thats exactly what a radiant barrier is, although they come in different forms (my roof sheating is lined with alum foil, instead of paint though)
hum... I don't think we have those! It's an older house (built 1954) and is at about 3100f elevation. We don't even have air conditioning because even in the summer the high elevation keeps it cool. Still it might be worth it to check out. Can you install these vents?
After looking at all this something is definately wrong with my bill, but i dont think ive ever had a bill below 300 in any apartment ive lived in that was 2+ bedroom. I do keep the house at 68-72 round the clock, guess i need to start turning it up during the day.
Where in Indy? I was just there at Crackers Comedy Downtown Indianapolis. Mine was 408. 2800 sq ft. 79/74 but my jacuzzi runs all the time.
Actually I am 60 miles away from Inday in West Lafayette. Some of you pay more for your eletric bill than I pay for my house! We have second lowest housing inflation number in the nation.
I keep hearing ads here in Austin for Perma Frost. Do you know anything about this? http://permafrostonline.com/
if you have alot of room in between some walls you can, or even if you have attic space about some of your rooms its especially beneficial if anyone in the house sleeps with their doors closed
they aren't in the garage, they are in the house I have one in each room (4), and 4 others throughout the downstairs and upstairs hallways
its a freon additive that allegedly makes a system more efficient basically, it claims to make freon flow through copper lines better by making them slick ...well, the problem is, the inside of copper lines are designed with ribs so to speak that help remove heat better ...well, if you are making the inside of the lines slick, then it might flow better, but its going to remove heat worse ....robbing peter to pay paul so to speak also, permafrost is setting up as a pyramid/multi level marketing system ...like Avon and Amyway (not exactly, but you get the idea) so far, the results I've heard are mixed....they are promoting it as magic in a bottle, but won't stand behind the magic claim you are better served to invest in the infrastruture of the system rather than a single magic pill IMHO
you wanna feel REAL good? fairly smallish house...3bdr/2bath was right at $600 last month. we have too many old windows, need new insulation upstairs and two kids. now..to be fair...the thermostat stays at 75 all the time..and we operate a business out of the spare bedroom so the house is occupied 24/7
For my 2 bedroom condo, this past month it was $39 (I'll run and duck to avoid the flying objects now) For the record, I don't live in Houston, and this is my utility: M L & P
Actually not as bad as you might think. Electric remains the same ($40-ish) and natural gas (what I, and most of Alaska, use for heating) runs me about another $50 in the winter. Far less in the summer. The base rate for natural gas from Enstar is currently $0.11 per cubic foot. See Enstar Edit: I will admit, however, that overall costs might go up some since BP shut down their Prudhoe Bay field due to maintenance oversights.
According to my a/c guy, who is good and a friend of the family so I know I can trust him, here is what would dramatically improve my situation: Attic fans that are thermostat controlled. In my case, just one would work. New insulation Repaired and replaced (where needed) duct work Replaced windows in the back of the house He also said a new more efficient a/c would help but wasn't necessary if some of the other things were done. Mine is still in good working order and doesn't suck that much more power than a new one. The windows I just can't do at the moment. Since my house is an older one, I only want to replace the original wooden windows with other wooden windows and they are a LOT more expensive than the vinyl one's. I'd have to replace about 10 windows total to really be more efficient. The rest is something I'm seriously considering although I'm probably too late for this summer.
So how many kWh are you guys averaging? I had 2700 last month. I've been updating the house to get more energy efficient, but I don't know how long I can keep this up!
I just got my bill....$400!!! For an 1800 sq foot house!!! Is it true that turning your air up while you are gone is a bad idea? We've been trying to turn it up to around 79 while we are at work, but some friends of mine told me that uses even more electricity because it has to work harder when you turn it back down. Man this is total BS. $400 f'king dollars. Could someone be mooching off my electricity, and if so, how do I find out?
