Comments on: Air conditioning vs. fresh air: 10 ways to “keep our cool”. http://www.momgoesgreen.com/air-conditioning-vs-fresh-air-10-ways-to-%e2%80%9ckeep-our-cool%e2%80%9d/ A Mom's Journey To Green Living Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:30:05 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: » Prep your home for “away” before vacation “play”! - Mom Goes Green http://www.momgoesgreen.com/air-conditioning-vs-fresh-air-10-ways-to-%e2%80%9ckeep-our-cool%e2%80%9d/comment-page-1/#comment-3216 » Prep your home for “away” before vacation “play”! - Mom Goes Green Wed, 05 Aug 2009 13:32:40 +0000 http://www.momgoesgreen.com/?p=4335#comment-3216 [...] off your air conditioning or, in the winter months, turn the heat to 55 [...]

[...] off your air conditioning or, in the winter months, turn the heat to 55 [...]

]]> By: Doreen http://www.momgoesgreen.com/air-conditioning-vs-fresh-air-10-ways-to-%e2%80%9ckeep-our-cool%e2%80%9d/comment-page-1/#comment-3157 Doreen Thu, 16 Jul 2009 06:09:40 +0000 http://www.momgoesgreen.com/?p=4335#comment-3157 Happy - great recommendation about the size of a fan and other great tips too... thanks! Neha - that has a really long answer, but in a nutshell, more blades doesn't mean more cooling effect. Like Happy suggests, a fan size needs to fit the room size. More fan blades actually prevents a fan from moving as fast as fewer blades, so it can actually have less effect. It's a matter of efficiently moving air around a room. Plus, more blades requires a bigger motor drive, so it can actually use a bit more energy too. The number of blades doesn't actually cool a room... it's about moving the air. I guess the answer lies more in whether or not the SIZE of the fan fits the room. Lisa - my sympathies on the temp! We've been the exact opposite in Cleveland... very mild so far! Sounds like you've figured out what works best for you and that IS the best you can do! Happy – great recommendation about the size of a fan and other great tips too… thanks!

Neha – that has a really long answer, but in a nutshell, more blades doesn’t mean more cooling effect. Like Happy suggests, a fan size needs to fit the room size. More fan blades actually prevents a fan from moving as fast as fewer blades, so it can actually have less effect. It’s a matter of efficiently moving air around a room. Plus, more blades requires a bigger motor drive, so it can actually use a bit more energy too. The number of blades doesn’t actually cool a room… it’s about moving the air. I guess the answer lies more in whether or not the SIZE of the fan fits the room.

Lisa – my sympathies on the temp! We’ve been the exact opposite in Cleveland… very mild so far! Sounds like you’ve figured out what works best for you and that IS the best you can do!

]]> By: Lisa http://www.momgoesgreen.com/air-conditioning-vs-fresh-air-10-ways-to-%e2%80%9ckeep-our-cool%e2%80%9d/comment-page-1/#comment-3150 Lisa Wed, 15 Jul 2009 21:07:32 +0000 http://www.momgoesgreen.com/?p=4335#comment-3150 We have been having 100 and above days since the middle of June. This is one of the hottest summers I can remember and I'm in southern Oklahoma, we always have hot summers, the really scary part is the first part of August is the hottest time so we aren't even close to done with this. And in Oklahoma it's never dry heat, it's always VERY humid. And we don't cool off much at night. Our temps are still in the 90's and upper 80's all night. Opening windows is not an option but we run our a/c at 75 and turn it down at night because it gets really hot during the day because the a/c can't keep up even at 75 so we let it cool over night so there is less work for the a/c in the middle of the day and so we can sleep. It was around 82 in parts of our house the other day. We do keep windows close and lights off and I only use the oven or stove in the evening and I turn off both once they heat up and put lids on the pots and keep the door of the oven closed so we don't use extra heat. I run the dish washer at night and all of that. We still run the a/c way to much but no idea what to do, we make up for it somewhat in the winter when we keep our house pretty cold and just layer. We have been having 100 and above days since the middle of June. This is one of the hottest summers I can remember and I’m in southern Oklahoma, we always have hot summers, the really scary part is the first part of August is the hottest time so we aren’t even close to done with this. And in Oklahoma it’s never dry heat, it’s always VERY humid. And we don’t cool off much at night. Our temps are still in the 90’s and upper 80’s all night.

Opening windows is not an option but we run our a/c at 75 and turn it down at night because it gets really hot during the day because the a/c can’t keep up even at 75 so we let it cool over night so there is less work for the a/c in the middle of the day and so we can sleep. It was around 82 in parts of our house the other day. We do keep windows close and lights off and I only use the oven or stove in the evening and I turn off both once they heat up and put lids on the pots and keep the door of the oven closed so we don’t use extra heat. I run the dish washer at night and all of that.

We still run the a/c way to much but no idea what to do, we make up for it somewhat in the winter when we keep our house pretty cold and just layer.

]]> By: Neha http://www.momgoesgreen.com/air-conditioning-vs-fresh-air-10-ways-to-%e2%80%9ckeep-our-cool%e2%80%9d/comment-page-1/#comment-3147 Neha Wed, 15 Jul 2009 18:06:35 +0000 http://www.momgoesgreen.com/?p=4335#comment-3147 i just wanted to know why the number of blades differ in fans, like in the above pic we have 4 bladed fan but generally we have 3 bladed fan.so my question dose the air flow or the cooling effect of fan changes with the change in number of blades? i just wanted to know why the number of blades differ in fans, like in the above pic we have 4 bladed fan but generally we have 3 bladed fan.so my question dose the air flow or the cooling effect of fan changes with the change in number of blades?

]]> By: The Happy Friar http://www.momgoesgreen.com/air-conditioning-vs-fresh-air-10-ways-to-%e2%80%9ckeep-our-cool%e2%80%9d/comment-page-1/#comment-3113 The Happy Friar Sat, 04 Jul 2009 11:54:44 +0000 http://www.momgoesgreen.com/?p=4335#comment-3113 The trees = shade is one of the best things that people don't realize! In our first apartment we had trees all around us. In the summer is was a nice ~65-70 inside ALL THE TIME & in the winter we had little wind & snow piling up around out walkway & entry way. Blinds/curtains closed is an excellent tip too. Most people don't realize that either. Something important about ceiling fans: get one that fits the room. A small one in a large room doesn't help & a huge one in a small room is a waste. If you have recessed spot lights a dimmer is a good idea. most of the time you don't need them on 100%, we don't (CFL's currently don't work well with dimmers) For the AC running "all the time" vs just a few hours, I'd say do a test: keep an eye on your electric meter for a two weeks. One week have it only come on for two hours, another week have it on all time time. If it's efficient enough & you're not wasting cold, it could actuatly be running less vs the two hours. I did this with my hot water tank: it was on for ~1.5 hours in the morning, solid (via a timer). The next month I had it on all the time. Ends up I was using less electricity with it "on" all the time because it was only running a few minutes @ a time vs hours solid. My electric bill was cut down by ~1/3rd (it's always under $100 anyway, but it made a difference!) The trees = shade is one of the best things that people don’t realize! In our first apartment we had trees all around us. In the summer is was a nice ~65-70 inside ALL THE TIME & in the winter we had little wind & snow piling up around out walkway & entry way. Blinds/curtains closed is an excellent tip too. Most people don’t realize that either.

Something important about ceiling fans: get one that fits the room. A small one in a large room doesn’t help & a huge one in a small room is a waste.

If you have recessed spot lights a dimmer is a good idea. most of the time you don’t need them on 100%, we don’t (CFL’s currently don’t work well with dimmers)

For the AC running “all the time” vs just a few hours, I’d say do a test: keep an eye on your electric meter for a two weeks. One week have it only come on for two hours, another week have it on all time time. If it’s efficient enough & you’re not wasting cold, it could actuatly be running less vs the two hours. I did this with my hot water tank: it was on for ~1.5 hours in the morning, solid (via a timer). The next month I had it on all the time. Ends up I was using less electricity with it “on” all the time because it was only running a few minutes @ a time vs hours solid. My electric bill was cut down by ~1/3rd (it’s always under $100 anyway, but it made a difference!)

]]> By: Doreen http://www.momgoesgreen.com/air-conditioning-vs-fresh-air-10-ways-to-%e2%80%9ckeep-our-cool%e2%80%9d/comment-page-1/#comment-3085 Doreen Mon, 29 Jun 2009 15:40:48 +0000 http://www.momgoesgreen.com/?p=4335#comment-3085 Martina - without question, less energy is consumed in a 2 hour blast than running it all day long. It's helpful to keep your house closed up while you're away too. While your house will still heat up, it doesn't let in the outdoor heat! Martina – without question, less energy is consumed in a 2 hour blast than running it all day long. It’s helpful to keep your house closed up while you’re away too. While your house will still heat up, it doesn’t let in the outdoor heat!

]]> By: Martina http://www.momgoesgreen.com/air-conditioning-vs-fresh-air-10-ways-to-%e2%80%9ckeep-our-cool%e2%80%9d/comment-page-1/#comment-3084 Martina Mon, 29 Jun 2009 15:22:43 +0000 http://www.momgoesgreen.com/?p=4335#comment-3084 Hi, I've tried NOT to turn on the AC during the day. It's hot, but it's tolerable. However, we do turn it on about 2 hours before we go to sleep to get the temp down to 74. My question is: Does the AC consume more energy running like crazy for 2 hours to cool the house down or is more energy consumed if the AC works in intervalls throughout the day? Thanks for your input! Martina Hi,
I’ve tried NOT to turn on the AC during the day. It’s hot, but it’s tolerable. However, we do turn it on about 2 hours before we go to sleep to get the temp down to 74. My question is: Does the AC consume more energy running like crazy for 2 hours to cool the house down or is more energy consumed if the AC works in intervalls throughout the day?
Thanks for your input!
Martina

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