3 ms·

I know that I walked into my sons high school during the summer to visit the office (DFW) and the whole school was so cold that the admins where wearing sweater

I know that I walked into my sons high school during the summer to visit the office (DFW) and the whole school was so cold that the admins where wearing sweaters and long pants. This is a massive high school for 3000 plus students, 4 Gyms, etc. I can't imagine what it costs to cool it and the extra expense of keeping that cold when no one is there. I agree with you that homes in Texas are insulated very poorly. Interesting enough Demilic is headquartered in Grand Prairie and is one of that largest suppliers of spray foam in the country. With the heat in the summers and some of the cold spells in the winter you would think they would have a better building code. It seems the strategy is to find cheaper sources of power while not making an effort to build better buildings to save power.

wavefunction 9y ago
They probably don't have sophisticated control systems in place to partially shut down the AC on the campus. If it's like my modern LEED certified office building once 7PM hits it gets pretty hot.
Frondo 9y ago
This isn't snark: building codes are regulation and Texas is an independence-loving state, even when that isn't particularly sensible or doesn't lead to good outcomes for life in general. Mandating better insulation in homes might add a little up-front cost. It'd also do wonders for energy consumption. Let people choose, they might say--well, housing is a good situation where you might not really have any choice at all (if no one's building houses with proper insulation), or be well-informed enough to make an informed choice, or whatever, and that's exactly the place where regulation is a net benefit for the society in question.
jfoutz 9y ago
Schools are notorious for lowest bidder construction without a thought about operating costs. I saw one building that ran ac and heated the cold air up to the desired temperature. Stupid. But cheap to build.

wavefunction 9y ago

They probably don't have sophisticated control systems in place to partially shut down the AC on the campus. If it's like my modern LEED certified office building once 7PM hits it gets pretty hot.

Frondo 9y ago

This isn't snark: building codes are regulation and Texas is an independence-loving state, even when that isn't particularly sensible or doesn't lead to good outcomes for life in general. Mandating better insulation in homes might add a little up-front cost. It'd also do wonders for energy consumption. Let people choose, they might say--well, housing is a good situation where you might not really have any choice at all (if no one's building houses with proper insulation), or be well-informed enough to make an informed choice, or whatever, and that's exactly the place where regulation is a net benefit for the society in question.

jfoutz 9y ago

Schools are notorious for lowest bidder construction without a thought about operating costs. I saw one building that ran ac and heated the cold air up to the desired temperature. Stupid. But cheap to build.