Help with keeping our house cool :)

[happily single]

It's probably too cold to have them where you live. They're a combination of central air in the summer/heating unit in the winter. I've always heard they aren't effective in colder climates, but they're probably the most common heat/ac device here in Virginia.

Thank you!

 

[ilovemk76]

I have a very silly question-What the heck is a heat pump?
I owned a house for 10 years and never heard of this

Maybe its a regional things? I'm in New England

http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/heat pump

A device that warms or cools a building by transferring heat from a relatively low-temperature reservoir to one at a higher temperature.


NE is too far north to use them. They would be on resistive coils all the time and would be very expensive to run.

 

[EMAW_KSU]

I have a very silly question-What the heck is a heat pump?
I owned a house for 10 years and never heard of this

Maybe its a regional things? I'm in New England

A heat pump is basically a air conditioner that will run in reverse in the winter. They do not work very good in cold climates since there is not very much heat to remove from the outside air when the temperature gets below freezing.

 

[POOHsie]

I watch those home repair shows on TV. An HVAC company can record the output of your ducts in the various rooms of your home, and measure the air volume/temp you're getting vs. what it should be for effective heating/cooling. Some things can help, like taping up leaks in the ductwork at connection points (not with duct tape), replacing dirty filters, inspecting/repairing/upgrading a unit that's not operating properly or under-performing, replacing under-size ductwork with bigger pieces, etc. That's the first thing I'd do before investing in window units, which are energy-hogs and electricity hogs. We rented an old house once, with window units. The electric outlet that one AC unit was plugged into sparked big-time one evening. It's lucky the house didn't burn down. The old electric just couldn't handle the power needed to run the window AC unit. Our landlord had the wiring in the house completely updated and changed to a bigger electrical panel.

 

[CTdiznymom]

kirstenb1- I'm in Connecticut, we have what they call here anyway a "forced hot air system" our ac condenser is outside, and our oil fired furnace has a blower which blows hot air in the winter and the cold in the summer. The house has duct work, but unfortunately in the summer the cold air doesn't reach the second floor sufficiently. We installed a stronger blower to our furnace but that wasn't much help.

 

[blessedby3]

Wow, thanks everyone for the great info and advice! I am going to have my DH read through all of this info.
The issue with the window unit AC is not the original cost, but the amount it would add to our electric bill. We already have a bill near $300 and thats with keeping the house at 78. I was afraid window units would really up the bill.
Thanks again...I will have DH read this to get lots of good info to help him figure out what to do

 

[the5marions]

Another possibility for you to consider is purchasing a dehumidifier. I don't know about your area, but here in the midwest the humidity adds to the heat making it feel hotter. We have a small dehumidifier that we bought a few years ago at Sears and it help make things more comfortable. The only problem is you have to empty the water container every day, but its a lot cheaper to run than an air conditioner. It might help you feel more comfortable.

 

[CTdiznymom]

OP- I think you might be surprised in your electric bill. If you run only window units at night you won't be running that big condensor unit and you will be getting a better result.

 

[BlueBeagle]

Heat pumps are heading up north! We just had one installed in Minnesota. Once the temp drops below 20 it will switch to our furnace. Our electric company has a saver program that offers electricity at 50% off during the winter months.

 

[momto2inKC]

Wow, thanks everyone for the great info and advice! I am going to have my DH read through all of this info.
The issue with the window unit AC is not the original cost, but the amount it would add to our electric bill. We already have a bill near $300 and thats with keeping the house at 78. I was afraid window units would really up the bill.
Thanks again...I will have DH read this to get lots of good info to help him figure out what to do

The window units are very expensive to run! We do not have central air and run 3 window units in our ranch style house. Our electric bill triples during the months we run them, to $400.

 

[rdevine10]

yikes. some of your electric bills are scary! We ran our central air here in CT all last month and our electric bill was only about $130 for our 1700+ sq ft house.

But, we have a few power companies that offer some really low rates that run on the CL& P grid.

In any event, I agree, a ridge vent is key in the roof and or attic fan. (we have a ridge vent).

Also, keep the shades CLOSED! And when our air is running sometimes I even close the thermal drapes I use in the winter (when its really cold) to keep the cold air in and heat out!

Make sure insulation is good. Not only attic but wall. A neighbor had insulation blown into their walls and it made the world of difference.

Also, we use fans as well. We put the fans in front of the central air vents to "push" the air into the room. It really helps the system keep up when its a true scorcher outside!

And I agree if you are cranking the heat pump to 72 to cool the upstairs, if you keep it higher (76ish) and just run a window unit in your bedroom at night, its probably not going to cost much more money.

I could NOT sleep if I was hot.

BTW- we have forced hot air oil heat for the winter and central air in the summer (which we had installed onto our system about 12 years ago). BEST money we spent!