Phoenix nostalgia (warning - this thread may make you cry)

[DowntownDweller]

Originally Posted by andrewkfromaz

^^^^ You guys are on your own here. Personally, I think waste is, well, wasteful. Eliminating or reducing it is something of a hobby of mine. Not quite an obsession.

I've got bigger fish to fry.

[Don B.]

John, I thought you had an Audi?

DowntownDweller, what are your summer electric bills like? Do you have a swamp cooler and AC?

I personally think swamp coolers are pretty nifty and I wish our house had one.

I still think your house is very cool.

--don

[Vicelord John]

Originally Posted by Don B.

John, I thought you had an Audi?

had one.

I then had an S2000. Now driving a Jeep.

[DowntownDweller]

Originally Posted by Don B.

John, I thought you had an Audi?

DowntownDweller, what are your summer electric bills like? Do you have a swamp cooler and AC?

I personally think swamp coolers are pretty nifty and I wish our house had one.

I still think your house is very cool.

--don

Summer electric is in the mid 200s.

I only have refrigerated forced air. My last house had both evaporative and refrigeration. I used the evap for a few days, and then never again. Evaporative coolers (swamp coolers in the common vernacular) are NASTY things, and I would never use on in a house I was living in. Ever.

[vertex]

Perhaps you weren't running it correctly, or maybe it needed cleaning...

I use mine all of the time; works wonders for me, and I've never paid more than $70 a month in electricity. All I do is replace the pads every two months.

[Vicelord John]

I keep my place at 77 in the summer when I am home and 82 when I am away. Summertime bills are about $325 in july/august.

Wintertime I dont even use the heater. Bills as low as $34 last February. It balances out.

[Don B.]

$325 for what, 1500 square feet, John? $250 for 1200 square feet, DowntownDweller?

People deride the "suburbs" all the time, but newer homes are typically far more energy efficient than older ones. Our current house, built in 2004, has gas-filled dual paned windows, massive doors, powerful dual heat pumps/AC units, 2x6 wall construction with high R-value insulation, thick walls and ceilings, and it shows: Our highest electric bill since we moved in during October, 2004, was about $350, and this is to air condition 3700 square feet. In fact, we don't even have to turn on the air until it reaches about 95 degrees, with the large window overhangs we have and few south-facing windows at all. Ceiling fans in every room with tall ceilings and open windows does the trick otherwise.

I just wish we had a swamp cooler because we could really take advantage of that with our territorial design.

--don

[DowntownDweller]

Originally Posted by vertex

Perhaps you weren't running it correctly, or maybe it needed cleaning...

I use mine all of the time; works wonders for me, and I've never paid more than $70 a month in electricity. All I do is replace the pads every two months.

It is water pumped over pads with a fan to pull air across them cooling by the laws of thermodynamics. It isn't rocket science. What it does do is fill your house with NASTY, HUMID, air. Requires constant attention to keep the pad both clean of mold/mildew, and with the hard water out here, from becoming clogged. Mine was on the roof at the last house (so was packaged furnace/AC). Talk about a PITA, and I don't want to live in a nasty, humid environment (hence why I live in AZ, not FL). Electric cost be damned, but refrigerated forced air is the only way to go for me and my family. Combined with the temperature and humidity limitations of evap, and it just is more trouble than it is worth. Just my opinion, but I will never own another dwelling with evap.

[DowntownDweller]

Originally Posted by Don B.

$325 for what, 1500 square feet, John? $250 for 1200 square feet, DowntownDweller?

People deride the "suburbs" all the time, but newer homes are typically far more energy efficient than older ones. Our current house, built in 2004, has gas-filled dual paned windows, massive doors, powerful dual heat pumps/AC units, 2x6 wall construction with high R-value insulation, thick walls and ceilings, and it shows: Our highest electric bill since we moved in during October, 2004, was about $350, and this is to air condition 3700 square feet. In fact, we don't even have to turn on the air until it reaches about 95 degrees, with the large window overhangs we have and few south-facing windows at all. Ceiling fans in every room with tall ceilings and open windows does the trick otherwise.

I just wish we had a swamp cooler because we could really take advantage of that with our territorial design.

--don

Mine is about 950sqft. The largest problem with my house is direct sun exposure, and the exterior material of my walls. My house has two courses of jumbo brick, and then 1" of plaster. That's it. No air gaps. No insulation of any sort. It is just one big mass of material which heats up when baked by the sun, and then radiates the heat throughout the day. With that much thermal mass, that SW bedroom gets pretty hot. By comparison, the NW bedroom which has both an awning, and shade from that huge tree stays VERY cool.

[Vicelord John]

1700sq. ft. with a 20ft ceiling in the living room and a 35sq. ft. loft. I also have two units which are 20 years old. It's expensive, but over the course of a year it probably averages out to about $100 a month.

[DowntownDweller]

My parents own the top-floor, SE corner of the artisan on Osborn. That bldg was constructed in '01 or '02 IIRC. You do NOT want to know what their electric runs each month. They have done the following: Had all windows replaced by HOA which had lost their inert gas charge (condensation inside will indicate this). Had a UV-barrier film applied to the windows. Installed motorized shades. It is still just an enormous greenhouse. Only upside is they never, ever, ever, have to use the furnace.

[vertex]

Originally Posted by DowntownDweller

It is water pumped over pads with a fan to pull air across them cooling by the laws of thermodynamics. It isn't rocket science. What it does do is fill your house with NASTY, HUMID, air. Requires constant attention to keep the pad both clean of mold/mildew, and with the hard water out here, from becoming clogged. Mine was on the roof at the last house (so was packaged furnace/AC). Talk about a PITA, and I don't want to live in a nasty, humid environment (hence why I live in AZ, not FL). Electric cost be damned, but refrigerated forced air is the only way to go for me and my family. Combined with the temperature and humidity limitations of evap, and it just is more trouble than it is worth. Just my opinion, but I will never own another dwelling with evap.

Oh gosh, you're not running it in August, are you? It pretty much doesn't work when the dew point goes above 55 degrees, which is when the monsoon begins. I resort to the air after that.

In May and June, it's terrific. I leave the front door and windows open when I run mine. No humidity at all, just a nice cool breeze.

[DowntownDweller]

Originally Posted by vertex

Oh gosh, you're not running it in August, are you? It pretty much doesn't work when the dew point goes above 55 degrees, which is when the monsoon begins. I resort to the air after that.

In May and June, it's terrific. I leave the front door and windows open when I run mine. No humidity at all, just a nice cool breeze.

No, it would have been in late spring when I tried it out. It was just gross, and refrigeration so much nicer. Personal preference. My friend who lives in ABQ only has Evap. I feel bad for someone in such a poor climate control situation.

[NIXPHX77]

i think it also depends if you have aps or srp (plus other variables.)
does anyone use an "equalizer" plan like i do for aps?
i'm at a flat rate of $164.00/month for 1400 sq ft.
i hear srp has cheaper rates.

[DowntownDweller]

Originally Posted by NIXPHX77

i think it also depends if you have aps or srp (plus other variables.)
does anyone use an "equalizer" plan like i do for aps?
i'm at a flat rate of $164.00/month for 1400 sq ft.
i hear srp has cheaper rates.

SRP does have (or did back when I moved here in '01) cheaper rates due to subsidization. I don't do any sort of equalization. I am on 9-9. 9pm-9am M-F, electricity is 1/3 the cost of normal, and the same applies on weekends.