Heh...ceiling fans...who would have thought? ;) (cost, versus)

[Wally Sconce]

I have my patio door open, front door open so the air flows back to front. Plus the bedroom windows are open. 72 degrees. 1400 sq foot bungalow built 10 years ago. If I didn't open my doors and windows during the day temp would drop to 65 by 6 or 7 am. Faces south (rear) I have no trees in my back yard.

[lewdog_5]

We have sun screens on our south and west facing windows. Other than the screens, no protection from trees although a slight over-hang from our roof. The temperature on that side of the house is 73. The front side of the house which comprises rooms facing north and east sits at 71. Patio door was open until noon today and then everything was closed up. House was 68 degrees upon waking with everything closed up last night.

I bet some simple sun screens or some blinds on that side of the house would do wonders. Even so it still seems odd your house is that hot already???

[MalteseJane]

I have not turned on the A/C yet. Our living, dining, kitchen and master bedroom are on the west side. Temperature inside has not exceeded 75° yet. Bedroom window the shade is down as soon as the sun hits the window. Same for the kitchen windows. Living and dining have shade from the covered patio. They only get late sun for now.

[HX_Guy]

I'm sure a big part that is hurting us is that we do not like the shades down during the day...feels too closed in and cave like. However all windows facing south do have shades down as they are all spare bedrooms that aren't in use. Really there are only two windows that get direct sun from the west, though they are big, would they make that big of a difference?


On a side note, I was actually thinking of texting a couple neighbors on the street who I know and asking if they notice their homes being pretty warm...or I could also ask on the Facebook community page and see what kind of feedback I get.
Funny think is just a bit ago I went to get the mail and APS mailed us a yearly energy report which says we use quite a bit more 100 similar sized houses within a .45 mile radius. The fact that we work from home though has to have a big impact though, most people are probably gone during the day and may set the AC higher during that time.

[stevek64]

Originally Posted by HX_Guy

I'm sure a big part that is hurting us is that we do not like the shades down during the day...feels too closed in and cave like. However all windows facing south do have shades down as they are all spare bedrooms that aren't in use. Really there are only two windows that get direct sun from the west, though they are big, would they make that big of a difference?

Perhaps those who designed your home were greenhouse designers?

Joking aside, the house we used to live in had an east/west exposure and the front of our house would get blasted by the sun in at least 3 windows in the main room of the house(it was an open floor plan) and our house didn't reach your temps this time of the year, stayed in the 70-74 range.

As has been mentioned before, the 1st thing I'd do in your case is get a infrared heat scan on your walls/ceiling. At the very least, it would start to eliminate what might be going on. APS might have some kind of special where they do an energy audit on one's house or whatever they call it for not too much money.

[AzScorpion12]

Originally Posted by lewdog_5

We have sun screens on our south and west facing windows. Other than the screens, no protection from trees although a slight over-hang from our roof. The temperature on that side of the house is 73. The front side of the house which comprises rooms facing north and east sits at 71. Patio door was open until noon today and then everything was closed up. House was 68 degrees upon waking with everything closed up last night.

I bet some simple sun screens or some blinds on that side of the house would do wonders. Even so it still seems odd your house is that hot already???

Mines about the same as yours. Woke up it was 68 with everything closed up last night. Opened the front door,front 3 windows which face south and back slider and mst bed windows which face north around 11am and closed everything up by 5pm and house was only 72. Sunscreens on all west/south windows. I had an extra R-19 blown in last Sept for a total of R-49. I have ceiling fans in almost every room and none have been on yet let alone the a/c.

[HX_Guy]

Seems like one of the "problems" is that our house doesn't seem to cool down like you guys' are saying yours does. Work up with morning and both the main and office parts of the house were 75º with everything closed up last night. If you guys are getting down to 68º and I can see how it can be 72º in the afternoon, a 4º rise. If we are starting out at 75º then I guess it makes sense that its 79º by the afternoon.

[HX_Guy]

BTW this is how the insulation is in the exterior walls...seems good to me but I know nothing about this stuff really. One thing that was pointed out by someone else though is that these houses do not have an exterior plywood wall (except for a very few places). So it's basically just the wood frame and then the black paper, styrofoam, chicken wire and stucco.

[Wally Sconce]

Originally Posted by HX_Guy

BTW this is how the insulation is in the exterior walls...seems good to me but I know nothing about this stuff really. One thing that was pointed out by someone else though is that these houses do not have an exterior plywood wall (except for a very few places). So it's basically just the wood frame and then the black paper, styrofoam, chicken wire and stucco.

Plywood doesn't do anything for R value Styrofoam does add to the r value.. Is that 2X4 or 2X6 construction?

[grassfeeder]

looks like 2x4 based on the window framing....