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Post by dennym57 on Aug 8, 2024 15:12:04 GMT
In all the years my house (1900) around, we didn't have central air. Before it was how the house was wired (tube and nob). After I had the house brought up to code, we have window units, but it gets costly. Our current furnace can run air so we finally pulled the trigger and got central air installed. Attachments:
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Post by JDaddy on Aug 8, 2024 15:26:07 GMT
yep, used to be only the rich could afford central air when I grew up as a kid... now cost is somewhat reasonable. Glad you now can enjoy the cool air Denny. BTW don't forget to get a dehumidifier for the basement train room...
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Post by superwarp1 on Aug 8, 2024 15:30:45 GMT
Love my AC but I don't love the 600 electric bill for last month.  Even with Central AC I still have to run a dehumidifier in the basement. |
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Post by runamuckchuck on Aug 8, 2024 15:31:28 GMT
What you didn't get a Trane?!
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Post by JDaddy on Aug 8, 2024 15:46:01 GMT
Love my AC but I don't love the 600 electric bill for last month. Even with Central AC I still have to run a dehumidifier in the basement. When the Mrs. and folk get to play with the thermostat the bills really stack up. My Dad installed a hidden thermostat in the front hall closet and never told anyone. My Mom would always complain about how hot or cold it was in the house and would be adjusting it all day... She found out many years down the road where the real one was, never did see the look on her face but I bet my Dad was in serious trouble...
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Post by steveoncattailcreek on Aug 8, 2024 16:08:51 GMT
Love my AC but I don't love the 600 electric bill for last month. Two word: solar panels. We didn't break $200 any summer month (and mostly closer to $100), even with charging an EV as well (though to be fair, fairly low miles on average).
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Post by superwarp1 on Aug 8, 2024 16:30:40 GMT
Love my AC but I don't love the 600 electric bill for last month. Two word: solar panels. We didn't break $200 any summer month (and mostly closer to $100), even with charging an EV as well (though to be fair, fairly low miles on average). Not a option for my house or where I live. sadly
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Post by Traindiesel! on Aug 8, 2024 17:16:41 GMT
Our home has dual zone hvac, a separate unit for each end of the house. Those along with the pool pump running ten hours a day gave us a monthly $900 electric bill our first month living here. That was never going to be sustainable so we immediately invested in solar panels. With the abundant sunshine we are now under $50 during summer and in cooler weather we get negative charges. Even with the panel investment our total cost is a fraction of that first month.
But, in the middle of all this the glorious California rolling blackouts destroyed one of our hvac units from the resulting power surge during a 115 degree heat wave. The new unit put a crimp in the savings we were seeing but it’s much more efficient and has lowered our monthly electric bill.
However, The Democratic People’s Republic of California is cooking up new ways to charge more for electricity. At first they wanted to charge homeowners based on their income on top of their regular monthly electric bill. That got beat down but they still implemented a flat $25-$30 monthly charge in addition to our monthly charge. And with the push for electric vehicles the state realized they would be losing tax revenue from gasoline. So they tried to pass a law to charge every vehicle’X’ amount for every mile we drive in the state of California. That got beat down a couple times already but they are still trying to pass it. This state never saw a tax they didn’t like! Always looking to put their hands in our pocket.
Congrats on your upgrade, Denny! Enjoy it!
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Post by superwarp1 on Aug 8, 2024 17:59:46 GMT
Our home has dual zone hvac, a separate unit for each end of the house. Those along with the pool pump running ten hours a day gave us a monthly $900 electric bill our first month living here. That was never going to be sustainable so we immediately invested in solar panels. With the abundant sunshine we are now under $50 during summer and in cooler weather we get negative charges. Even with the panel investment our total cost is a fraction of that first month. But, in the middle of all this the glorious California rolling blackouts destroyed one of our hvac units from the resulting power surge during a 115 degree heat wave. The new unit put a crimp in the savings we were seeing but it’s much more efficient and has lowered our monthly electric bill. However, The Democratic People’s Republic of California is cooking up new ways to charge more for electricity. At first they wanted to charge homeowners based on their income on top of their regular monthly electric bill. That got beat down but they still implemented a flat $25-$30 monthly charge in addition to our monthly charge. And with the push for electric vehicles the state realized they would be losing tax revenue from gasoline. So they tried to pass a law to charge every vehicle’X’ amount for every mile we drive in the state of California. That got beat down a couple times already but they are still trying to pass it. This state never saw a tax they didn’t like! Always looking to put their hands in our pocket. Congrats on your upgrade, Denny! Enjoy it! So sorry to hijack the thread but you hit the nail on the head Traindiesel. Drive up the price of electricity and force people to go solar, whether for not solar is actually environmentally friendly or not (which is a debate not for a train forum).
Denny, did you have to upgrade the electrical service? I have to replace my panel due to it being a builders special and I want to upgrade for a backup generator. I already have 200 amp service but the new panel is going to cost me 2800 bucks
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Post by dennym57 on Aug 8, 2024 23:21:41 GMT
yep, used to be only the rich could afford central air when I grew up as a kid... now cost is somewhat reasonable. Glad you now can enjoy the cool air Denny. BTW don't forget to get a dehumidifier for the basement train room... I've had a dehumidifier in the basement for years.
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Post by steveoncattailcreek on Aug 8, 2024 23:39:30 GMT
Glad you now can enjoy the cool air Denny. BTW don't forget to get a dehumidifier for the basement train room... I've had a dehumidifier in the basement for years. Well, central A/C is itself inherently a dehumidifier, reducing moisture in the interior air along with the temperature, but especially if you are in an at least partially underground space, a dehumidifier is IMHO a good idea. I set up one (built to be integrated with a whole-house air handler but in our case running freestanding) and leave it set to 55% humidity. The water it removes is dumped directly into the sump pump draining other water control measures we've had installed in the basement to counter the high local water table. We also have a whole-house natural gas-powered backup generator, in case we lose power. None of that was cheap, but well worth it IMHO in peace of mind alone!
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Post by atsda on Aug 9, 2024 0:24:43 GMT
Post by dennym57 on 9 hours ago
In all the years my house (1900) around, we didn't have central air. Before it was how the house was wired (tube and nob). After I had the house brought up to code, we have window units, but it gets costly. Our current furnace can run air so we finally pulled the trigger and got central air installed.
Denny, I am happy for you. Enjoy running the trains in the coolness.
Early last month, we sold our old house (built sometime before 1893). We were in it for 30-years without AC. In the past, I have commented on how I ran my trains on the attic layout at 90 degrees in the summer.
We moved into our new (1963) home in January. I too am a happpy camper - a second floor train room - and whole house AC. (and the summer energy bills are surprisingly low.) Alfred
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Post by heavyduty on Aug 9, 2024 14:36:34 GMT
Our power provider offers a fixed monthly rate after the first year of hookup..... so does the gas company.
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Even with Central AC I still have to run a dehumidifier in the basement.
