Summer 2022

[Deleted]

June was the hottest on record in Houston and July is going to be close. The bad thing is that it's not cooling down at night below 80-83 degrees. Almost all homes have a/c but the bills are high. We keep ours at 78 and it runs nonstop during the day. The humidity is really bad most of the time, except in the afternoon when it's 100 or more. We were outside this morning for 1/2 hour to watch the sewer project and I'm soaked through. Pollen and crime rules out opening windows night or day even in good weather.

[Tennesseer]

Jul 27, 2022 9:40:48 GMT -5 soupandstew said:

June was the hottest on record in Houston and July is going to be close. The bad thing is that it's not cooling down at night below 80-83 degrees. Almost all homes have a/c but the bills are high. We keep ours at 78 and it runs nonstop during the day. The humidity is really bad most of the time, except in the afternoon when it's 100 or more. We were outside this morning for 1/2 hour to watch the sewer project and I'm soaked through. Pollen and crime rules out opening windows night or day even in good weather.

Not that much different here in Memphis and it got old real quick. I cannot wait for Fall.

[Tennesseer]

Jul 26, 2022 18:29:45 GMT -5 @pinkcshmere said:

I never thought I’d say this, because summer has always been my favorite season, but ENOUGH ALREADY! I keep joking that this is NOT the same sun I remember as a child, but the truth is that it’s really not. Although summers here are normally hot and humid, I don’t recall it staying like this for weeks on end, except we did have a record breaking number of days over 100*, back in 1980.

I was a child in 1980, so I don’t remember that summer as remarkable. Probably because I am now a woman of certain age, I do not tolerate heat as well as I use to. Day after day with temperatures in the upper 90’s or around 100*, with high humidity, is miserable. Sometimes I feel like I can barely breathe outside.

Our a/c is struggling to keep up with the high temps. Often, it CAN’T keep up. I’ve stopped using the programmed settings for during the day, because once it gets warm in the house, it can’t cool to a lower temperature, regardless of what the setting is, and doesn’t really start to cool down until after the sun goes down.

And that is in the part of the house that doesn’t have the issues our bedroom does as far as heating and cooling. I could not sleep at all the last 2 nights because I was so hot, even with the ceiling fan on. Thank God I didn’t have to go to work yesterday or today. Mister has been saying he is going to put more insulation in the attic, hasn’t done it yet. 

The way things are going,I’m considering buying a window unit for our bedroom. I have enough issues with sleeping at night, that I don’t need to add being way too hot to the issues.

I’ve read that people in the UK are dying from the extreme heat, so this brutal, extreme summer isn’t just happening where I live, and is not a figment of my imagination. Nor is it that it just feels different to me because of my age and hormones. It is actually fact that this is an unusually hot summer in some places.

Our light, gas and water bill for last month was much higher than any bill I’ve ever seen for those services. Almost $500

What has this summer been like so far where you live?

We know here in Memphis we have had 18 days in June and July which were 100 degrees or higher. But I was wondering how many days in June and July did the heat index exceed 99 degrees.

This morning, I contacted the meteorologist at our local ABC station and asked him if he knew how many days in June and July as of yesterday the heat index exceeded 100 degrees. He replied they don't really track that information. But he did say based upon the actual temps here in the upper 90s this June and July that 41 of the past 56 days the heat index exceeded 99 degrees.

As the heat index today is supposed be be above 100 degrees, that would make 42 out of the past 57 days the heat index exceeded 100 degrees.

And while we have a cool down this weekend to the 80s, it is short lived and the daily temps will be back to the upper 90s along with more 100 degree plus heat index days. And our average hottest month, August, begins next week. Can't wait. NOT!

[Cookies Galore]

I'm sorry, everyone. In early July I was talking with friends about how this summer hasn't been that bad. We've had a few days of 90+ in May, which sucked, but June was pretty decent, and early July wasn't so bad, either. Some days of 90+ here and there since summer officially began, nothing terrible, then I opened my dumb mouth and we had eight straight days of 90+ temps with extreme humidity and dew points, and no damn rain.

Even Monday, we were supposed to get a thunderstorm roll through, nothing. I'm watching the evening news and I see a reporter in a drenching downpour in Philly, and all I get is a little sprinkle. I'm 12 miles away! I want that rain! My grass is fried and my tomatoes will not turn red because it's been too damn hot and the nighttime lows were still too high. I saw on the news yesterday that July had 18 days of above normal weather so far. Yesterday was only 82 so I went to town on some weeds in my backyard since it was safe to go out there and not melt.
We got a new furnace and AC unit in 2017 and I've been having them serviced each year and our house is brick so it retains the cool temps, thankfully. We have a ceiling fan in the dining room, which also helps keep the temp down, since I don't turn on the AC during the day (I have it programmed to kick on at 3 pm). AC is 78 during waking hours, 75 for sleep.
I use also use an oscillating fan at night, husband sleeps under a ceiling fan (team separate beds during the work week). We do keep an emergency window unit, which I am glad to have. Get the window unit.

[teen persuasion]

Jul 27, 2022 9:14:16 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Is it safe to assume new housing in the northern states comes with central air? 

IDK.  I don't know anyone who has a new house.

Probably, in new built houses, just based on my impression of the people who'd build a new house (looks are most important feature, must include all the currently trendy bells and whistles for future value, because I'm likely to move again in 3 years and abandon this one), and the materials used in new builds (they feel like they are flimsy - one step above cardboard with a plastic skin). 


I find old houses are seriously overbuilt compared to new ones so they are sturdy, have thick walls and thus thermal mass to stay relatively cool.  And oldtimers sited buildings to catch breezes - suburbs site homes based on fitting streets in a spot. Our 1840s farmhouse is cooler than my parents' 1960s colonial, even when the weatherman says my northern town is hotter than their southtown (yeah, this region has weird microclimates - northtowns are usually higher temp than the southern tier.)

[TheOtherMe]

All of the houses built in my area have central air when they are built.

DN3 has one of the oldest houses in town.  It was built in 1860, before Iowa was a state.  It's built in to the bluff overlooking the Mississippi, so the two lower floors stay very comfortable.  It also has a summer kitchen kitchen that is no longer set up for cooking.  It does get a nice breeze.

His house is stucco so retains the cool air.  Houses have been built around his over the years so he doesn't get the breezes the house got in the olden days.  They have a window air conditioner in the bedroom.  

It's 3 stores but the upper story is the attic.  Someone made two bedrooms and a bathroom with only a toilet on that level.  The steps are ridiculously steep and narrow.  

The other two floors do stay cool.  His bedroom is on the middle level.  He also gets a lot of street noise.

[busymom]

Jul 27, 2022 9:14:16 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Is it safe to assume new housing in the northern states comes with central air? 

    The houses in our community ARE built with AC.  However, it's been with a sense of pride, for years, that a number of relatives who live one state below us live without air conditioning.  Although, as they've gotten older, they've added AC, as they just don't tolerate the heat like they used to.  

[saveinla]

Compared to everywhere else in the country, we have had better weather this year, although August is coming and thats when we will see the high heat. But its not humid and thats what makes it bearable.

[nidena]

Jul 27, 2022 8:56:55 GMT -5 jerseygirl said:

Grew up without air conditioning. When we moved, were looking at houses and remember parents wanting houses with bedrooms with ‘cross ventilation, windows on at least two walls.
First house we owned had an in wall air conditioner but used it infrequently. Moved to this house and it had a huge almost B 52 sized fan in the hallway. Used for drawing out the house air and pulling in outside air . But by the lake the outside air was cooler but still very humid. Had one in childhood and it worked well but with occasional mosquitoes. We do live in NJ home of the giant mosquitoes.
Well living on a lake means more humidity so had central air put in when we added a second floor. Least week was like living in a hot swamp outside but nice inside without humidity. We keep temp indoor around 75 . I LOVE central air conditioning!

My aunt in CA--land of NO humidity--has one of those whole-house fans.  They're awesome!

[Artemis Windsong]

I have heard of no new homes in my area without air conditioning.

I know of a few built in the early 80s that didn't have air conditioning.  The cooling unit could be added if the house had duct work with a furnace.

Air conditioning actually refers to both heat and cool.

[Deleted]

Jul 27, 2022 7:35:56 GMT -5 resolution said:

Jul 26, 2022 19:40:14 GMT -5 @pinkcshmere said:

Still, I think the proper route to go would be to FIRST figure out what happened before last winter to cause part of the house to not heat or cool like it had been before. But what do I know? I didn’t go to school for HVAC, or really anything that matters, so I’m just some person with uneducated opinions.

Any chance you can get an HVAC company to come out for an A/C tune up? They advertise that kind of service pretty heavily around here and I don't remember the prices being terrible. 

I can, but that would be a last resort because it would be something like and insult to Mister, since that’s what he went to school for and does as a side gig. I guess it’s like the cobbler’s children having no shoes. If this was a customer’s house, he would’ve never left them hanging like this. It would’ve drove him crazy until he figured it out.

Thats why I said when I talked about this before, that I was going to call him like I was a customer and tell him what’s going on and ask him when he can fix it for me.

FWIW, he cleaned the system in spring. 

[Deleted]

Jul 27, 2022 10:49:17 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Jul 26, 2022 18:29:45 GMT -5 @pinkcshmere said:

I never thought I’d say this, because summer has always been my favorite season, but ENOUGH ALREADY! I keep joking that this is NOT the same sun I remember as a child, but the truth is that it’s really not. Although summers here are normally hot and humid, I don’t recall it staying like this for weeks on end, except we did have a record breaking number of days over 100*, back in 1980.

I was a child in 1980, so I don’t remember that summer as remarkable. Probably because I am now a woman of certain age, I do not tolerate heat as well as I use to. Day after day with temperatures in the upper 90’s or around 100*, with high humidity, is miserable. Sometimes I feel like I can barely breathe outside.

Our a/c is struggling to keep up with the high temps. Often, it CAN’T keep up. I’ve stopped using the programmed settings for during the day, because once it gets warm in the house, it can’t cool to a lower temperature, regardless of what the setting is, and doesn’t really start to cool down until after the sun goes down.

And that is in the part of the house that doesn’t have the issues our bedroom does as far as heating and cooling. I could not sleep at all the last 2 nights because I was so hot, even with the ceiling fan on. Thank God I didn’t have to go to work yesterday or today. Mister has been saying he is going to put more insulation in the attic, hasn’t done it yet. 

The way things are going,I’m considering buying a window unit for our bedroom. I have enough issues with sleeping at night, that I don’t need to add being way too hot to the issues.

I’ve read that people in the UK are dying from the extreme heat, so this brutal, extreme summer isn’t just happening where I live, and is not a figment of my imagination. Nor is it that it just feels different to me because of my age and hormones. It is actually fact that this is an unusually hot summer in some places.

Our light, gas and water bill for last month was much higher than any bill I’ve ever seen for those services. Almost $500

What has this summer been like so far where you live?

We know here in Memphis we have had 18 days in June and July which were 100 degrees or higher. But I was wondering how many days in June and July did the heat index exceed 99 degrees.

This morning, I contacted the meteorologist at our local ABC station and asked him if he knew how many days in June and July as of yesterday the heat index exceeded 100 degrees. He replied they don't really track that information. But he did say based upon the actual temps here in the upper 90s this June and July that 41 of the past 56 days the heat index exceeded 99 degrees.

As the heat index today is supposed be be above 100 degrees, that would make 42 out of the past 57 days the heat index exceeded 100 degrees.

And while we have a cool down this weekend to the 80s, it is short lived and the daily temps will be back to the upper 90s along with more 100 degree plus heat index days. And our average hottest month, August, begins next week. Can't wait. NOT!

Wait, I thought July was the hottest month. Lawd ha’mercy!

I have literally never been this miserable in the summer. Well, except for when I was big and pregnant one summer, baby was due in September. That was miserable too.

I love summer, but this is too much, even for me.

[Deleted]

Jul 27, 2022 11:15:56 GMT -5 Cookies Galore said:

I'm sorry, everyone. In early July I was talking with friends about how this summer hasn't been that bad. We've had a few days of 90+ in May, which sucked, but June was pretty decent, and early July wasn't so bad, either. Some days of 90+ here and there since summer officially began, nothing terrible, then I opened my dumb mouth and we had eight straight days of 90+ temps with extreme humidity and dew points, and no damn rain.

Even Monday, we were supposed to get a thunderstorm roll through, nothing. I'm watching the evening news and I see a reporter in a drenching downpour in Philly, and all I get is a little sprinkle. I'm 12 miles away! I want that rain! My grass is fried and my tomatoes will not turn red because it's been too damn hot and the nighttime lows were still too high. I saw on the news yesterday that July had 18 days of above normal weather so far. Yesterday was only 82 so I went to town on some weeds in my backyard since it was safe to go out there and not melt.
We got a new furnace and AC unit in 2017 and I've been having them serviced each year and our house is brick so it retains the cool temps, thankfully. We have a ceiling fan in the dining room, which also helps keep the temp down, since I don't turn on the AC during the day (I have it programmed to kick on at 3 pm). AC is 78 during waking hours, 75 for sleep.
I use also use an oscillating fan at night, husband sleeps under a ceiling fan (team separate beds during the work week). We do keep an emergency window unit, which I am glad to have. Get the window unit.

That’s how it was at my house before I moved. It was brick and did pretty good with holding temperature.

This house is all brick too, but there are drafts around every window and door. The other house has double pane windows, this one has single pane. I don’t know how much of a difference that makes, if any.

My only hang up with a window unit is that it seems to me to be an easy way to break into a house. Our house is one floor.

[teen persuasion]

Jul 27, 2022 18:54:17 GMT -5 Artemis Windsong said:

I have heard of no new homes in my area without air conditioning.

I know of a few built in the early 80s that didn't have air conditioning.  The cooling unit could be added if the house had duct work with a furnace.

Air conditioning actually refers to both heat and cool.

Good point about needing a furnace and ductwork - we have  a baseboard hot water system, and so do my parents.

[Deleted]

Jul 27, 2022 11:33:41 GMT -5 teen persuasion said:

Jul 27, 2022 9:14:16 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Is it safe to assume new housing in the northern states comes with central air? 

IDK.  I don't know anyone who has a new house.

Probably, in new built houses, just based on my impression of the people who'd build a new house (looks are most important feature, must include all the currently trendy bells and whistles for future value, because I'm likely to move again in 3 years and abandon this one), and the materials used in new builds (they feel like they are flimsy - one step above cardboard with a plastic skin). 


I find old houses are seriously overbuilt compared to new ones so they are sturdy, have thick walls and thus thermal mass to stay relatively cool.  And oldtimers sited buildings to catch breezes - suburbs site homes based on fitting streets in a spot. Our 1840s farmhouse is cooler than my parents' 1960s colonial, even when the weatherman says my northern town is hotter than their southtown (yeah, this region has weird microclimates - northtowns are usually higher temp than the southern tier.)

Our house seems to have been somewhat overbuilt as you describe it. Mister is intrigued by our attic because it is reinforced more than any attic he’s ever been in, and he’s been in a lot of attics working on HVAC systems. It was definitely built with attention to detail.

It was the first house built in my cove (the only other house in the cove was built over 10 years later) and it was built back when a lot (most?!) of the neighborhood was probably still woods. As I’ve said before, this is the land of hot, humid summers. Mister thinks our house had central heat when it was built, but maybe not central air. For sure, it is situated to minimize the effects of the summer sun. Pocket doors can close off the laundry room and kitchen from the rest of the house.

I’m sure if we address the drafts around the windows and doors, it will help at least some. And I understand I’m probably preaching to the choir here.

[NastyWoman]

Jul 27, 2022 17:39:23 GMT -5 saveinla said:

Compared to everywhere else in the country, we have had better weather this year, although August is coming and thats when we will see the high heat. But its not humid and thats what makes it bearable.

 we actually currently have perfect weather IMO with te.ps in the low 80s and low 60s in the land of low humidity. For the rare August days that it is too hot for me I have a portable A/C which I need, maybe, three days per year on average. Added bonus: my utility bills are on average between $30 and $35/ months depending on the number of hot and/or cold days each year. Not everything is extremely expensive here, only most of it  

[Tennesseer]

Jul 27, 2022 19:23:34 GMT -5 @pinkcshmere said:

Jul 27, 2022 10:49:17 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

We know here in Memphis we have had 18 days in June and July which were 100 degrees or higher. But I was wondering how many days in June and July did the heat index exceed 99 degrees.

This morning, I contacted the meteorologist at our local ABC station and asked him if he knew how many days in June and July as of yesterday the heat index exceeded 100 degrees. He replied they don't really track that information. But he did say based upon the actual temps here in the upper 90s this June and July that 41 of the past 56 days the heat index exceeded 99 degrees.

As the heat index today is supposed be be above 100 degrees, that would make 42 out of the past 57 days the heat index exceeded 100 degrees.

And while we have a cool down this weekend to the 80s, it is short lived and the daily temps will be back to the upper 90s along with more 100 degree plus heat index days. And our average hottest month, August, begins next week. Can't wait. NOT!

Wait, I thought July was the hottest month. Lawd ha’mercy!

I have literally never been this miserable in the summer. Well, except for when I was big and pregnant one summer, baby was due in September. That was miserable too.

I love summer, but this is too much, even for me.

How hot does it get in Memphis?
Days of Hot Weather in Memphis

Temperatures in the 90s Fahrenheit are common during summer at Memphis. But only three days a year on average reach 100 degrees (38 °C) or higher. The 100-degree days show up most often in August.

Memphis Temperatures: Averages by Month

[CCL]

Jul 27, 2022 19:30:37 GMT -5 @pinkcshmere said:

Jul 27, 2022 11:15:56 GMT -5 Cookies Galore said:

I'm sorry, everyone. In early July I was talking with friends about how this summer hasn't been that bad. We've had a few days of 90+ in May, which sucked, but June was pretty decent, and early July wasn't so bad, either. Some days of 90+ here and there since summer officially began, nothing terrible, then I opened my dumb mouth and we had eight straight days of 90+ temps with extreme humidity and dew points, and no damn rain.

Even Monday, we were supposed to get a thunderstorm roll through, nothing. I'm watching the evening news and I see a reporter in a drenching downpour in Philly, and all I get is a little sprinkle. I'm 12 miles away! I want that rain! My grass is fried and my tomatoes will not turn red because it's been too damn hot and the nighttime lows were still too high. I saw on the news yesterday that July had 18 days of above normal weather so far. Yesterday was only 82 so I went to town on some weeds in my backyard since it was safe to go out there and not melt.
We got a new furnace and AC unit in 2017 and I've been having them serviced each year and our house is brick so it retains the cool temps, thankfully. We have a ceiling fan in the dining room, which also helps keep the temp down, since I don't turn on the AC during the day (I have it programmed to kick on at 3 pm). AC is 78 during waking hours, 75 for sleep.
I use also use an oscillating fan at night, husband sleeps under a ceiling fan (team separate beds during the work week). We do keep an emergency window unit, which I am glad to have. Get the window unit.

That’s how it was at my house before I moved. It was brick and did pretty good with holding temperature.

This house is all brick too, but there are drafts around every window and door. The other house has double pane windows, this one has single pane. I don’t know how much of a difference that makes, if any.

My only hang up with a window unit is that it seems to me to be an easy way to break into a house. Our house is one floor.

In my experience, double-pane windows do make a difference in heating and cooling a house. They also help with minimizing outside noise. I would not go back to living in a house with single-pane windows.

Some of your drafts might be coming from around the windows, though, not thru the actual windows. There could also be drafts coming from around light fixtures, outlets and baseboards. You may already know all that. I went around my other house and sealed up everything I could think of and it did make a big difference. It was most noticeable in the walk-in closets. There was a lot of cold air coming in around the light fixtures and there were no heat/air ducts. They were always cold in winter. Once I sealed around the lights, the closets were warm.

On the window units, when I lived in the city, I also would have been afraid of break-ins and have seen it happen. The window opening could probably be reinforced with some sort of metal or wood framing to prevent that. Living where we do now, I'm not afraid of break-ins.

[bookkeeper]

The portable A/C units sit on the floor and vent out the window.  It would be easy to remove the vents and lock the window while away for the work day.  Come home, reinsert the vent hoses and rest easy!

I saw some in Walmart a few days ago for around $350.  We don't use ours very often, but it becomes priceless when all other A/C is unavailable.

I know several people with the mini-split systems that are installed through the wall.  They work really well for houses without forced air ductwork.  A friend of mine had her hot water circulating heat (radiators) freeze up one winter.  The insurance company covered the loss and suggested the mini split systems on the second floor since it was much cheaper than new water lines and radiators.  As a bonus the air conditioning was free!

[CCL]

I've seen the portable air conditioners around here for as low as $200. I think Costco had them for $250.

[stillmovingforward]

I cut bracing rods to fit in my window up/down tracks to lock the windows from opening when the ac is installed. Since the ac unit support is screwed to the window track, I don't think anything is coming out 😊

[Ryan]

June was hot here, July was very nice.  Overall doesn't seem much different from prior years.  I live in a ranch home with lots of mature trees and my house feels very comfortable with the thermostat set at 74.  In my old house, it was an undersized AZ unit, no trees, and a 2-story.  The A/C unit could never keep up, wasn't uncommon to have it be set at 72 and have the thermostat reading 77 during the middle of the day.

The midwest is generally viewed as a pretty boring place to live, but I gotta say that it feels pretty appealing when you see more extreme swings of weather hitting other areas, particularly if they aren't prepared for it (Texas Ice storms).  

[countrygirl2]

It's hot here and humid, last night humidity was 93% today 75% and it's 85 out. You sweat outside just standing still. Indiana is really humid.

No issues in the house 76 in here is fine, keeps it at 75. If we feel too warm turn on the 2 ceiling fans in the living room.

Our house was bullt in 2003, has spray in foam insulation. Everything is sealed. We have dual pane windows but not crazy about this brand, others are better. We have to lock the doors to seal them well, that is the back and front. No issue with the door into the garage.

Our house has the geo thermal heat pump, efficient and works well. But I asked the HVAC guy what a new one costs. He said about $30k, ouch. Ours is now 19 years old and still running fine. 

We did spend $100 for water last month because of the pool I filled. Normally it's less than $50, no sewer bill as we have septic.  Light bill month before was $17 and this month $26 but lot of money invested in the solar, so I look at that as prepaying bills for years forward. So all bills this money will be less then $70. We just have 2 big 100 pound tanks of propane for my kitchen stove and fill both tanks once a year. The water heater also has heat assist from the geo thermal system so helps heat the water some by excess heat cast off.

The electric company did a survey for us to see if we could improve anything. He said there was nothing, was as efficient as you could get.

I would caulk around all the window frames inside and out. I did that at everyother house we ever had, it sure made the house warmer. Same with the door frames, then you can tack sealing strips around the doors that will really help. But best thing you can do for exterior doors is have new steel doors and frames installed, they seal very well.  I even put those pieces of foam in behind the electric covers, you would be surprised the drafts that stopped.

[plugginaway22]

We lived in Houston in the late 60s which was my first experience with central air conditioning and I have never gone back. We moved back to the mid-Atlantic area in 1971 and all my family in the DC areas had at least window unit ACs. I cannot stand to be sweating in my own home! 

Our current home was built in 1948 with no AC and heated with hot water radiators. The previous owners installed central AC in the early 1990s by running ducts through the attic, closets and ceilings of the 2 story house. Those ducts take up minimal space in closets. We finally replaced the original system just a few years ago and it is so much more efficient with added bonus of reduced electric bills.

Would be hard to sell a home around here without AC.

[happyhoix]

Jul 26, 2022 18:39:45 GMT -5 debthaven said:

I'm near Paris and we had our SECOND heat wave last week (maybe the week before?) with temps of over 105°F. The first one was in June. Both only lasted 3 days. 

My son who lives in central Paris came home to escape it (to have access to the garden and a nearby friend's pool). My kids in London had a hard time too. Plus, they closed the schools in London a week early because of it, so my DIL had to take 3 days off work.  

We were on vacation, so we didn't have to suffer through it. (Ironically, we were in Iceland LOL.)

We do not have AC here. (I mean people don't have it at home, because these episodes USED TO be so rare.)

One of my best friends is an elder-care nurse who used to work in an Alzheimer home. There was an epic heat wave here in Aug 2003. All the old-age homes here have fridges for when residents pass. She told me that that year, the poor people were piled three-people high while waiting to be taken to funeral homes, which were all completely overwhelmed. 

I lived in Luxembourg back in the 70’s - early 80’s. We didn’t have AC (no one did) and I only recall a few hot sunny days - and the temp was always comfortable overnight. We had more cool and misty/rainy days during the summer. Only ran into hot weather for multiple days around the Mediterranean. Went back to France 3 years ago, to Ambrose, and roasted the whole time. We looked for a hotel with AC and only the really expensive one has it. I don’t think technically it was a heat wave but it was way hotter than I remembered - poor DH didn’t pack shorts because I promised him moderate weather. Granted Amboise is south of Lux but not THAT much south.

[jerseygirl]

Went to Holland on business sometimes in the summer
It was so freaking hot without air conditioning, Some colleagues slept in their air conditioned car
One night I was in small town and could not sleep because it was so hot. I leaned out the opened window bare nekkid, helped a little

Glad to get back to air conditioned home and stores and LOTS of ice in big sodas

[Tiny]

Jul 27, 2022 9:14:16 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Is it safe to assume new housing in the northern states comes with central air? 

I would think so... 

In my densely populated area (think a couple million houses (probably more) in the burbs)  I'm pretty sure most if not all of the houses since the 1970's  have forced air heat  (which means they are easy to add Central Air).     I think steam heat - radiators and/or baseboard heat went out of style for Single Family Homes in the late 60's.    I have seen apartment buildings (built in the 60's and 70's) with baseboard heat -  as I'm sure it was the best/easiest way to get heat to all the units.        

I know forced air furnaces were available even back in the 1920's   (the family home had a giant "octopus" furnace (with asbestos wrapped ducts... ) in the basement.   I vaguely remember it as a child.  I think it got replaced in the early 70's.   We never added central air to it.   used window units for the couple of weeks during the summer when the heat/humidity was unbearable. 

My 75 year old house was built with forced air heat and had central air added at some point - I'm guessing in the 70's, but more likely in the early 80's.   It's not that difficult to add "central Air" to a forced air heating system - the ducts are all in place.    

I know of several 100 year old plus houses that still have their steam heat radiators and were retrofitted with central AC by adding ducts in walls and ceilings - that's a VERY expenses thing to do.   

For the apartment buildings - a hole was put in the wall and "large AC units" were added to provide cooling in the summer.   It's not a very good solution.  

Mini Splits (or ductless AC/heat units) are the thing now...  I wouldn't be surprised if when one of the local apartment buildings get rehabbed -  I'm guessing they not only get a solar hot water system (to help the boiler system that provides hot water and heat to all the units) but they get mini splits in the units for cooling... 

[Deleted]

Jul 27, 2022 23:38:58 GMT -5 CCL said:

Jul 27, 2022 19:30:37 GMT -5 @pinkcshmere said:

That’s how it was at my house before I moved. It was brick and did pretty good with holding temperature.

This house is all brick too, but there are drafts around every window and door. The other house has double pane windows, this one has single pane. I don’t know how much of a difference that makes, if any.

My only hang up with a window unit is that it seems to me to be an easy way to break into a house. Our house is one floor.

In my experience, double-pane windows do make a difference in heating and cooling a house. They also help with minimizing outside noise. I would not go back to living in a house with single-pane windows.

Some of your drafts might be coming from around the windows, though, not thru the actual windows. There could also be drafts coming from around light fixtures, outlets and baseboards. You may already know all that. I went around my other house and sealed up everything I could think of and it did make a big difference. It was most noticeable in the walk-in closets. There was a lot of cold air coming in around the light fixtures and there were no heat/air ducts. They were always cold in winter. Once I sealed around the lights, the closets were warm.

On the window units, when I lived in the city, I also would have been afraid of break-ins and have seen it happen. The window opening could probably be reinforced with some sort of metal or wood framing to prevent that. Living where we do now, I'm not afraid of break-ins.

I thought it made a difference, but I didn’t want to say for sure and somebody explain why I’m wrong lol. Like you, I believe double pane windows at the other house helped with noise reduction also.

I’ve mentioned to Mister a few times that there are things we can do to minimize the drafts. You are correct, they are around the windows. We know this for sure because we went through most of the house one cold night the first winter we were here, and you could literally feel the cold air coming in in many places without having to do any further investigating. I understand that it’s wasted money on our energy bills, and that bugs me a lot. I don’t really want to figure out how to address the drafts and do it by myself. I don’t mind helping though. By the time I get to the point where I say screw it, I’ll just do it myself, Imma be upset with Mister lol.

It’s been more difficult to get him to do some things these last several months, because there are no days when we are both of work. It was easier when we were both off work 1 day/week, to get him to go on and do stuff, by telling him what WE were gonna do that day IRT to the house. Now my “honey do’s” sometimes get lost in neverland because I’m not at home looking in his face on his days off work.

I’m tempted to tell him that until we get something done so we don’t keep wasting unnecessary money every month on our energy bills, I’m going to just let him pay them. But I doubt that will motivate him because he really doesn’t care whether I’m the one that pays the bill in the first place.

It seems silly to look into portable a/c’s instead of doing what really needs to be done first, but something has to give. I have enough sleep issues without being hot every night making it even worse. I get hot even when our bedroom is 66 or 68 degrees at night in winter, and since it’s still been hot even at night for much of this summer, our bedroom doesn’t get anywhere close to that at night. At my other house, it was always clear when it was time for me to go to bed, because the house would start getting cold, even in the summer lol (programmable thermostat).

Thanks for the advice.

[movingforward]

My state is always hot in the summer but this year has been "extra." We are breaking record number of days over 100 degrees and there is no end in sight. We have had zero rain in my city for the month of July. In looking at the extended forecast there is no rain coming and continuous triple digit heat.

My home is relatively new though so the AC pumps out some cold air!

[wvugurl26]

@pinkcshmere is it possible that you've got a damper that got turned the wrong way? Just a random thought since you said it was okay at first.

Summer weather definitely took a long time to get here. I didn't think it was ever coming. Usually it is not that cold in May and even early June.