Forget the chickens, How do I keep my family from cooking in the heat?

[DuckLady]

We put in a heat pump our first summer here. We don't use the AC often maybe 20 to 30 days a year, but with a programmable thermostat and having "bill averaging" throughout the year, it doesn't hurt as bad. we also open the house at night and use fans. Ceiling fans are in the great room and our bedroom.
The heat pump also jacked the value of the house up.

 

[chicks rule]

My mom lives without A/C, but does have an attic fan. She will turn it on and open a window maybe an inch or so, it is unbelievable the breeze that comes through. HTH

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

Good stuff everyone, thanks!

We are currently doing a lot of the things mentioned: Ceiling fans, moving air around at night and closing things up during the day to keep the cool air in and hot air out. The biggest problem is still heat in the attic and really hot nights with 0 wind. We can open windows and turn on fans, but this doesn't do much on the really bad nights.

I'm thinking of definitely adding more attic ventilation for sure. My wife's grandpa has an attic fan that turns on when the temp inside the attic reaches a specific level... pretty cool idea.

CarriBrown, you're one of the only ones who said they put in a swamp cooler. You're in CA like me, what's been your experience with it? Does it work well? Does it cause dampness issues? Which one do you have and how much space does it cool.

Anybody else have evaporative / swamp cooler experience?

 

[DuckLady]

When we lived in Victorville, CA, we had a swamp (evaporative) cooler. It did a great job and added much needed moisture to the dry desert air. If you already have a lot of moisture in your atmosphere, it wouldn't be the best idea. Here in Western Oregon, a swamp cooler (if you could find one) would just turn the house into a mold factory.

(BTW, Are you coming to Chickenstock at CC's Saturday?)

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

We're prett dry out here, especially during the hot parts of the day. I think I'll give the swamp cooler a try, but am a little concerned about how well the small ones will cool the air. The "big" units are pretty expensive.

oh... terrie, we unfortunately can't make it. I posted a reply on the other thread.

 

[cookinmom]

My grandma lived in Denver CO and she used a swamp cooler, as do my aunts out there. It's very dry there, so they like them fine. They don't use A/C either. When my mom visits, she doesn't like the feel of the swamp cooler air, says it feels cold and clammy, but she's used to central air sucking all the moisture out as it cools. Down here, we're spoiled rotten, and run the A/C about 9 months out of the year. Our electricity must be cheaper though, because the highest electric bill we ever had (in a 4 BR house) was $200 something.

 

[MayberrySaint]

Become nudists...

 

[CarriBrown]

Quote:
We actually didn't put one "in". It's portable.
No, it doesn't cause dampness issues, but I will tell you that I've been breathing much better since we started using it. It also purifies the air, I guess?
You know, I'm not exactly sure what brand it is. Our master bedroom is fairly large and it does just fine keeping us cool at night. I'll have to take a look at it to tell you more.

 

[Chelly]

Quote:
Thats what my kids do! Works for them !

 

[Cheri]

You people make me feel so spoiled. I run my ac at 70* but I live in the ac capital of the world. Well at least outside it. HOuston.