Author Topic: Managed to hold off on running AC all year until tonight (in North Carolina)  (Read 10004 times)

Emg03063

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I'd been just closing blinds and windows during the day, and opening them along with my attic access at night to drain out the accumulated heat.  Tonight, I finally got lazy, but it's 72 outside and it took about 5 minutes of AC to get my upstairs from 79 to 76, so not so horrible.  I would keep doing the window thing, but operating windows is aggravating some tendinitis I have.  I have about 80 gallons of water strewn around the house for cheap added thermal mass to fight the temperature swings--seems to be helping.  Anyway, solar panels have been generating a surplus of electricity for the last few months, for credit that gets zeroed out on June 1 (@&#%! Duke), so it's really running on free power.

johnintaiwan

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I am still going strong on my goal to wait until June 1st to crank it up. It is over 30C everyday with very high humidity (at least outside). But the house has been pretty cool with just a fan or two. Last night my wife even mentioned she thinks we can try to wait until July 1st or maybe never.

CheapskateWife

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We play this game every year, but live in Central TX.

I think in 2010 we went all the way to 5 June, and this year might be the year we beat that record!  Thank deity for ceiling fans!

Emilyngh

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We are in Va and holding out strong!

Emg03063

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Just got my latest power bill.  $5.95! :)

mrsggrowsveg

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Also playing this game.  We are in Kansas where summers can be really hot (not quite Texas).  Last year we turned it on July first.  We needed it at the end of June, but I was so stubborn about making it to July that we waited.  I am hoping to make it to July again this year.  We are lucky to have a lot of shade and it is almost always windy.

horsepoor

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I wanted to turn it on tonight, but didn't.  It was 77 downstairs, so probably 82 or so upstairs.  Luckily, it cooled off a bit and we got a bit of a wind storm so I opened up the windows and now the upstairs is a much nicer temp.  Hoping it will be down to 65 or so by morning and we can close up the windows and shades and start all over again.

I think I'll shoot for June 15th.

NV Teacher

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No AC yet this year.  Normally I'm happy if I can get to the middle of May so this is a new record for me.  The forecast for Monday is 106 so I'm sure it'll be on by then. 

Hedge_87

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Also playing this game.  We are in Kansas where summers can be really hot (not quite Texas).  Last year we turned it on July first.  We needed it at the end of June, but I was so stubborn about making it to July that we waited.  I am hoping to make it to July again this year.  We are lucky to have a lot of shade and it is almost always windy.

Last year in in KS was pretty awesome though. I think we did July too. Normally we wimp out in the middle of may lol. Our new house has been working pretty good with a whole house fan in the hallway. we kick it on at night once it cools off enough. It does a great job on the bedrooms but not so good on the the living room because there is only one window that opens. We are also both up at 5 A.M. so I fire it up then and then shut it down and shut the windows and blinds before we leave for work.

RootofGood

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Wow, Emg, good job!  We gave up a while ago (also in NC) when the temps climbed into the 80's.  We get zero shade during the day due to no trees (which is awesome in winter and in the fall for leaf-raking purposes). 

gt7152b

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Still holding out in the Piedmont. Convinced my wife we should at least wait until June but I'd like to see how far we can make it past June 1. I found that leaving a few upstairs windows open all day and just 1 bedroom window downstairs open at night keeps things pretty cool. Too much heat collects upstairs during the day to close those windows. We also leave the door to our screened porch open in the morning and evening to let cool air in. Wondering if a whole house fan might be worth installing but we haven't decided how long we'll stay in our current house.

ABC123

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We're in Nashville, and my husband turned the AC on last night.  I tried to get him to wait, but he wouldn't.  This is the longest we have ever waited, so I guess I can't complain too much.  And since most of my acquaintances go straight from heat to AC with no time in between, I can still be happy with how much we have saved!

aj_yooper

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Good challenge!  IL is heating up but no AC yet.  It would be nice to delay well into June.

NV Teacher

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I made it all the way to Memorial Day this year.  Sunday was pretty hot, 102 outside, but Monday was over my limit at 107.  It will be on now until probably the beginning of October.

Zamboni

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NV is like being inside an oven in the summer.  It made me understand how they find people dead within 200 yards of their crippled cars in the desert.

Quote
Just got my latest power bill.  $5.95! :)

This is impressive.

Emg03063

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Having a 5kw solar pv system on the roof helps :p

eyesonthehorizon

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North Texas here and am going to attempt make it well into June. I open the windows at night, run ceiling fans, my thermostat's set to 83-85 and it hasn't triggered once yet, even with pizzas and roasts in the oven - here's hoping...!

SJS

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Today it will be near 108 degrees here in AZ and I WILL be using the AC!!   :-)     Guess this also means I'll need to hit the pool and have a few of those fancy drinks with umbrellas in them! 

Thankfully after a great winter stay,  I'm getting out of Dodge tomorrow before it gets too bad and heading back to more reasonable temps in the NE!   
 Keep cool, friends! 

CheapskateWife

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June 2...is anybody else still holding off on AC?

Hubby and I are feeling like badasses down here in Central TX :)

eiriksmil

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AC.. What's that.
I grew up in Cyprus, Europe.. Summer time it gets to between 90 and 105 mid day.. Lived there from '91 to '94, my cheapskate parents didn't install ceiling fans until the mid Nineties. I'm heading down in three weeks.. 2014, still only ceiling fans. My parents brought me up well.

Skydog

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So far, so good. My goal is to make it through the summer without hauling my window units up from the garage. I finally found a flat panel fan that fits my front window, and blowing in on one side of the room and blowing out the other side produced a nice crossdraft effect. After running it all night, the temperature was down to 70, which felt downright chilly. Currently it's 75 and still quite comfy. We'll see how this plan works for the first major heat wave!

aj_yooper

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We started AC today.  Pretty muggy and we have allergies.

horsepoor

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Haven't turned it on yet, feeling good about making it until mid-month.  Maybe even until we get home from our 4th of July trip.  It hit 90 here today, but having opened several windows and run fans all last night, then closed the shades first thing in the morning, it was 65 when I left for work, and 74 when I got home.  Totally tolerable, and it's supposed to be back down to 80-ish the rest of the week.

Quark

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Haven't turned mine on yet! In Houston TX! I'm waiting until it hits 90. It's currently only 88 haha! And soooooo humid but you can kind of get used to it a little.

It helps that my floor is tile, lots of fans. WHY IS MY POWER BILL STILL $40???? I live in a 1bd apt. no fans and it was $25.

oldtoyota

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Wow, Emg, good job!  We gave up a while ago (also in NC) when the temps climbed into the 80's.  We get zero shade during the day due to no trees (which is awesome in winter and in the fall for leaf-raking purposes).

Get trees! Have shade. Make compost. =-)

oldtoyota

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June 2...is anybody else still holding off on AC?

Hubby and I are feeling like badasses down here in Central TX :)

June 4. No AC here in humid DC yet.

80 degrees is nothing here. It got to high 80s/low 90s and we just waited until evening when it cooled down and then used fans to suck the cooler air inside. A few evenings never cooled down and we soldiered through them.




Mrs. Frugalwoods

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No AC here yet! Though we do live in Boston and it's still pretty temperate, so I'm not really saying much. We've been doing the usual: windows open in the early morning and late evening. Curtains to block hot sun. I love this no heat/no AC time of year. Hoping we can go most of the summer without, though I'm sure we'll cave in late July...but holding strong for now.

Gerard

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We get zero shade during the day due to no trees (which is awesome in winter and in the fall for leaf-raking purposes).
Get trees! Have shade. Make compost. =-)

Yes! This! If you're worried they'll take too long to grow, interplant a few weed trees (in my area, box elder or ailanthus) between the slower growers, and plant some crazy-fast vines (hops, virginia creeper) on the south side of the house, or on a trellis on the south side. In ten years when the real trees have some size, pull or cut out the other stuff if you're tired of it.

caseyzee

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I am super impressed with you Texas folks!

I'm in the DC area and it really hasn't been too bad here.  I thought I would have to turn it on this week, but haven't.  The girls have been swimming in the evening and when we come home the house is 78 or 79.  It's been cool at night, so I have a couple of fans I put in the windows.  We have been lucky that the humidity hasn't been high at all.

I think it helps that I have a brick house, with decent shade and border the woods.

Maybe next week.

Frugal Father

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So far so good up here in Chicago, but we've only gotten up to around 90 outside and we've managed to keep our apartment mostly below 80 (opening windows at night, etc.). I'd like to push it as long as we can, but I have a feeling my wife is going to break at some point (she's 7 months pregnant, so she'll be especially sensitive to the heat).

eyesonthehorizon

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Anybody in the far South still holding out with me? North Texas and still no AC usage although I almost broke the other night. Finally ordered in a fancy dimmable LED bulb for the one lamp I use in the living room (still had an ancient incandescent) and I'm astounded how much that helps...

parsimonious

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I'm super proud of me and my hubby. We live in central florida (okay near the beach - so we do get a nice breeze), and we still haven't turned on the A/C!

I'm getting such a kick telling everyone I know that we are still without A/C just to see the look on their faces.

The biggest change is that my husband sleeps on the couch under the hurricane force ceiling fan. The man generates a ton of heat, very snuggly in the winter...not so great in the summer. He loves the couch and the fan. I work night shift so it's not the end of the world to have separate sleeping arrangements. Plus I get the whole bed to myself (its a twin futon from college...very mustachian)!

I am curious to see how long we last. My concern is that we have two very fluffy cats and I don't want them to overheat. We have terrazzo floor that keeps cool, plus give them plenty of fresh water from the fridge. I might think about giving them a lion cut for the summer.

Also my bananas get ripe very quickly. But that's worth the $150 savings per month.

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That's pretty damn impressive considering how hot and humid the South can be.

horsepoor

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Still no A/C here - it looks like I'll be able to make it until I leave for a trip on 7/2.  We'll get back on 7/6, and I'm totally turning on the A/C and setting the thermostat first thing when we get back.

Mrs. Frugalwoods

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No AC here yet either, hoping the temps stay in the high 70s/low 80s for a few more weeks. Would love to hold out a little longer...

Frugal Father

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My (7.5 months pregnant) wife finally broke this last week. We still try to keep it off most of the time, but she'll occasionally turn it on when she gets too uncomfortable.

eyesonthehorizon

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Still up in North Texas and I'm finally going to have to fold this upcoming Friday, July 11, since I'm having friends over. I haven't given up myself JUST yet, but I suspect my guests won't be so eager to tolerate the 83 degrees that now feels so natural to me whenever I'm not actively exercising or doing vigorous housework.

Still, that's a personal best, right? I credit the fact that it's typically down in the high seventies at night, so I could let the air in. Lows now in the high eighties, so it's likely to be untenable even for me before too much longer.

Upside? I'll feel okay about turning the playstation on again. I'm always afraid my gaming devices are gonna overheat.

Frugal Father

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Still up in North Texas and I'm finally going to have to fold this upcoming Friday, July 11, since I'm having friends over. I haven't given up myself JUST yet, but I suspect my guests won't be so eager to tolerate the 83 degrees that now feels so natural to me whenever I'm not actively exercising or doing vigorous housework.

Still, that's a personal best, right? I credit the fact that it's typically down in the high seventies at night, so I could let the air in. Lows now in the high eighties, so it's likely to be untenable even for me before too much longer.

Upside? I'll feel okay about turning the playstation on again. I'm always afraid my gaming devices are gonna overheat.
This has been our approach too. If we have guests over, we turn the air on. I think we've only done this twice so far (and only for an hour or two each time).

eyesonthehorizon

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This has been our approach too. If we have guests over, we turn the air on. I think we've only done this twice so far (and only for an hour or two each time).

We ran the air for that night while we had seven large and active bodies in a few hundred square feet, and it's been off ever since. This summer has admittedly been unbelievably clement - I remember two years ago it was routinely 105F or above right into September, but I don't think we've gone beyond the upper nineties this year.