Author Topic: Reducing Heating and AC Use  (Read 1951 times)

JenniferOnFIRE

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 22
Reducing Heating and AC Use
« on: May 02, 2015, 10:59:38 AM »
What are some of the techniques you use to live comfortably with minimal use of heating and AC?

Here are a few of mine.
  • chose a new-construction townhouse, because I didn't want to deal with a lot of maintenance and upkeep
  • chose an end-unit lot on a curve, oriented to give me a long south-facing wall and a shady east-facing back porch (and a nice grassy view and room for a small garden)
  • added extra windows during construction, to give me more natural light and passive solar heating in winter
  • plan to plant a deciduous tree that will add shade in summer
  • installed programmable thermostats (separate upstairs and downstairs units)
  • blinds open in winter daylight to capture passive solar heat, closed at night to help keep it in
  • blinds closed in summer daylight if no one is home, opened as minimally as needed during the day to provide a light and pleasant environment when home (with the added bonus of rarely needing to burn a light during daylight hours)
  • windows opened during nights or days as optimal to capture cool or warm air (e.g., open at night when cool if hot temperatures are expected the next day)
  • ceiling fans in every room, running year around, with appropriate seasonal directional changes
  • turn off pilot light on gas fireplace in spring
  • home mostly stays naturally above 60 in the winter, allowing me to use my cozy down comforter and wool blanket and to occasionally enjoy my gas fireplace without ridiculously overheating the space
  • installed an "attic tent" over the pull-down stairs to minimize thermal leakage (works well, I highly recommend this simple fix)
  • put on a sweater if I get cold, take it off if I get hot
Things I need to improve:
  • haven't planted that tree yet (fifteen years later)
  • need to declutter and downsize, as my large unit is used more to store excess stuff than for actual living
  • need to figure out the best way to enjoy fresh air and open windows without too bad a case of allergies and yellow pollen covering everything
  • an attic fan would be a nice alternative to a box fan in the window, to quickly pull in outside air when time is limited
My electricity bills average about $100 per month July-October and under $50 the rest of the year.  Gas used for fireplace, HVAC heating, and water heating averages about $45.  Two-stories, 2100 square feet, Deep South.

forummm

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 7374
  • Senior Mustachian
Re: Reducing Heating and AC Use
« Reply #1 on: May 03, 2015, 01:57:22 PM »
In the winter I would do some pushups or lift weights to warm up a little. And when cooking things I would leave the oven door open afterwards to let all that heat I already paid for warm up the house.

In the summer I have the thermostats on a program to run during off peak times only. And at night, when it's super off peak, the temperature is set low to cool down the house for the day.

EmFrugal

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 147
Re: Reducing Heating and AC Use
« Reply #2 on: May 03, 2015, 08:23:38 PM »
You are so fortunate to have two separate thermostat units. We live in a three level townhome with both AC and heating unit on the third floor and it is horrendous. Our first floor is an ice box in the winter (to the point that it is almost inhabitable) and our third floor is suffocatingly hot pretty much year round. One bedroom is also situated right beside our boiler and it is by far the hottest place in our house.

We are about to install ceiling fans in both third floor bedrooms where my girls sleep and I am so hopeful that it will make a big difference in our cooling costs during the summer. I am ready to stop turning my AC to 70 on 85 degree days to keep our third floor habitable. We've been able to go without AC during this glorious 70 degree weather on the East Coast and I saw where our daily electricity usage dipped to 7 kwh a day. If only I didn't have to turn my AC on eventually!

I will have to look into the attic tent you mentioned. That might be contributing to some of our problem. A few energy consultants have recommended to other owners in our community that cracks in the attic should be sealed to stop the vacuum effect (though I'm not 100% certain what this means, or how much it would help).