keeping the house cool, ideas?

[binny]

Just had the AC guys out and found that our AC system is woefully inadequate and the filters were beyond disgusting and the wrong size and oh yeah, if you want to get a system that will actually cool your house properly, it will be about $14,000 plus the cost of replacing the siding, drywall, and vents... guess who is NOT getting a new AC system?

This system is ok for the most part. Cams room is the worst though, he is one the hot side of the house, has bad windows, bad blinds, and the AC vents are way too small. Think Ill go find a room AC unit for him. High of 104 today and 107 tomorrow only 6 more weeks... come on FALL!!!

They also said that the 2 AC units we have are about 1/2 the size we need and that they would be ok for about 2200 sq ft but dont come close to the 3300 we have here.


So aside from all new windows ( which are on the list but I think they just got bumped up) what else can I do?

 

[daisyduck123]

We do not use our front door. It leads directly into the living room & that opens up to the kitchen. Whenever the front door is opened, a blast of heat comes in & heats up the entire ground floor of the house. Then it takes FOREVER to cool off again.

Instead, we go in thru the garage. That leads into the basement, & then we just come up into the house from the basement.

*We have also kept our blinds closed for the past 2 weeks.

 

[escape]

Just curious - do you have ceiling fans? If not, this would help tremendously. I can't live without mine.

 

[KarenC]

Our a/c has trouble keeping up. We apparently have inadequate cold air returns. I bought two vertical fans and put them in the hot part of the house (our attic dormer where our bedroom is) to circulate the air back into the system. While on days near 100, the air still runs hot, it's nowhere near as bad as it was.

 

[barkley]

the a/c in the rental we are in died on saturday and finaly got fixed wednesday afternoon (and our temps have been up to 109). we got big fans and used them during the day to move the air around (but had to keep the windows closed) and then put them outside the windows to push in the barely cooler night air after the sun went down. it got so bad we ended up in a motel for 3 nites!

i suspect our landlord is going to add wording to her leases that discusses filters in very detailed language-apparantly the previous tenants never changed them and they got so clogged up they both burnt out the motor/fan and collapsed all of the duct work into itself (i can't imagine what they charged her to crawl up under the roof in temps that had to be close to 120 degrees!).

one thing that helped (a little-when they did'nt fall off due to perspiration) was to use those 'keep cool' strips that kids use for fevers-i plastered them under my tank top around my wrists and on the nape of my neck.

 

[pearlieq]

Blinds/drapes closed (invest a few dollars in better window coverings if you can) are a big help. Other helpers:

Window awnings
Shade trees over windows
Flourescent lightbulbs
Ceiling Fans!!!
Keep oven/range use to a minimum. Use the microwave and/or grill outside.
Don't use the heated dry on your dishwasher--let the air dry.
Keep appliance use to a minimum--they give off heat. Don't leave the TV, coffeemaker, computer, etc. on when you don't need to.

 

[azgal81]

I have dark screens installed over all my windows instead of the regular ones. It keeps the place cooler and cuts down on the A/C bill.

Also running ceiling fans during the day helps if you have those And fans in open windows at night helps.

I grew up in Indiana my parents house did not have air conditioning you can imagine how hot it was in there in the summer. Thinking back now I don't know how we stayed cool!

 

[Tinkerbelle'sMOM]

Keep all your shades down or curtains drawn...yeah, it is cavelike, but it helps a lot. Is one room always cooler than the others? We put a floor fan in that area and point it towards the warmer area to draw the cool air out of the cold room.

 

[binny]

yep we have ceiling fans but his room is warm anyway so it just kind of pushes the hot air around. He says it doesnt bother him that much and he has a fan that keeps on him but whenever I go in there I want to croak!

 

[arminnie]

Just had the AC guys out and found that our AC system is woefully inadequate and the filters were beyond disgusting and the wrong size and oh yeah, if you want to get a system that will actually cool your house properly, it will be about $14,000 plus the cost of replacing the siding, drywall, and vents... guess who is NOT getting a new AC system?

This system is ok for the most part. Cams room is the worst though, he is one the hot side of the house, has bad windows, bad blinds, and the AC vents are way too small. Think Ill go find a room AC unit for him. High of 104 today and 107 tomorrow only 6 more weeks... come on FALL!!!

They also said that the 2 AC units we have are about 1/2 the size we need and that they would be ok for about 2200 sq ft but dont come close to the 3300 we have here.


So aside from all new windows ( which are on the list but I think they just got bumped up) what else can I do?

I would strongly suggest a second opinion. It is amazing the different opinions you will get from different companies. My dad used to be in a/c business (he's 85) now, so he recognized that the first one out was feeding us a bunch of baloney.

We did have to have the a/c replaced, but the appropriate sized a/c which has been just fine here was about half the original estimate. We need some ductwork repaired now but will wait until this fall. They are going to charge more to go in the attic now than when it is cooler.

 

[chyam]

I did notice that you were in Idaho so hopefully the hot weather will ease up soon. I keep most of my blinds drawn during the day and I run all my ceiling fans. I just put in a new AC unit about 2 years ago but the electric bills just about kill me during the summer. I also have tile floors. I remember when I was younger and living in Chicago I would sleep with one of those cold packs that you put in an ice chest. We didn't have ac then but it did at least help me sleep.

 

[DaBoo]

Just had to replace our AC yesterday. We have a neighbor who does this so it was only $1400 to replace the unit outside (this was great compared to the est. we got). It went out Saturday and yesterday was the soonest he could get to it. We bought a window unit at Sears for around $400. It keep the kitchen and livingroom cool (it even got cold at night) and we blocked off the vents and closed all the doors to the other rooms. We sleep in the living room for the last few days. My daughter loved it. She said it was like a campout but inside. Its a temp fix but it keep us comfy the last couple of days.

 

[binny]

Thank you all for the great ideas!!


I thought Flourescent lightbulbs were worse? I have them in my kitchen and they throw off an insane amount of heat.

 

[ZachnElli]

Wow, Binny, I'm so sorry! I can't believe the inspector didn't notice all this when you bought the house! I'd definitely get a second opinion, I've never heard of an a/c costing that much, even 2.

 

[binny]

yeah the inspector also neglected to mention that filters were the incorrect size, jammed in there sideways, and they were so filthy that there was no chance air was getting through them not so happy with him right now


D, Ang just had hers replaced and said she would sell us her old unit ( which is really quite new just innaquate for the size of her house as it was a single unit) so we may well be able to save some money that way.
Between the problems that she had and the story I just heard, Im begining to think there is serious money in the HVAC trade around here