3 ms·

The Texas summer is brutal [1]. Last month my average home used between 100 and 120 kwh per day [2]. Luckily we rarely have to heat in the winter - although i

The Texas summer is brutal [1]. Last month my average home used between 100 and 120 kwh per day [2]. Luckily we rarely have to heat in the winter - although it's not uncommon to have the A/C running for Christmas. [1]: http://www.statesman.com/news/local/wipe-that-brow-austin-relief-from-triple-digit-heat-here/MBMmHrq1zktHriJNbGItPL/ http://www.statesman.com/news/local/wipe-that-brow-austin-re... [2]: http://imgur.com/a/45oGu http://imgur.com/a/45oGu

aphextron 9y ago
>Last month my average home used between 100 and 120 kwh per day [2]. That's half of my entire energy usage for a month... Have you considered a swamp cooler?
- _JamesA_ 9y ago
  I've heard they are not effective with our extremely high humidity levels.
- adrianmonk 9y ago
  Swamp coolers work in areas that are hot and dry, like New Mexico or Arizona. They do not work well if it's hot and humid, for two reasons. One is that the water doesn't evaporate as well, so they don't cool well. The other is that the whole point is comfort, and in a humid climate you don't achieve that unless you remove both heat AND humidity, but swamp coolers add humidity. Texas has some desert areas (western part of the state), but most of the population lives in the part of the state that isn't a desert. The good news is with modern construction techniques and equipment, you can cut energy usage WAY down. You can cut energy usage a lot with stuff like a radiant barrier in the attic, attic vents, lots of insulation, double pane windows, a "tight" house with little air leakage, proper angles to keep direct sun from heating up the house at the wrong times, and a high-efficiency AC unit that you service and maintain properly. In fact, a lot of those things are actually more beneficial than getting solar panels.

3 ms·

The Texas summer is brutal [1]. Last month my average home used between 100 and 120 kwh per day [2]. Luckily we rarely have to heat in the winter - although i

by _JamesA_ 9y ago

aphextron 9y ago
>Last month my average home used between 100 and 120 kwh per day [2]. That's half of my entire energy usage for a month... Have you considered a swamp cooler?
- _JamesA_ 9y ago
  I've heard they are not effective with our extremely high humidity levels.
- adrianmonk 9y ago
  Swamp coolers work in areas that are hot and dry, like New Mexico or Arizona. They do not work well if it's hot and humid, for two reasons. One is that the water doesn't evaporate as well, so they don't cool well. The other is that the whole point is comfort, and in a humid climate you don't achieve that unless you remove both heat AND humidity, but swamp coolers add humidity. Texas has some desert areas (western part of the state), but most of the population lives in the part of the state that isn't a desert. The good news is with modern construction techniques and equipment, you can cut energy usage WAY down. You can cut energy usage a lot with stuff like a radiant barrier in the attic, attic vents, lots of insulation, double pane windows, a "tight" house with little air leakage, proper angles to keep direct sun from heating up the house at the wrong times, and a high-efficiency AC unit that you service and maintain properly. In fact, a lot of those things are actually more beneficial than getting solar panels.