Dang it is hot outside

[Apex]

We are targeted for 100's again today. The bad thing is our air conditioner can't handle it at all. It struggles to hold 82* in our house (it runs almost non-stop). After 1pm, the house just stays hot all day. It starts to cool off again at around 6pm or so.

We were burning up last night and the house just didn't want to get cool. My wife got frustrated and next thing we know we took off to Home Depot. We left with a $100 window AC unit. It is only a 5000BTU which is good for maybe 150sq-ft (I wanted to fork over an extra $100 and get a 10,000BTU unit, but we figured the small size would be nice). That is just a tad less than our room size, but for the price, we couldn't pass it up. It made all the difference in the world last night.

I'm guessing our room was sitting around 68*F, while the rest of the house was at 85*F. I turned on the house AC this morning and it cooled to 78*F, in only about 20 minutes.

It is ok in the morning, but as the sun beats down on the house, it just can't keep up. So we figured maybe the tiny unit could help out the main unit (holding 80-82*F) in the heat of the day. The earliest a guy could come out and look at it was Tuesday. We have a reputable guy we always use, he is booked Monday and he is on vacation this weekend.

This will be a fun weekend!

Hopefully it is something simple. If not, I'm sure we can get a new AC system for about $5000, which we have the cash for if required.

[Xoulrath]

Window units tend to work better. My house is 35 or so years old. It was my wife's parents house, and was in fact built by my wife's parents and family members. To save costs, they used wall heaters and window A/Cs instead of central H/A.

When I first stayed here with my wife years ago, I thought it was so odd. But I loved how cool the room was as we went to sleep. It reminded me of staying in a hotel. I personally also like the noise a fan makes to help me fall asleep, so it also replaced a fan for me.

You may want to look into window units instead of a new system. 4 10K BTU units would cost about $1,000 + tax. Put them in the rooms you use the most and maybe run a fan or two to help circulate the air.

My wife and I use one 10K in the kitchen for the kitchen and living room; and two 5Ks, one in our room and one in our daughter's room. We use one $20 fan to help circulate the air through the house. We are very comfortable. The best part? Our power bills all summer haven't gone over $125. Everyone we talk to with central H/A have $200-$400 bills, depending on how long they are home. Did I mention I am off in the summer, and I ran the main A/C from 11 AM until 3 AM, for two months straight?

I think for a lot of people, window units have a stigma. Trailer parks, cheap motels, slums. I also think most people think that central H/A is more efficient and the truth is, the bigger your house gets, the less efficient it becomes, even if vents are blocked to keep some rooms cooler than others.

[Snake]

I don't think you need a new a/c unit. The only problem you have is that it is just too darn hot. Most a/c units can only lower the temp inside your house 20 deg. from the outside temp. The window unit was a good idea to help cool the room you sleep in but it will not cool the rest of the house.
One thing you may want to look into is your attics ventilation. A hot a attic makes for a hot house. I recently changed out my turbine (whirly bird) roof vents with powered roof vents and they drastically cooled the attic and now the a/c doesn't work as hard to keep the house cool.

[phr3ek]

lots of cool info on here i never heard of

im lucky its not that hot here in SoCal
i personally dont use my a/c, i use a regular fan
but then again temps dont generally go over 80* in my house

last summer when i ran my a/c for the most part of the day, my electric bill went up to $150+, and i only cooled down my bathroom and living room, and possibly the upstairs
now my bills average no more than $80

i might look into getting this window unit you guys speak of......
what rating would you recommend for a 12'x10' room?

[Xoulrath]

A 5K unit should be enough for a room that size. Home Depot or Lowe's or any other similar store should have several units in stock. Check them out and look at what size room they are rated for. The information is usually on the box.

Just remember, it takes some time to cool the room; so you have to remember to turn the unit on about an hour or so before you plan to go to bed, if it is for a bedroom. Obviously, if you are just getting it for a living room, then turn it on as soon as you get home. Then again, depending on what you want to spend, you can get units that have timers.

Our LG unit we bought this year for the living room/kitchen is 10K BTUs. It doesn't have a timer to start it, but it does have an energy saver mode so we just set the temp to 78 and leave it on. It does the rest itself. Like I said, I used to hate them, but now I wouldn't have central H/A.

[almost40]

Check with your utilitys website. Mine offered $35 rebate on my bill if I bought a energy star rated a/c.
Bought a 6500 btu rated a/c for the same cost as the 5000 after the rebate and it uses the same amount of power. (both pull 560 watts)
I have central air and my outside a/c unit pulls 3150 watts. runs 90% of the time when the temp is over 90
The 5000 btu in my bedroom and the 6500 btu in my living/kitchen pull a total of 1120 watts. Cost more than twice as much to run the central air. Only trade off?? no a/c in the bathrooms or the other 2 unused bedrooms. Seems like the deal to me.
1000 watts is a kilowatt. kilowatt cost me $.11 that about $.12 an hour to run the 2 window a/c or $.30 an hour to run the central air.

[almost40]

Originally Posted by phr3ek

lots of cool info on here i never heard of


i might look into getting this window unit you guys speak of......
what rating would you recommend for a 12'x10' room?

5000 btu will do. Check to see how many watts each unit pulls, its printed on the box. the lower the watts the more efficent the less it cost you to run.

[kyrider]

How is your insulation?

[almost40]

Originally Posted by kyrider

How is your insulation?

Who me?? Its good. built the house myself.

[Snake]

Great cost breakdown Kevin.

[kyrider]

Originally Posted by almost40

Who me?? Its good. built the house myself.

No not you! I meant it for Apex sorry.

Properly insulating my house made a huge difference.

I bought a front load washer and it cut running my dryer down to almost half not to mention saved water.

My heat pump/AC unit keeps my house at 72 in the summer and 68 in the winter. I usually have it off late fall and early spring.

[Snake]

+1 for insulating the attic along with good ventilation.

[Apex]

Well we have known the attic lacks insulation. I was going to dump more into the west side of the house since the east side is shaded by two big oak trees. My wife didn't want me to right now. She wants the AC checked first. If he comes back saying the AC unit is fine and so is the duct work, then it is a go for extra insulation. We will only be in this house for another year tops. It is going to be sold before this time next year.

[Snake]

If you are going to sell it then I would invest as little money as possible. Just grin and bear it for the next month or so until it starts to cool down.

[Apex]

Well I don't think she is going to go for that. hahahaha