Will little use of the HVAC hurt the system?

[rlk]

Our drip line from the AC is on the side of the house we see constantly. I check the line and make sure its dripping everyday. If not, its run to the attic time.

Dan, make sure the condensate line is extended at least 24 inches away from your foundation, otherwise the soil next to the foundation gets saturated. where the condensate line drips is a great breeding ground for termites. They get all the moisture they want right there, then run up the wall to get something to eat, then back to the ground for something to drink, etc.

Not much material is required for extending the condensate line - less than $10 of PVC line.

Bob

 

[dmccarty]

Kenmac,

Thats a good idea. I'll talk to the buiilder and see if we can add one. Maybe with an alarm so I know the problem is the drain and not the HVAC.

I work in the "city" sorta kinda but live in the country 35ish miles away. I noticed when I left work the temp was 91 degrees. Getting home 45 minutes later and it was 85-86. I have noticed this by feel before but this time I checked the thermometer in the truck at work, on the drive home and once I got to the house. As I got away from the "city" you could see the temps drop. Heat island for sure.

Later,
Dan

 

[dmccarty]

Dan, make sure the condensate line is extended at least 24 inches away from your foundation, otherwise the soil next to the foundation gets saturated. where the condensate line drips is a great breeding ground for termites. They get all the moisture they want right there, then run up the wall to get something to eat, then back to the ground for something to drink, etc.
Bob

I think we are ok for termites. The drip line falls on a gravel walkway. We have brick on the wall and to get to the weep holes to access the studs the termites would have to climb at least a 12-18 inches. My understanding is the termites have to build a tunnel to stay out of the sunlight and I would notce it. I look for the tunnels when I kill weeds around the exterior of the house.

Sooooo, I *** THINK *** we are ok. That is scary information...

Later,
Dan

 

[dmccarty]

Well, it got hot yesterday. I broke down and turned the AC on for the first time this year.

It took awhile for the compressor to turn on outside. Not sure if it had to charge up or the idiot messing with the thermostat forgot how to work the gadget.

Anyways, the AC worked and is draining. Hopefully this weekend I'll get up in the attic early in the morning before its hot to pour some bleach.

I really like the windows open. So as soon as it cools off enough outside the AC is turned off and the windows get opened. Last night I heard the Whipporwhils, two owls hooting at each other, as well as the tree frogs. In the morning I wake up to the birds a chattering away and the crows a caa'n. Very nice.

Later,
Dan

 

[Bird]

I broke down and turned the AC on for the first time this year

You're lucky. I don't guess we've turned our A/C off in a month, and sure enough, the electric bill this time is $100 more than last month.

 

[dmccarty]

Bird,

When I designed the house I made sure that every major room had at least one window that was 6 feet tall and 8 feet wide. Now each "window" has two openable windows. They are casements so there are two windows that open for every four feet of window. So the 8 foot window really has four panels that open up. I know that is confusing. But the casements are close very tightly and you can open them up to scoop the wind even if the wind is blowing paralell to the wndow.

We ended up putting in 10' ceilings in the house. This was driven by the window size. The way we placed the windows meant that the top of the windows are 8 feet above the floor. So that meant a 9' or 10' ceiling. And since the top of the windows are at 8' feet we ended up putting in 8' tall doors. I hate small door openings so every door is 36inch wide.

Well I got off on a tangent with the doors but the tall ceiling open the place up and gets back to the old Southern design of having tall ceilings to get the heat up and away from people. I really wanted to put in a belvidere to open up and allow the heat to flow in the windows and then up and out of the house. But we ran out of money.

We did put in a somewhat quiet whole house attic fan that we run to dump heat out of the house. Sometimes the house will heat up when we are not there so we open up the windows and turn on the fan. It just sucks the heat out and will drop the humidity and heat within 20-30 minutes. We just turn it off. And we have good ceiling fans that help a bit as well.

At night once the outside temp gets to 80 or below we open up the house. By morning the house temp is anywhere from 74 to 77 degrees depending on how cool it was during the night. We close up the windows when we leave for work or if home wait until the outside temps start to rise. The house seems to stay about 5-9 degrees cooler than the outside temp. And it takes until 2:00-3:00 before it gets to 80ish when the outside temps start to get above 90. If the temps stay in the 80s it seems like the house stays cool until night fall when we repeat the cycle.

Our electric bill was 85-90 dollars last month. The highest we have seen I think was 135 for AC. Maybe we hit 153 but I think that was a heating bill. We put alot of insulation into the house and it seems well worth it. Our exterior walls are 12 inches thick, 2x6 walls, 1 inch of ridgid insulation, and air gap and then brick. Our floor is finished colored concrete which has lots of mass and helps regulate the temperature. By cool soaking at night it just takes that much longer to heat up. Course if it gets hot it takes that much longer to cool down. Good in winter bad in summer.

We built the house to be comfortable at low cost and for us its working. Its 2425 sf and pretty danged cheap to run. I figure we spend 30ish dollars on hot water generation and another 30ish to wash clothes. The rest is the fridge/freezer, lights, stove, etc.

Later,
Dan

 

[Bird]

That does sound nice, Dan. Actually, during the summer, we rarely open a window. Our house is total electric, only 1295 sq. ft. for the central air to handle, plus a 21' x 25' shop building with a window unit heat and air, but it's not used a lot. I've seen homes with attic fans, but never lived in one. That looks to me like a very good idea. The house we had before I retired was over 2,000 sq. ft. (2170 if I remember right) and this little house is better insulated than the bigger one was, but of course electric rates have gone out of sight now. Last month our electric bill was $179 and this month $270. And now my wife has a Chihuahua that's worse than any kid; just wants in and out all the time, so our back door is constantly opening and closing. I'm sure that doesn't help the electric bill any.

 

[dmccarty]

Bird,

Its a good thing I was sitting down when I read how much your power bill costs!



Yesterday the temps where in the mid to upper 90s. When I went to bed at 10:00 it was still 85 outside. The AC ran all night. When I got up a little while ago, the sun was not up yet, and it was still 77 outside.... Its another hot one today and then the temps are supposed to drop back into the mid to upper 80s.

I missed the birds singing me awake this morning.

Later,
Dan