No clue about heating/cooling costs in downtown loft with high ceilings (San Antonio: apartments)

[GrilledFoodColdBeer]

My wife and I have spent the weekend in San Antonio looking at apartments and condos downtown. Among those we looked at is a loft with ceilings that are approximately 15' high. We're from the east coast so we're used to seasons - A/C for 5 months, heat for 5 months and little of either for 2. But we're also used to apartments and houses with 8-10 foot ceilings.

Can any of you provide any guidance concerning what % more we can expect to pay to cool (and occasionally heat ;-)) a space with 15' ceilings vs. 8' ceilings? I've read a lot of comments by people from other areas (not SA) that say things like "heating will cost a lot more with high ceilings" or "it'll be harder to get consistent cooling", but I haven't found anyone that's provided hard numbers or quantified it in any way. So I don't know if I should expect the bills to be 25% more, 50% more, double or 10x as much. Help!

[elnina]

What is the sqft of the loft condo or apartment}? Windows pointing to west? east? neighbors? Is that remodeled old house/warehouse? All those factors contribute to your cooling/heating costs.
You can also check here: //www.city-data.com/forum/dalla...w-ceiling.html

[pr57001]

I think the ceiling height is less important than some other factors: insulation, roofing, condition of AC, sun exposure, etc. Maybe you could ask the building/other units what they pay?

[CelesteDF]

Originally Posted by GrilledFoodColdBeer

We're from the east coast so we're used to seasons - A/C for 5 months, heat for 5 months and little of either for 2.

You may also want to consider the different usage patterns here (depending on your personal preferences). I do not like excessive air conditioning and the need to wear a sweater indoors during the summer. Likewise, I also don't need to feel like it's 85 degrees at Christmas. So I use heat and air judiciously... typically heat only from November to early February, no/very little heat or air from Feb-May, from May-September I use air for only part of the day (lots of large windows for cross-breeze in my house) and from September-November use no/very little heat or air.

That puts me at about 3 months of heat (gas), 5 months of air conditioning (electric), and 4 months of minimal power usage. BTW - my house is a historic home with 12' ceilings throughout and virtually no insulation but lots of deciduous trees (shade in the summer, sunlight in the winter). Approx 2100 sf and costs me around $175/mo in summer, $120/mo in winter and $60/mo in shoulder season.

[GrilledFoodColdBeer]

The loft is around 1400 SQFT and is on the 3rd of 5 floors in an 80 year old building (I believe the building used to be used for retail) renovated 10 years ago. The unit is on the south end of the building, with another unit adjoining it to the north and units both above and below it.

There is what is essentially a large 8' wide x 13' tall floor-to-ceiling door/window combo with shades that cover the top 1/2 on the east side of the loft. The only other windows are two 2' x 6' tall windows on the west side of the loft that have shades with full coverage. The floors and exterior walls seem to be thick concrete or brick, with a 50-50 split of tiles and carpeted floors. The inside of the exterior walls are smooth and I don't know if they're drywalled over or whether there are studs and insulation so to be conservative I'm assuming that's not the case.

The building is a condo so the units are owned by multiple owners and are apparently in a wide range of conditions. The duct work is on the ceiling approximately 11' above the floor with the vents pointing sideways. After checking my notes, I think the ceiling is 14' high and consists of metal rafters.

It's a central electric heat pump system, but I don't have any other details about it.

The realtor doesn't have all of the details so I'm not sure there's much more I can tell you, though I can try to provide more information.

[TexasRedneck]

They should be able to provide you w/copies of previous months' utility bills...