Summer! What challenges lie ahead for your house?

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By Peggy - May 15th, 2009

Yahoo! Summer is coming. And with it, fresh challenges for energy efficiency. Most of us crave summer... until we crave relief from the heat and yearn for that energy hogging air conditioner. You've been moving toward a more energy efficient house. But what will you do when the still, hot air of summer comes? Are you ready?

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I like to think we are environmentally aware, and we are in a lo

I like to think we are environmentally aware, and we are in a lot ways. Every time we make a change to the house, we insulate where we can, and invest in ways to conserve water. But the truth is, we started to pay much closer attention when oil prices spiked. That's the reality. That's when the breeze blowing under the back door and through the loose-fitting windows started to really get to me. We already keep the heat at 65 (I'd rather wear sweaters than turn it up, and the kids are used to it), but we were losing a lot of heat through those holes.

We bought weatherizing materials and sealed up the gaps, and it made a big difference. I'd have to say that's the biggest efficiency improvement we've made. I know at some point we are going to have to replace the windows, but that's going to be really expensive, and it's not going to happen right now.

The funny thing is, those old windows are part of what I like about this house - I know it's drafty, and I've always kind of liked knowing that there is air moving through the house. I wouldn't want to live in one of the new houses that's all sealed up, and I know that our "natural ventilation" is one reason we have no trouble with mold, despite having had leaks.

What's next? Figuring out a way to keep cool without running the A/C. We can't open the windows in the spring and summer because of allergies and asthma, and the nights don't cool down here much anyway. We have central air in the upstairs, and that trickles to the downstairs pretty well, but it uses up a lot of energy. I'd welcome a way to keep cool that used less electricity and insured good indoor air quality. Ideas?

Posted by Deb on May 15, 2009 12:52pm

The heat of a Pasadena summer is so awful -- it's been getting h

The heat of a Pasadena summer is so awful -- it's been getting hotter and hotter these last few years. Our house faces west, so my kids' upstairs rooms are full sun all afternoon. They are baking at night, even with air conditioning. Sometimes it is 80 - 90 degrees in their rooms. So, this year we have re-vamped our AC so that their rooms are on a separate thermostat, also improved the duct work so that cool air wasn't leaking away in the basement. Then, I got ceiling fans for each bedroom, which apparently helps with the whole house thermostat driven cooling (and heating) process. I also got them blackout curtains. We'll see how it goes. We really need some insulation in our attic, but I haven't tackled that yet.

I can say for sure that when we use our big portable room fans (like a window fan) going the energy cost is higher than when we just run the AC.

Posted by Caroline on May 31, 2009 12:59pm