heat wave no air

[Radio]

Wal-Mart sells 5200 BTU window units for $50 or less, end of season they are $35 or less, I stock up then, This is NOT a good time to be looking for one though.

 

[B@rt]

I'm sure I'm in the minority, but I prefer a fan over AC... Most people set the temp way too low.

 

[Brighteyez]

Ha-ha-ha! One of our nearby Fry's stores got a ton of the portable dryer vent AC units in last week, right after things started to cool off here. Last night it got so chilly (all the way down to the low 70's - high 60's) that I almost put a sweater on!

Wal-Mart sells 5200 BTU window units for $50 or less, end of season they are $35 or less, I stock up then, This is NOT a good time to be looking for one though.

 

[JLavino]

It's about 95-100 here in MA right now. I don't like AC so I don't use it. Rather, I like being _in_ and air conditioned house or car, but the transition is too hard for me when I go outside. Screws up one's natural balance to be in the cold all the time. It's also too humid here for a swamp cooler. They're a good deal out in Arizona, etc.

I am, however a big believer in fans. Right now I have a big '50s Hunter in the kitchen, a '60s Ambassdor in one bedroom, an '80s Sanyo in another, a '90s Vornado heater/fan in one bathroom, a small '60s GE in a downstairs room, and a huge '50s GE upstairs pointing out a window. Close up the house in the morning, ventilate at night when the temperature and humidity goes down. My old house had one of those 3' diameter whole-house vent fans in the ceiling. Wish I could put one in here.

Currently restoring a '20s Emerson and a '50s Vornado pedestal. Plus have a '10s-'20s Polar cub on standby.

Oh, and a dehumidifier in the basement.

You are crazy, its 100+ today in MA. I require AC to stand in this weather! Good luck with your fans!

 

[jtr1962]

I'm sure I'm in the minority, but I prefer a fan over AC... Most people set the temp way too low.

Different people have a different "comfort zone". I've known people who set their thermostat for 90°F in the winter because that's what they feel comfortable at. With the obsession to set the thermostat at 78 or so to save energy I personally find most stores and offices these days too hot for me, all the more so when one is moving around. My own "comfort zone" is about 70 to 73 when I'm sleeping, 65 to 68 when I'm awake but fairly sedentary, and under 60 if I'm somewhat active. This is generally too cold for most people. I'm guessing it feels OK to me since my normal body temperature is around 97°F. I'm just setup for cold climates.

I dislike fans because they blow dust everywhere and don't do much in humid climates like NYC. The only people who can get by here without A/C are those with a naturally high tolerance to heat.

 

[James S]

my mom doesn't need to set her AC very low in Arizona as sweating actually works there. If I turned my AC off for 24 hours here in Georgia my house would fill with black mold and I'd melt into goo at a much lower temperature because of the humidity. It's only 93 outside right now, but I was dripping just doing a little cleaning up outside.

I also run a fan often so that I can enjoy a breeze without having to turn the AC down too far, but I would not live here without it.

 

[ABTOMAT]

You are crazy, its 100+ today in MA. I require AC to stand in this weather! Good luck with your fans!

My two outside thermometers never got higher than 98 or so. Inside the house we hit 94 upstairs, but it's cooling off now. I'm about 1/2 mile from the coast.

 

[PlayboyJoeShmoe]

We don't keep it all that cool in the house... maybe high 70's low 80's... but it feels EVER so much better than outside!!! My Ram says it's about 94 out there!

We have ceiling fans in all the living areas as well.

But let us lose power for a week or more due to hurricane, and I'll have a window unit to sleep by!

 

[snowleopard]

ABTOMAT: I'm a big believer in fans also. Often people with AC don't bother to open the windows when it's cooled off outside. I have a whole house fan that does the job 90% of the time. The other 10% of the time AC, full blast!!! Yesterday and today I crawled inside my AC and whined. I'm a real wimp when it comes to heat.

Trashman: If there are windows you might be getting a lot of solar heat gain. Otherwise, see if there is a space between the ceiling and roof for insulation. The foam insulations usually need to be covered by drywall for code and fire safety. If it's not humid there maybe you can run a hose onto the roof (fine spray on low so you don't erode the roof).

--Walter
High temp today 91F, dewpoint about 75, at one of the cooler central MA locations.

 

[geepondy]

There is no way I would go without AC at night and as others have mention you no longer can use cost as an excuse. You can buy a small window unit and only run it at night and it won't increase the electric bill more then $20 a month. Also the new digital thermostat ones are very nice. I had one in my last apartment and it would keep the bedroom within one or two degrees of the set temperature.

 

[senecaripple]

there was a nice summer breeze at the stadium, wang blanking the jays! some of the lights were turned off to conserve energy for the city. guess that explains the errors the jays had on the field. they only turned on the lights when the yanks were on the field.
the subway ride was nice (air conditioned). now i'm sweating bullets!

 

[tygger]

Trashman,

i feel your pain. my apartment routinely gets 100+ degrees even with all the windows open and a box fan in one window on high. i'm on the second floor of an attic-less apartment so my unit is basically a large attic. the only thing i can suggest is getting a small Vornado fan (trust me, they're expensive, but the best) and somehow mount it in front of the AC vent to move the air. if fans don't bother you i'd even direct it on you while you sleep, watch TV, whatever. the rest of the room might be warm but i guarantee you'll feel good. good luck.

 

[ledlurker]

Different people have a different "comfort zone". I've known people who set their thermostat for 90°F in the winter because that's what they feel comfortable at. With the obsession to set the thermostat at 78 or so to save energy I personally find most stores and offices these days too hot for me, all the more so when one is moving around. My own "comfort zone" is about 70 to 73 when I'm sleeping, 65 to 68 when I'm awake but fairly sedentary, and under 60 if I'm somewhat active. This is generally too cold for most people. I'm guessing it feels OK to me since my normal body temperature is around 97°F. I'm just setup for cold climates.

I dislike fans because they blow dust everywhere and don't do much in humid climates like NYC. The only people who can get by here without A/C are those with a naturally high tolerance to heat.

you might try slowly creeping the temperature up over time and give your body a chance to get used to it. You would die in our house since our current temp is set at 80 for this time of year. The AC still cycles about every 30 to 45 minutes and it is much more tolerable to step outside. I would like to set the temp higher but my wife works in a 72 degree office and anything above 80 at home is to hot. Yet she still sleeps with a comforter at night, go figure.

I remember my grandparents and parents looking at my cousins and I like we were nuts in running around in August at 2pm. Now I look at my kids the same way. The older you get the harder it is to maintain your thermal equilibrium.

 

[B@rt]

I agree, most people don't allow their body to get used to higher temps at all.

JTR:
I've stayed in the tropics, and even though humidity was high, a fan still worked well.

If it blows dust everywhere, maybe vacuuming would solve that? :nana:

 

[James S]

you might try slowly creeping the temperature up over time and give your body a chance to get used to it.

This actually works. When we first switch to AC in the spring i run it very low otherwise I sweat all night long and can't even finish loading the dishwasher without breaking a sweat And my wife will just go in and turn it all the way down anyway. But we're up 3 degrees from that original setting now and it feels just as nice. So give yourself a break the first week and then start turning it up to save a few bucks.

I still like it cool at night, but it is easier on the system to cool at night anyway so thats no problem really. And when the kids get up early to play, there can be no price placed on a good nights sleep!

PS: it's 94.5 in my front yard in the shade right now, the sensor in the back which gets some sun is reading 104.7... ugg

 

[senecaripple]

outdoor temp read 97.7* under a shade. indoor temp reads 94.3*, i guess this is in keeping with what all my girlfriends used to say to me when they withhold one of their favors from me; "this will help to build character!"

 

[jtr1962]

you might try slowly creeping the temperature up over time and give your body a chance to get used to it.

I just don't get used to heat. I completely lost my tolerance for it about 13 years ago when I helped one of my neighbors with his kiddie entertainment business. We were outside on some of the hottest days. I found by the end of that summer I literally couldn't cope with heat any more. Another problem is that I get rashes whenever I sweat so I have to avoid sweating. I personally don't see any good reason to turn up the AC to 80. The energy savings would be nil once you count the extra showers and changes of clothing. As far as keeping it warmer to avoid the thermal shock when I go outside I just don't go out in the summers except at night, and then only on days when it drops under 80. The poor air quality is the main reason but I need to avoid excessive heat as well.

I've stayed in the tropics, and even though humidity was high, a fan still worked well. If it blows dust everywhere, maybe vacuuming would solve that?

I guess you just have a high tolerance to heat. We used to rely on fans when I was a kid. They didn't help me much even then, and I had a higher tolerance to heat. As for the dust, you would be surprised how much accumulates in even a week. Unless I want to make dusting a full-time job, fans will be blowing dust. Unfortunately lots of dust comes up from downstairs as well. My late father left the basement in the state shown below which is essentially a garbage dump:

When we cleaned we found ten to fifteen years worth of dust in some of those piles, plus a few places when our cats had gotten in and urinated.

We still haven't gotten to the rest of the basement yet which helps explain the excessive dust.

 

[Knight Lights]

Humidity plays a big role in perceived heat.

If you are in the west in a dry climate, some airconditioners just don't seem to work very effectively. I've had success using a water mister over the AC unit that sprays a very fine mist over the unit while it is operating. I've always assumed this allows the coils to function more effectively by allowing an evaporative effect to carry off the heat they accumulate, but I'm sure there is an AC guy on CPF who can explain it better.

A fine water mist over the roof of the extended portion of the apartment would probably work very well. I've seen them used in Arizona that way, as well as to cool storefronts in strip malls. Just walking through the mist into the covered area lowers the ambient temp by a bunch.

It's doubtful that applying insulation to the INSIDE of the walls will help much, unless you can seal it in. Insulation relies on either completely blocking the heat, or on the microscopic air pockets in the insulation forming their own barrier. In that case, the air gap around insulation is actually part of the insulating process, and applying it to the inside of the walls won't help a lot.

All of that said, if a window unit is not significantly affecting room temp, especially in a small room like a bedroom, something may be wrong with that unit.

BTW, the clock is close to right!!!

Bill

 

[jtr1962]

Relevant to this subject, I was just thinking how the population explosion in the southern half of the US coincided with the mass production of home air conditioners which basically started in the 1950s. Prior to that, most of the southern US was at best considered a winter haven rather than a year-round place to live, except for a relatively few number of diehards who either needed to live there for occupational reasons, or could just cope with the heat well. For the majority though the southern half of the US would be uninhabitable without air conditioning. With global warming unfortunately the climate in the north is starting to get that way as well. NYC's weather nowadays is similar to what Atlanta had a hundred years ago. In another 100 years we'll probably resemble Miami with snow being a distant memory.

 

[ABTOMAT]

The heat broke this afternoon. Got home from picking up a lathe and it's cool and breezy. Not a moment too soon.