OT: AC & Furnace

[briansd1]

[quote=AN]I wouldn’t be thinking about putting in an AC unit without this program. So in a way, it’ll get me to use even more energy than I would have otherwise. Unintended side effect. I figure, at $100/year, I can totally splurge on this luxury and if I sell my house, I won’t have to pay for it, the next owner would.[/quote]

I’m betting that with a more efficient furnace + AC, you’ll be using the same amount of energy (or less) plus you’ll get the luxury of AC during the summer.

You seem like the kind of guy who will track your energy usage. So it’ll be interesting to see what your energy usage is for:
1) the 1-year period prior to the new install, vs.
2) the 1-year period after you install the new system.

Also, if you get an efficient dishwasher, you’ll actually save money. You will save energy and water and have cleaner dishes than washing by hand, if you turn off the heated dry feature. (I noticed that Asian families like to wash by hand and have an aversion to dishwashers).

There should be a rebate of some kind.

[briansd1]

Very timely 😉

By Tiffany Hsu, Los Angeles Times

April 21, 2010 | 3:17 p.m.

The federal cash-for-clunkers program is so passe. Now the government is playing dollars-for-dishwashers and rebates-for-refrigerators.

Last summer’s federal program fueled vehicle sales and jump-started the sputtering auto industry by enticing customers to trade in their gas guzzlers. Now retailers are hoping for a similar boost from another government program that will offer rebates of up to $200 for energy-efficient appliances.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-cash-for-fridges-20100421,0,3463062.story

[briansd1]

Very timely 😉

By Tiffany Hsu, Los Angeles Times

April 21, 2010 | 3:17 p.m.

The federal cash-for-clunkers program is so passe. Now the government is playing dollars-for-dishwashers and rebates-for-refrigerators.

Last summer’s federal program fueled vehicle sales and jump-started the sputtering auto industry by enticing customers to trade in their gas guzzlers. Now retailers are hoping for a similar boost from another government program that will offer rebates of up to $200 for energy-efficient appliances.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-cash-for-fridges-20100421,0,3463062.story

[briansd1]

Very timely 😉

By Tiffany Hsu, Los Angeles Times

April 21, 2010 | 3:17 p.m.

The federal cash-for-clunkers program is so passe. Now the government is playing dollars-for-dishwashers and rebates-for-refrigerators.

Last summer’s federal program fueled vehicle sales and jump-started the sputtering auto industry by enticing customers to trade in their gas guzzlers. Now retailers are hoping for a similar boost from another government program that will offer rebates of up to $200 for energy-efficient appliances.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-cash-for-fridges-20100421,0,3463062.story

[briansd1]

Very timely 😉

By Tiffany Hsu, Los Angeles Times

April 21, 2010 | 3:17 p.m.

The federal cash-for-clunkers program is so passe. Now the government is playing dollars-for-dishwashers and rebates-for-refrigerators.

Last summer’s federal program fueled vehicle sales and jump-started the sputtering auto industry by enticing customers to trade in their gas guzzlers. Now retailers are hoping for a similar boost from another government program that will offer rebates of up to $200 for energy-efficient appliances.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-cash-for-fridges-20100421,0,3463062.story

[briansd1]

Very timely 😉

By Tiffany Hsu, Los Angeles Times

April 21, 2010 | 3:17 p.m.

The federal cash-for-clunkers program is so passe. Now the government is playing dollars-for-dishwashers and rebates-for-refrigerators.

Last summer’s federal program fueled vehicle sales and jump-started the sputtering auto industry by enticing customers to trade in their gas guzzlers. Now retailers are hoping for a similar boost from another government program that will offer rebates of up to $200 for energy-efficient appliances.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-cash-for-fridges-20100421,0,3463062.story

[UCGal]

[quote=briansd1]How does that attic fan work? I presume it draws the hot out out the attic preventing your house from heating up.

Does is draw air out of the house through the attic as well?[/quote]

It’s a high capacity, high CFM, fan that sucks the air up into the attic (which has vents.)

You have to be careful *when* you use it… We keep our house closed up during the heat of the day… by the afternoon it can be 10-15 degrees cooler inside with just this. Then when the sun is only on one side of the house- we crack windows on the shady side of the house and turn on the fan… that way we’re sucking in coolish air and pushing out the hotter air. It creates quite a breeze.

We use it in the morning till the temp in the house is the same as outside. Then turn of the fan, shut windows and curtains (in places we don’t mind the curtains shut.)

A few times we accidentally turned it on, late afternoon, when windows on the sunny side were open – not good to pull HOTTER air into the house. But you can undo that quickly by reversing which windows are open.

Noise can be an issue. Wouldn’t want it in the same room as me. But in our house it’s upstairs in the hall – not someplace people hang out…

[UCGal]

[quote=briansd1]How does that attic fan work? I presume it draws the hot out out the attic preventing your house from heating up.

Does is draw air out of the house through the attic as well?[/quote]

It’s a high capacity, high CFM, fan that sucks the air up into the attic (which has vents.)

You have to be careful *when* you use it… We keep our house closed up during the heat of the day… by the afternoon it can be 10-15 degrees cooler inside with just this. Then when the sun is only on one side of the house- we crack windows on the shady side of the house and turn on the fan… that way we’re sucking in coolish air and pushing out the hotter air. It creates quite a breeze.

We use it in the morning till the temp in the house is the same as outside. Then turn of the fan, shut windows and curtains (in places we don’t mind the curtains shut.)

A few times we accidentally turned it on, late afternoon, when windows on the sunny side were open – not good to pull HOTTER air into the house. But you can undo that quickly by reversing which windows are open.

Noise can be an issue. Wouldn’t want it in the same room as me. But in our house it’s upstairs in the hall – not someplace people hang out…

[UCGal]

[quote=briansd1]How does that attic fan work? I presume it draws the hot out out the attic preventing your house from heating up.

Does is draw air out of the house through the attic as well?[/quote]

It’s a high capacity, high CFM, fan that sucks the air up into the attic (which has vents.)

You have to be careful *when* you use it… We keep our house closed up during the heat of the day… by the afternoon it can be 10-15 degrees cooler inside with just this. Then when the sun is only on one side of the house- we crack windows on the shady side of the house and turn on the fan… that way we’re sucking in coolish air and pushing out the hotter air. It creates quite a breeze.

We use it in the morning till the temp in the house is the same as outside. Then turn of the fan, shut windows and curtains (in places we don’t mind the curtains shut.)

A few times we accidentally turned it on, late afternoon, when windows on the sunny side were open – not good to pull HOTTER air into the house. But you can undo that quickly by reversing which windows are open.

Noise can be an issue. Wouldn’t want it in the same room as me. But in our house it’s upstairs in the hall – not someplace people hang out…

[UCGal]

[quote=briansd1]How does that attic fan work? I presume it draws the hot out out the attic preventing your house from heating up.

Does is draw air out of the house through the attic as well?[/quote]

It’s a high capacity, high CFM, fan that sucks the air up into the attic (which has vents.)

You have to be careful *when* you use it… We keep our house closed up during the heat of the day… by the afternoon it can be 10-15 degrees cooler inside with just this. Then when the sun is only on one side of the house- we crack windows on the shady side of the house and turn on the fan… that way we’re sucking in coolish air and pushing out the hotter air. It creates quite a breeze.

We use it in the morning till the temp in the house is the same as outside. Then turn of the fan, shut windows and curtains (in places we don’t mind the curtains shut.)

A few times we accidentally turned it on, late afternoon, when windows on the sunny side were open – not good to pull HOTTER air into the house. But you can undo that quickly by reversing which windows are open.

Noise can be an issue. Wouldn’t want it in the same room as me. But in our house it’s upstairs in the hall – not someplace people hang out…

[UCGal]

[quote=briansd1]How does that attic fan work? I presume it draws the hot out out the attic preventing your house from heating up.

Does is draw air out of the house through the attic as well?[/quote]

It’s a high capacity, high CFM, fan that sucks the air up into the attic (which has vents.)

You have to be careful *when* you use it… We keep our house closed up during the heat of the day… by the afternoon it can be 10-15 degrees cooler inside with just this. Then when the sun is only on one side of the house- we crack windows on the shady side of the house and turn on the fan… that way we’re sucking in coolish air and pushing out the hotter air. It creates quite a breeze.

We use it in the morning till the temp in the house is the same as outside. Then turn of the fan, shut windows and curtains (in places we don’t mind the curtains shut.)

A few times we accidentally turned it on, late afternoon, when windows on the sunny side were open – not good to pull HOTTER air into the house. But you can undo that quickly by reversing which windows are open.

Noise can be an issue. Wouldn’t want it in the same room as me. But in our house it’s upstairs in the hall – not someplace people hang out…

[an]

Brian, yes, I do track by energy usage very closely. I’m currently using http://www.microsoft-hohm.com/ to do the tracking. I can report back once I have more data.

Regarding the appliance, too bad this program wasn’t around last year. I upgraded all of my appliances last year when I upgraded my kitchen, so I won’t be able to take advantage of this program.

I don’t see how using dishwasher will save me energy over washing it my hand. Washing by hand uses 0 energy and very little water. Water is only need to rinse off the soap. My dishwasher doesn’t have heated dry feature.

[an]

Brian, yes, I do track by energy usage very closely. I’m currently using http://www.microsoft-hohm.com/ to do the tracking. I can report back once I have more data.

Regarding the appliance, too bad this program wasn’t around last year. I upgraded all of my appliances last year when I upgraded my kitchen, so I won’t be able to take advantage of this program.

I don’t see how using dishwasher will save me energy over washing it my hand. Washing by hand uses 0 energy and very little water. Water is only need to rinse off the soap. My dishwasher doesn’t have heated dry feature.

[an]

Brian, yes, I do track by energy usage very closely. I’m currently using http://www.microsoft-hohm.com/ to do the tracking. I can report back once I have more data.

Regarding the appliance, too bad this program wasn’t around last year. I upgraded all of my appliances last year when I upgraded my kitchen, so I won’t be able to take advantage of this program.

I don’t see how using dishwasher will save me energy over washing it my hand. Washing by hand uses 0 energy and very little water. Water is only need to rinse off the soap. My dishwasher doesn’t have heated dry feature.

[an]

Brian, yes, I do track by energy usage very closely. I’m currently using http://www.microsoft-hohm.com/ to do the tracking. I can report back once I have more data.

Regarding the appliance, too bad this program wasn’t around last year. I upgraded all of my appliances last year when I upgraded my kitchen, so I won’t be able to take advantage of this program.

I don’t see how using dishwasher will save me energy over washing it my hand. Washing by hand uses 0 energy and very little water. Water is only need to rinse off the soap. My dishwasher doesn’t have heated dry feature.

[Author]

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