open like I said the mornings and nights are nice ....

No where in my post did I say it was desireable to have
the windows open during the hot part of the day.

Peak temperatures occur around 3 pm in Phoenix and drop from
there till sunrise. During Sep and Oct, it drops much faster than
during Jul-Aug.

Maybe, just maybe, I spoke too soon about opening the windows
at sundown. It would still be in the 80's and people like their 70-deg
temps, but with a box fan in the window, it would be much less
expensive than running the a/c.

[ArizonaBear]

In all fairness: this summer was/is the hottest in recorded Phoenix history in average temperatures-------95F.

That stated: as for 'discomfort' for me at least it was not bad during June/July.......August was the 'pig'.

[mortimer]

johnfthorley raged:

> The heat is the least of the problems here, the real problem
> is the lazy worthless people

Could you TRY to be a little more negative? I don't think that you have
the meter pegged quite yet. It's in the red zone, so good first effort.

Oh, and way to stay on-topic!!
--------------------------------------------------------
nitram advised (perfectly on-topic):

Some good advice:

> You could put a portable cooler in the garage to expel some heat.

Just a vent fan without cooling would drop the temperature
by 20-30 degrees if my garage is any indication.

> Also check to see if the air filter is clean.

> ... qualified AC mechanic ... advise you as what is needed ...

Yeah, what about that? Did the "A/C guy" have any advice?

Some not so good advice:

> AC,s always run more efficiently when set at one temp and left
> alone. 74-78 seems to be the norm.

This is an old wive's tail.

This would be extremely counter-productive if there are insulation,
capacity, efficiency problems, etc. AC's always run at the same
efficiency. They are not like a car engine which has varying speeds
of operation from idle to redline.

Keeping the AC on will just cost money and send cool air out through
the walls and windows and roof. That is why programmable thermostats
were invented; so you can turn *down* the AC when no one is at home
to benefit by it.

I use a programmable thermostat with temperature variations of up to
10 degrees and regularly save $60-70 per month. There are scads of
articles out there debunking the 'leave it at the same setting myth.'

[Pathwalker]

Originally Posted by Bill-

yes, it's fact of life, just like running the heat 9 months a year up north is.

I was a passing observer of this thread until I came upon this comment, and I'm sorry but I can't help respond to what you said. Why does everyone seem to think it's so cold here in the midwest or north that many months out of the year? I mean, that's nuts. I live in SW Ohio, and at most I run my heat around here "constantly" (which is a bit of a misnomer, because it's not actually running non-stop the way the A/C apparently does in Phoenix) only in December, January, February, and maybe the first 3 weeks of March. The other months of the year are generally nice enough that you don't need the heat in order to stay warm. In fact, in recent Winters it has generally been in the 60's during December and January, and then it warms up again in late March into April.

Originally Posted by Steve-o

Try maybe 5-6 months at best.

Exactly - "at best" being the operative phrase there.

Originally Posted by Bill-

I lived in Chicago for 23 years and had the heat on in every month except June, July and August.

You must really be sensitive to cooler temps. I can't imagine running the heat in May or September. I mean, right now where I live, it's normally in the 80s, although it's supposed to get up into the 90s today.

[Bill-]

Originally Posted by WCRob

You must really be sensitive to cooler temps. I can't imagine running the heat in May or September. I mean, right now where I live, it's normally in the 80s, although it's supposed to get up into the 90s today.

I can't comment on the Climate of Southern Ohio as I've never lived there, but in Chicago It's quite common to have overnight lows in the 30's and 40's in May and September. I worked for a property management company In Chicago and recall that the heating ordinances ran from September 15 to June 1. They didn't make it the law to provide heat to tenants in May and September for the heck of it.