Evaporative cooling here isn't much more expensive than just running a ventilation fan, so it wouldn't be worth the investment strictly for cooling. Heating, however, is a major expense and any investment to lessen that cost is pretty much worth it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lY3oGlgZRgI
Yeah, it takes a specific climate for them to work well. We're right in that zone. At my house in Nevada, I installed both refrigerated air and a swamp cooler, for economical reasons. The house was small enough and insulated well enough that it was cheap to run A/C, so I did.
I remember getting oil pumped into a pipe in the front lawn, in Levittown as a kid. (radiant heat.) At one point, I remember a white-person crisis when we had to go a day without. We used our wood burning stove, (something my dad insisted upon fitting the house with) and also huddled around a kerosene heater when it ran out.. I remember my stepmother bundling up and being very concerned.. (Don't worry, your Judith Krantz novels won't burn like they should.) Ugh, 'Princess Daisy'.
Here, we've been under our kilowatt usage from last year every single month, but yet it costs us more. Thanks, Pinnacle West.
Strangely enough, a few days ago, I got a utility bill from a house that I once owned and haven't lived in for six years.
That's weird. I have to do some investigation.
My house has undergone a number of heating upgrades over the years, and all the previous appliances are all still here. From a tiny Sears Cannon pot belly stove in the parlor, to an in-floor gas furnace, to a wall furnace, to an airtight wood stove in the added-on living room, to finally a kerosene heater. I use the wall furnace and kerosene heater, but none of the others. Glad to have the bigger wood stove as a backup though, since we do suffer from power outages from time to time.
A guy I used to work for got a similar system installed free gratis as a demo. When you're rich, people give you stuff. It was a great system, though, one I'd love to have.
I'm currently doing more passive improvements. Signed a contract for new windows, should be installed in four weeks. They are costing me more than my first home. I'll never see a return, but if it muffles the sound of all the damned dogs in the neighborhood, it'll be worth it. Next, if I can ever afford it, will be new siding, including OSB and Tyvek.
I'm guessing the wrap is going to cost at least double what the windows are. I will have to finance any further improvements, so they may never happen. Nice to have goals, though.
True, they would much rather sell us the extra electricity to run refrigerated air, but we are the first customers affected by the rolling blackouts, too.
Hi mods–I've got one in purgatory. Thanks.
What about radiant cooling?
I use evaporative cooling, because it's dry AF here. If I lived in a more humid environment, I'd consider geo-cooling. And heating.
Evaporative cooling here isn't much more expensive than just running a ventilation fan, so it wouldn't be worth the investment strictly for cooling. Heating, however, is a major expense and any investment to lessen that cost is pretty much worth it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lY3oGlgZRgI
swamp coolers suck here, just sayin'.
Yeah, it takes a specific climate for them to work well. We're right in that zone. At my house in Nevada, I installed both refrigerated air and a swamp cooler, for economical reasons. The house was small enough and insulated well enough that it was cheap to run A/C, so I did.
I remember getting oil pumped into a pipe in the front lawn, in Levittown as a kid. (radiant heat.) At one point, I remember a white-person crisis when we had to go a day without. We used our wood burning stove, (something my dad insisted upon fitting the house with) and also huddled around a kerosene heater when it ran out.. I remember my stepmother bundling up and being very concerned.. (Don't worry, your Judith Krantz novels won't burn like they should.) Ugh, 'Princess Daisy'.
Here, we've been under our kilowatt usage from last year every single month, but yet it costs us more. Thanks, Pinnacle West.
Strangely enough, a few days ago, I got a utility bill from a house that I once owned and haven't lived in for six years.
That's weird. I have to do some investigation.
My house has undergone a number of heating upgrades over the years, and all the previous appliances are all still here. From a tiny Sears Cannon pot belly stove in the parlor, to an in-floor gas furnace, to a wall furnace, to an airtight wood stove in the added-on living room, to finally a kerosene heater. I use the wall furnace and kerosene heater, but none of the others. Glad to have the bigger wood stove as a backup though, since we do suffer from power outages from time to time.
A guy I used to work for got a similar system installed free gratis as a demo. When you're rich, people give you stuff. It was a great system, though, one I'd love to have.
I'm currently doing more passive improvements. Signed a contract for new windows, should be installed in four weeks. They are costing me more than my first home. I'll never see a return, but if it muffles the sound of all the damned dogs in the neighborhood, it'll be worth it. Next, if I can ever afford it, will be new siding, including OSB and Tyvek.
I'm guessing the wrap is going to cost at least double what the windows are. I will have to finance any further improvements, so they may never happen. Nice to have goals, though.
Radiantherapy?
True, they would much rather sell us the extra electricity to run refrigerated air, but we are the first customers affected by the rolling blackouts, too.