Tough couple of days

I think I'm really looking forward to transferring over to SMUD.

I just paid electricity bill today (City of Roseville) and it was $109 for time period of 6/6 - 7/7.  Now it wasn't hot all those days, but AC ran some on most of them and we too have a pool and run the equipment about the same amount of time.  Our PG&E bill is about $10-20 from April - Nov.  So - yeah, I hope you get switched over soon too. 

We rarely get the delta breeze unfortunately, and when the wind has blown lately, it's felt like a furnace fan [:@].

Ron, I'm so glad you got things working for now.  Heat isn't anything to mess with.  We've had people dying from the heat in Philly.  I hate the summer.  The only way I can deal with it is to think of it as nature's way of telling you to slow down.  I don't know about anyone else but I can't do anything fast in the summer.

The thing is, I'm not sure the switch from PG&E to SMUD is going to be all that beneficial, at least not at first.  I think it's going to cost a lot more than we're being led to believe to do whatever has to be done to switch, and as usual, the consumer is going to pay for it. Who knows?  Maybe PG&E is raising rates just because they're ticked off about losing Yolo County to SMUD.  It wouldn't surprise me. [:@]

Joyce

Of course, Jade will be spade, I mean spayed. I meant to call the vet today and see if he wants to wait until her heat is over.
 

A few years ago, we had a 28 day stretch from July to August of daily temps over 100. This weekend will be a welcome relief. We wish for rain but probably won't get it. It was locally around 106 today. I came home, and the house was at about 74. Hell yeah!
 
My next bill should be lower because at night, when it drops to a frigid 80 F, the system doesn't have to run as long to provide a 6 or 7 degree drop. It looks like I'll be working Saturday and Sunday, which is good because I'll make the money to recover what the service call amounted to. It's gotten to the point in my career where fixing everything myself is not saving me a lot. By the time you figure in exhaustion from lost sleep, lost pay from being at home trying to fix it, or being sold the wrong size motor which was the last step in this chain before scheduling the call, I have spent more than if I had just had them come out and fix it. That way, I can keep doing what I do to make money and have a cool house.

Down here, some of us call this killer heat. Old and poor people who can't afford the bill or a repair bill get heat exhaustion, heat stroke, and sometimes, can't recover. Having lived in Texas since October 1974, I've learned how to deal with the heat. Suncscreen, long sleeve shirts, a hat, and lots of water. Keep hydrated. When you get the shakes or get dizzy, that is the first sign of heat exhaustion. If you stop sweating, you are in serious trouble. I've had heat exhaustion at 95 degrees. Hard work and high humidity. I was shaking, seeing stars, and losing energy fast. When we have to go in an attic, which is usually 30 to 40 degrees hotter than outside, we set a time limit of 15 minutes. If you can't finish in that time, come back down. Seven years ago, I was working up near the roof of a new Winn Dixie in Ft. Worth. It was so hot up in there, that when I was done, I came down and stepped in the doorway and the official 107 F felt like air conditioning.

We have gas central heat and electric central ac. The central ac was an add-on. The house was originally window ac. Anyway, The coldest winter brought a 250 dollar gas bill and electrical was very low because the squirrel cage motor doesn't take much to run. Add a space heater, though, and you can add 20 dollars to your bill. I have just switched my electric to average billing. It's easier to budget no more than 200 dollars a month than to have spikes that come close to a car payment.
 
My brother lives in rural Maine and heating oil got so expensive that he switched to heat pellets.

I had my ceiling fans installed in February which meant that the electrician had to spend the day crawling around in the attic since there wasn't any overhead lighting in the bedrooms. I'll do the same thing with the whole house fan.  There's just no way I'd have someone spend time in the attic in this heat unless it really was some kind of emergency.

Joyce

The tech that fixed my ac left about 6:30 p.m. at about 108 F and had two more stops to make, one of them to check on the central unit, which was mounted in the attic. That's a day that can wear you out.
 

I feel your pain Ron....when will this heat subside!?!?!  I have bought some extra fans for inside the house and today was the first day I came home and it was below 85 inside.  I have tested all the vents, both the intake and the outake and even called the landlord to make sure they charged the A/C when they were here.  I am having hot flashes like no other, and everyone thinks I am pregnant even though I know better.  My dogs have been panting for days too.  I even let Izzy sleep with us one night b/c we had to put the fan in my step daughter's room with her and Harley so I let Izzy sleep with DH and I until the middle of the night when it dropped to 90 outside and the house finally cooled down to 80! 
 
I just can't believe how hot it is this summer.  At least it only got to 103 here today compared to 106 every other day.  I think that is why I could tell the difference when I got home!  I am looking so froward to this weekend!

Shameless plug, here. Allen's Plumbing and HVAC of Denison, Texas rocks.
 
Anyway, here's a tech tip for you. Take any old cheapie thermometer. Measure the temperature at the return air, also called intake, it is the grill, usually in the wall, where the system pulls in air to blow around. Then, measure the temperature at a diffuser grill, where cool air is supposed to come out. There should normally be a difference of about 18 degrees. That is, most home systems are designed to drop the incoming air by 18 degrees to cool down. Also, the cooler the house is, the deeper the temp difference should be.
 
Another tip. During the hottest days, you can run a sprinkler or soaker hose on your condenser. The evaporating effect of water will help dissipate heat. Also, wash off the condenser coils with a hard stream of water. Dirt can act like an insulator and not allow heat to escape the coils. Don't run water on the condenser on cooler days. Then, the freon won't get to the right temp and you could freeze out the system. So, only use that trick when it's over 100 F. Also, it's actually mor economical to pic a temp and leave it there than to let the house get really warm and then cool it down later in the day. Also, if you want to make it easy on your system, use the old style fiberglass spun filters. The pleated paper is like trying to breath through a pillow. It is largely a marketing gimmick to appeal to germaphobes. As a tradesman, I have breathed far worse stuff than a little bit of dust in the house. Change the filter only once a month. If you are not capable of cleaning the central unit yourself, then it is worth having once a year or two a service call for a tech to clean the whole system. It may cost 100 dollars but it will keep your system working right. I did that myself this spring when I was having problems with brittle wire to the compressor.
 

ORIGINAL: ron2

Of course, Jade will be spade, I mean spayed. I meant to call the vet today and see if he wants to wait until her heat is over.

 
I figured that.  Forgive me for that half step up on the soapbox.  I was just thinking about some moron who dumped 5 kittens nearby on a major road here in town on Sunday in the 95 degree weather.  Fortunately someone found them and took them to a vet right away. 
 
I'm better now...

I feel ya Ron!  We need a new A/C I think.  Its always on and we're always hot.  I think the temp thing is off too because it wont come on when I set it low but it will say 79 or something.  I know you have it way way worse, and I cant image the discomfort!!  We have two units in this house and the bill has been $550 for the last two months.  Thank god we split the bill with my parents but STILL!!!  I would much rather split the bill for new units for a while and have decent electric bills for the rest of the time we are here!  Just crazy I tell ya.  I really hope you get some relief soon!  I will get DH to read your last post and send him on a mission, lool.

I make a real effort not to turn anything major on before 6 p.m. - AC or heat in the winter.  The problem is that by 6:00 the temp in the house is already so high that running the AC doesn't do much good.  It's supposed to cycle off and on, but it takes so long to get to the temp that I've got it set at (7 that I wind up turning it off way before it ever gets to that point. It was 93 inside yesterday when I turned it on, and it was still 88 when I turned it off but I didn't want it running all night.

Joyce

I absolutely hate being shut up in the house with AC....I prefer the allergies from the outside stuff to feeling like I'm a prisoner of the weather.  Now I don't hesitate to turn the AC on if I'm going out and it's gonna be hot because I don't want the dogs to be too warm, but it's gotta be well over 80 for me to turn it on for ME......