Disturbing weather trend in Las Vegas

Consequently dramatic heat waves there can rack up more fatalities because they are not prepared for extreme temperatures.

It has to do with three facts: 1) The houses are mostly older and can't be easily fitted with central air; 2) Taxes on that sort of thing are extremely high, and 3) Electric rates are extremely high.

Fuel (and electricity) prices in the USA are extremely low. That's not an incentive to save on valuable non-renewable resources like coal, oil and natural gas. More an incentive to sqander it.

Kees

Care to define that?

Some time ago we compared costs with our Irish family. At that time they used the Irish Punt (

Maybe in some instances. In this situation however, we are discussing why Europe has little need for A.C. Part of the reason is that Europe does tend to have more temperate weather than the continental U.S. does. Almost every part of the US will see 10 to 15 33

We have come to think it is required wherever we go. Doesn't mean we are squandering energy

I never understand the people who insist on keeping it so cold inside during summer, that they then have to wear a sweater. Mine is set at 76

The only time I have to run my air is at night when I MUST get to sleep. other than that, I really try not to use it. I only use my truck's AC when I don't want to get swaeted up before work.

Did an episode where they tested that. Turns out, at higher speeds it is more fuel-efficient to have the windows up and the AC on. At slower speeds the opposite was true. As I recall, the cutoff speed was about 45 mph. Overall there was not that much difference.

Cindi

and I don't care what anyone says about it. My old, departed Taurus had AC so good it was like a walk-in box inside.

Only one bedroom with AC at home though. Lots of fans.

I'm fortunate enough to be able to do my own electrical work and installations. They aren't the fancy type for hundreds of dollars each but decent quality and quiet. I am surprised how much more comfortable it is when sleeping. It's not just from feeling cooler but I think that keeping the air moving helps with breathing. I should have done that years ago.

We do have AC but I don't keep the temperature down that low. As well, I wait until we can no longer stand it before turning it on. Once it's on, it stays that way for the whole season....unless we get several cool days in a row. It's my understanding that turning the AC on and off and constantly opening/closing windows wastes more energy than just setting it to one temperature and leaving it there. This is because the AC must cool the walls, furniture, etc. as well as draw off the humidity. Opening windows undoes the work of the AC quite quickly so, when you turn it back on, it's going to need to run a along time to cool the place down again.

We used AC during the day (100+ temp with high humidity) and turned the attic fan on for about five minutes in the evening. Cooled the whole house and lasted the night. Wish we had one here in Syracuse. I do use a window fan rather than AC.

Diana

... to my BIL yesterday. He was concerned about the possible noise involved. I haven't seen the new models out there but I'm sure there are models that are relatively quiet while still being effective.

I installed one when we moved here. It does has it's up and down side. Here's my experience with my 25+ year old fan.

Mine is a full 30" with a variable speed control positioned in a stairwell. It has louvers that open by the negative pressure created when you turn it on. You turn it on fully at first and back down to the level you want. Whole house fans require good attic ventilation or they don't work efficiently. As well, you need open windows. You can only get as much air flow as you have a path for it to go. As well, it's important that the outside air be cooler than the inside air. Generally when we use the fan, I turn it on in the early AM and run it just long enough to bring the temperature down. As the sun rises and the outside air warms, I turn the fan off and close the windows. Leaving it on all day just draws in warm air later. I can usually turn the fan on later in the evening after sundown to cool the house for bedtime. I will sometimes leave it on all night at a low speed with some windows cracked open. This makes for comfortable sleeping. Where I live, Spring and Fall are times to use this fan. It can have other uses such as to pull odors and smoke out from cooking and other accidents.

Some downsides.

We get gnats. A strong pull from a ceiling fan can bring these into the house by the hundreds. They get sucked right through the screens.
Don't BBQ with your ceiling fan on unless the grill is far from the house or well downwind. The reason is obvious.
Unless you have awnings or overhangs on all windows, don't use the fan when it rains. That reason should also be obvious.
Yes, the fan can be noisy....especially at high speed. Keep it as low as possible. Maybe there are ways to dampen the vibration by using better mounting techniques. Mine can be loud but I am used to it.
They let warm air out during the winter and in during the summer because they vent through the attic. They need a good cover during times they won't be used.
Do not turn these on without open windows. Otherwise they will try to draw air from wherever they can and this means pressure drops in interior wall. Dirt will come out of every place it can. It will be subtle. As well, pilot lights can be extinguished in some cases. The greatest affect will be on hot water heaters. You can put out the pilot or cause disturbance to the needed air flow depending on their placement and the way the furnace and water heater's attic accessway is constructed.

I like my whole house fan but have learned it's limitations.

I have seen them in use but never lived with one, myself.

They are very effective in some parts of the US. My brother had one when he lived in upper NY several years ago.

My Dad installed one in the hallway when I was a kid in the '40. We called it an attic fan. Before that it was either hand held cardboard or the small oscillating electric fan when we got electricity in the late '30's.

Here in San Antonio the suction attic fan worked good for us, just like you described. Course at the time we didn't know any better about "swamp", water coolers. Refrig AC was only in some hotels, business, and very rich peoples homes.

San Antonio can be very hot in the summer and it is worst than Phoenix, Las Vegas, New Mexico, etc because of the humidity, but is not as bad as Houston tho. Don't know where you live, but the "whole house" attic fan should work well in many states with an AC backup. Believe the hottest I've ever been was visiting Washington DC in the summer month of August and driving from Phoenix to Palm Springs at night without AC, the hot air blowing like a furnace.

Dad finally added a water cooler (swamp) to the house after I left for college and the military, which worked when the humidity was not too high. We also had the water cooler type when I was married and lived in Phoenix and San Antonio up until the late 50's. My new '55 Chev was without AC, as well as my 1959 Beetle, but I did add a bullet shaped water cooler to the outside passenger side of the VW when we traveled from San Antonio to San Francisco one time. It was not until I got my 1960 Olds 88 that we had AC. In the 60's we had a house water cooler, one bedroom refrigerated AC, and several oscillating fans in San Antonio up until the 70's when central AC or window refrigerated AC became the house norm.
My daughter to this day will only sleep with the hum of an oscillating fan along with cold refrigerated AC. Wonder how her husband sets the fan .

Yes, the whole house attic fan can work well, even as a backup in many areas, with the good description/tips you gave.

These are sometimes called "gable" fans and only remove air from the attic. These can have thermal controls that turn on/off as the attic temperature rises. Their purpose isn't so much to cool the house but assist the main AC and prevent the damage that excessive heat build up can cause to the roof and areas below it. It will help keep the upper floor ceiling cooler...especially in homes without adequate attic insulation. Some of these claim to be self or "turbine" powered....that the escaping hot air that turns them helps pump out more hot air. I doubt these type do much at all. A "whole house" fan draws air from the living area through the attic space and back outside. Without good roof, gable and soffit venting its value is limited. I remember seeing the evaporative (swamp) cooling systems when I was stationed in Abilene, Tx. I was surprised at how well they could work. I do remember them to be quite noisy and could create quite a breeze where the cool air entered the house.

Those work very well where we live to provide heat and air conditioning. They either suck heat out of the house, or the outside air depending on the season, and we only need backup electric heat when the temp drops below 35F. Our highest bill is about $106, and lowest about $40.

We also have ceiling fans running all the time to help distribute the heat/air. I am of the same opinion as Steven with regard to ceiling fans and air movement. I can't hardly stand to sleep in a room without one!

Cindi

Well, Steven. I was fixin' ta read about confirmation of ceilin' fan airflow, and I git THIS. Harrrumph!

Not shore I'm fully sayin' "cain't" yet, but I "might could" try a bit harder.

Bless yer heart.

Cindi

no bearing on establishing any type of pattern.

connect the dots enough times, you can get any picture you want.

The sixty-four-thousand-dollar question is if a person is willing to recognize it when they see it.

Would be like taking one puzzle piece from a thousand different puzzles and seeing if Stevie Wonder could put them together to look like the Mona Lisa