Cutting Costs on Cooling your Home

United States
May 25, 2008 10:44am CST
With summer heat right around the corner, I have researching ideas for more economical cooling of my home. At the moment, adding insulation to my 100 year old home is not an option. Normally we pull our window unit out of storage in mid to late June, but with the heat we have experienced these past fews days, I am worried that we will have to begin using them much sooner. My budget is not ready for that extra expense. Some of the tactics we have employed in past summers are: 1. We no longer use our central air (which is a dinosaur). 2. Window units are installed only in the rooms that would be unbearable without some kind of cooling. 3. The newest window unit is a Haier Energy Star, which has a 24hr on and off timer and uses 10-50% less energy while operating. 4. The units are only allowed to be turned on while anyone is in the room. There are penalities if you leave the room for more than 30 mins without turning the unit off. So, those are some of my tips, but I am really looking forward to hearing what everyone else has to add.
1 person likes this
1 response
thebeaddoodler
@thebeaddoodler (4262)
• Lubbock, Texas
25 May 08
Can you build trellises on the west and south side of the house and plant vines on them? A trellis should be placed three to four feet from the house. This not only shades the house, but acts as a "chimney" to funnel hot air up and back out into the atmosphere, keeping your house cooler. I've thought about doing this, but the wind blows so hard it would have to be set at least a foot into the ground and anchored with concrete, so I haven't done it yet, but It's still a consideration. When I got my electric bill this month my usage had gone down 20 KW, but my bill went up $7.
1 person likes this
amazon13
@amazon13 (69)
• United States
25 May 08
Wow beaddoodler! Did you call the electric company for an explanation. I would be upset and on the phone in a hearbeat. Nowdays electric companies don't actually read the meters and just estimate...which in my estimation is just WRONG! I have a covered porch over all front windows and door, and on the east side two windows and a door are also covered by a porch. The western side of the house gets sun for a short while untill the tall trees on the that side offer shade. I have some morning glories planted in a planter and hope for them to crawl up the railing to offer just a bit more early morning shade into east windows and door. Thanks for the ideas. I can really empathize with you in regards to the wind. I am in Kansas and at times I just get TOTALLY fed up with the wind. Best wishes to you!
1 person likes this
thebeaddoodler
@thebeaddoodler (4262)
• Lubbock, Texas
25 May 08
No need to call the electric company. The meter is connected to a computer. No meter reading necessary. The rise in cost is simply the result of the rise in the cost of fuel.
1 person likes this
amazon13
@amazon13 (69)
• United States
27 May 08
Oops! Sorry about that, I should have thought before I went off on a rant. Recently, I read an article where a person's electric bill was getting higher and higher, but the meter reader was not viewing the meter...or reading it wrong. It has been awhile since I read the article, so I am not totally certain about the details. I was rereading your post and thought about the trellis idea again. I love trellises. This weekend we have had horrible storms, some with 60+mph winds. We have a very large tree in our yard that was swaying as if it was nothing and was losing large branches, that eventually blew down our street. We had an extremely large branch that was several feet long, but stood almost 6 feet wide when it hit the ground. After that, I was really happy that we had no trellises to blow down. We have a trumpet vine that just takes over the side yard, which would look very nice on a trellis or pole.
1 person likes this