Things better than waiting for a West Coast game...

[bluestreak]

Reading the 10th iteration of how the Redskins screwed up the Kurt Cousins situation.

[Count Walewski]

Trying to cool the top floor of a 4-level house in 90+ degree heat

[mimontero88]

Reading the 10th iteration of how the Redskins screwed up the Kurt Cousins situation.

Being a fan of every DC team except the football team and enduring DC sports radio.

[tomterp]

Trying to cool the top floor of a 4-level house in 90+ degree heat

Our 2nd floor (plus basement) can be challenging.  I close all the basement vents, half of the 1st floor vents and make sure all the top floor vents are wide open.  Then we leave the blower on "medium" 24/7 which mixes basement air with other floors even when the A/C system itself is turned off.  Of course putting sufficient insulation in the attic would be helpful in our case too, but our electric bills are still quite modest. 

[mitlen]

Lookin' for my keys.

[Mattionals]

Our 2nd floor (plus basement) can be challenging.  I close all the basement vents, half of the 1st floor vents and make sure all the top floor vents are wide open.  Then we leave the blower on "medium" 24/7 which mixes basement air with other floors even when the A/C system itself is turned off.  Of course putting sufficient insulation in the attic would be helpful in our case too, but our electric bills are still quite modest.

Replace the air conditioner with a unit in the attic and install ceiling ducts that blow down. Totally not cheap but totally worth it.

[dcpatti]

Replace the air conditioner with a unit in the attic and install ceiling ducts that blow down. Totally not cheap but totally worth it.

Or get you some solar panels. Mine paid for themselves in about 4 years (I did get tax rebates though) and I keep my townhouse cold cold cold but my electric bill is a quarter of what it used to be.

[tomterp]

Replace the air conditioner with a unit in the attic and install ceiling ducts that blow down. Totally not cheap but totally worth it.

We have a single unit (with insulated ductwork in the attic, blowing down) and the amount of air reaching the top floor is suboptimal, especially for the last two rooms in entire system. 

Probably 5-6 years ago we had our A/C units replaced (with a U.S. built Carrier    ) as well as replacement windows and this made such an improvement in energy costs that it would never be cost effective to divide zones or add solar.  My bill from last week was for $172 (total 3,600 sq feet cooled incl. basement).  It's a heat pump too and in the winter my bill might soar to $230 if we have extended polar vortex.  And I've got 2 full size refrigerators and 5 aquariums (2 fairly large) running 24/7.

If I could put a small booster fan in the attic ductwork it would probably be a low cost solution.

[Count Walewski]

My 4-story townhouse faces south, so we get a ton of sunlight. This is very helpful in the winter, where I find I don't have to spend much to heat the place. It is deadly during summer.

My AC system does need to be replaced, our home inspector told us when we bought the place 6 months ago that it had about a year of life left. Right now it is very MacGuyvered with metallic tape. But I suspect a good part of the problem is all the sunlight we get through the south-facing windows and the fact that heat rises. The first floor cools easily but the 4th floor is a swamp.

[tomterp]

My 4-story townhouse faces south, so we get a ton of sunlight. This is very helpful in the winter, where I find I don't have to spend much to heat the place. It is deadly during summer.

My AC system does need to be replaced, our home inspector told us when we bought the place 6 months ago that it had about a year of life left. Right now it is very MacGuyvered with metallic tape. But I suspect a good part of the problem is all the sunlight we get through the south-facing windows and the fact that heat rises. The first floor cools easily but the 4th floor is a swamp.

Short of window replacement, blinds that block sunlight are a good option for when you're not in the house, or for spaces you don't use frequently.

[Slateman]

Acutally, this schedule works nicely for me, as I've been studying for most of the evenings. Now I can take my practice test, outline what I need to concentrate on for my final, and still watch some of the game.

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

You could get a mini-split and just do zone cooling.  It's what they use all over Asia where it's hot and concrete construction doesn't lend itself to ducting.   

My 4-story townhouse faces south, so we get a ton of sunlight. This is very helpful in the winter, where I find I don't have to spend much to heat the place. It is deadly during summer.

My AC system does need to be replaced, our home inspector told us when we bought the place 6 months ago that it had about a year of life left. Right now it is very MacGuyvered with metallic tape. But I suspect a good part of the problem is all the sunlight we get through the south-facing windows and the fact that heat rises. The first floor cools easily but the 4th floor is a swamp.

[GburgNatsFan]

My b-i-l and sister just did their no-ductwork house this way.  If you accept the way it looks (inside and out), it's a great system. Quiet and efficient. I believe that their units are heat pumps, too.

You could get a mini-split and just do zone cooling.  It's what they use all over Asia where it's hot and concrete construction doesn't lend itself to ducting.   

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

yep

I believe that their units are heat pumps, too.

[Mattionals]

We have a single unit (with insulated ductwork in the attic, blowing down) and the amount of air reaching the top floor is suboptimal, especially for the last two rooms in entire system. 

Probably 5-6 years ago we had our A/C units replaced (with a U.S. built Carrier    ) as well as replacement windows and this made such an improvement in energy costs that it would never be cost effective to divide zones or add solar.  My bill from last week was for $172 (total 3,600 sq feet cooled incl. basement).  It's a heat pump too and in the winter my bill might soar to $230 if we have extended polar vortex.  And I've got 2 full size refrigerators and 5 aquariums (2 fairly large) running 24/7.

If I could put a small booster fan in the attic ductwork it would probably be a low cost solution.

I can't wait to buy a house and have to re-do the AC. If I find one with a crap AC, maybe I can talk them down!

[GburgNatsFan]

We're getting bids to replace our AC-only with a geo-thermal AC/Heat pump.

Kaching.

I can't wait to buy a house and have to re-do the AC. If I find one with a crap AC, maybe I can talk them down!

[varoadking]

We're getting bids to replace our AC-only with a geo-thermal AC/Heat pump.

Kaching.

I'd be interested to know how the heat functions for you.  We have a 1.5 ton heat pump system on our first floor (2 ton for the upstairs), and the 5kw heat strip in the 1.5 ton ahu is not enough to handle single degree temps like we had this past winter without the first floor temp falling 7-8 degrees.  Need to rewire from the panel in order to handle a 10kw strip...but I plan to do that.

As far as costs...our winter electrical (all-electric 3 story house) was lowered well more than 50% just by installing modern vinyl windows.  The 25 year old double hung wood windows leaked like a sieve.  Our average monthly summer cost is less than $200.00 and winter is less than $300.00,,,and I like it cold in the summer, and warm in the winter.

Now, water bills...man...when I have the irrigation running - 4 days per week and 1 hour per day - it's in the neighborhood of $200.00 month itself.  Truly crazy...

[Ray D]

Whenever I hear "heat pump" I think of Mo Siegal. 

[GburgNatsFan]

It's supposed to be much better with ground sourced heat pumps (because the ground is, theoretically, always about 55 degrees, year-round), but during extended cold snaps, you can have a similar problem - you draw too much heat out of the ground and create a cold sink for a while. We'll be keeping the oil-fired baseboard heat as a backup - it should only run a few nights a year, but it'll be nice to have.

We did the windows years ago and the difference is amazing.

I'd be interested to know how the heat functions for you.  We have a 1.5 ton heat pump system on our first floor (2 ton for the upstairs), and the 5kw heat strip in the 1.5 ton ahu is not enough to handle single degree temps like we had this past winter without the first floor temp falling 7-8 degrees.  Need to rewire from the panel in order to handle a 10kw strip...but I plan to do that.

As far as costs...our winter electrical (all-electric 3 story house) was lowered well more than 50% just by installing modern vinyl windows.  The 25 year old double hung wood windows leaked like a sieve.  Our average monthly summer cost is less than $200.00 and winter is less than $300.00,,,and I like it cold in the summer, and warm in the winter.

Now, water bills...man...when I have the irrigation running - 4 days per week and 1 hour per day - it's in the neighborhood of $200.00 month itself.  Truly crazy...

[Mattionals]

It's supposed to be much better with ground sourced heat pumps (because the ground is, theoretically, always about 55 degrees, year-round), but during extended cold snaps, you can have a similar problem - you draw too much heat out of the ground and create a cold sink for a while. We'll be keeping the oil-fired baseboard heat as a backup - it should only run a few nights a year, but it'll be nice to have.

We did the windows years ago and the difference is amazing.

I've been thinking that the best solution may be geothermal for the summers and most winters, but also maybe throw in a wood stove to just provide some extra heat on the coldest of days/nights.

[slhubic]

the obvious caveat to such a statement, is for those of us who are "in the west".  and, for me in MST, I very much like west coast games...

[GburgNatsFan]

We have one of those too. Mrs GburgNatsFan loves that damn woodstove. But the oil fired hot water baseboard heat is most comforting.

I've been thinking that the best solution may be geothermal for the summers and most winters, but also maybe throw in a wood stove to just provide some extra heat on the coldest of days/nights.

[mitlen]

the obvious caveat to such a statement, is for those of us who are "in the west".  and, for me in MST, I very much like west coast games...

Easterner here who likes the Pacific/Mountain Zone games.

[Mattionals]

Easterner here who likes the Pacific/Mountain Zone games.

I fall asleep at 10:30 ish. With work the next day, I'm useless without good sleep. And the. Weekends, well, I just like sleep, lol.

[mitlen]

I fall asleep at 10:30 ish. With work the next day, I'm useless without good sleep. And the. Weekends, well, I just like sleep, lol.

Not so much history in AZ but I really enjoy SF and LA.    I'm "retired" so I can usually make it through a close fought game.