My electric bill was way over the top last time, so this time I plan to cut use.
But on saying that i just turned the A/C on because today is so hot!
I grew up without air con but as I got older I guess I got used to having it.
How many of you dont have it and are acclimatised to it?
I have ceiling fans but still hit withiut A/C.
I have started off having the temp now at 28 degrees which is still hot but better than the 18 degrees I had it in earlier.
I'm dreading my next electric bill.
i don't use it much, just open the windows, use ceiling fan if necessary
We have started using reflective and insulating material across the outside of windows that have west facing evening sun - you can also use awnings etc to stop the sunlight hitting the windows. We have heavy damask lined curtains to keep the heat in for winter and the heat out for winter. This does keep the rooms cooler.
We open up the house as much as possible in summer and use a big fan to blow cold air in or hot air out. Sydney is a bit harder, because it tends to be more humid, but wetting sheets and hanging them in front of a big fan will give you something akin to an evaporative cooler.
These help to keep you cool.
https://www.kathmandu.com.au/cooling-scarf.html?gclid=EAIaIQ…
Cold showers and rough dry so water can evaporate off you.
Which reflective insulating material do you use on your windows? I was just starting to look into this after the scorcher we had yesterday.
We got this fan fold stuff from bunnings, but I can't find it now. You can make something up buying some cheap windshield reflective sun shields and tape them together with duct tape. We have high up wind out windows so we just hang them via a string back through the window and wind it back tight. We tuck another one into the window. You might be able to use double sided tape on the glass, it should be OK to remove but you might want to check first. if push comes to shove you can tape it up on the inside, which might be easier but it is more effective when you put it on the outside. You can find something to push into the frame and cover it in a space blanket, which reflects well also and are usually pretty cheap from kathmandu.
https://www.kathmandu.com.au/emergency-v3-blanket.html
best of luck.
Thanks for the tips. I almost considered taping aluminium foil to the window the other day, but I think I better take a trip to Bunnings instead
How many of you dont have it and are acclimatised to it??
I don't have an air conditioner in my house except a portable one that sits in the shed. We only use it on 40 degree+ days.
I have all the connections and roof space ready for a ducted system but I just never got around to buying one.
I like to sweat! If I want to cool down, I sit in front of my industrial stainless steel fan with a wet face.
The aircon is also not good for my mum's airways.
We crank it up (down) to the maximum. Why sweat when one doesn’t have to?
To save money
Just spend a few more hours at work and enjoy a months worth of ac.
Yeah, I've been able, but sometimes it gets a bit bad, especially trying to sleep at night. For the most part you usually want to head out somewhere for most weekends/after work, areas like libraries, cinema, shopping centres etc is a nice change to the home heat.
When at home though I usually like having some cool drinks, and pretty much strip down and wear light clothing. I find I have no issue with weather if I have a fan blowing straight on me, so I think thats my biggest saving grace is that I can stick a fan on and blow it on my direction and I'm good to go.
Also helps if you have curtains that you can place around to keep the sunlight out.
It's all about managing the temperature of your house, closing and opening the windows depending on the outside temp vs indoor temps. I live in a double brick, two storey townhouse and I have two indoor thermometers (one downstairs, one upstairs) and one outdoors.
If you open the windows while it's still hot / sunny you'll just equalize the indoor temperature with the outside. If the indoor temp is much lower than the outside, you should keep the windows / doors sealed shut. If the air is dry you can use evaporative cooling (cheap to run) but if the air is humid you'll need to switch on the air cond (costly to run)
Wait until your thermometer readings on the outside are low enough, then open the windows to ventilate the house and let the cool evening breeze draw the heat out.
Brick walls retain heat, so throughout the night your home will still radiate heat that has been absorbed during the day, so keeping the windows open while it's cool is a zero cost method of cooling down your home. But if the air is still warm or very humid after rain, you should keep the windows closed and rely on air conditioning for it's dehumidifying function to lower the relative humidity.
Your roof also has a fairly large thermal mass (there's the attic space and the roof tiles) which heats up during the day and slowly radiates heat even after sundown. The two ways to resolve this are either to stop the sun hitting those high thermal mass items, or to put insulation between those items and the inside of the house.
If you can't do that, then the other method is to switch on the air conditioning or install ceilling or wall fans to get the air circulating through your entire home.
If you know it's going to be a really hot day. Close all the windows and doors early in the morning to trap all the cool night air inside and fire up ozbargain and Reddit.
Setting Ac at 18 degrees is insane. I find the sweet spot is around 24 and just lounge around in my mankini.
A tightbottom in a mankini must be a match made in heaven
Pictures available on request.
Pics please
If you open the windows while it's still hot / sunny you'll just equalize the indoor temperature with the outside.
If in house with half/decent insulation. What worked for me…
Have everything opened up overnight, close windows earlyish in morning before it starts to heat up outside. Keep everything closed until about 3-4pm, open everything back up again. Basically just having everything open and letting cooler air in, when temp outside is cool, then closing everything up and trapping that cool air in
Note: By the time you feel inside your place, that it has heated up, It's too late. You need to be aware of exactly when outside temps are changing, and close/open everything up before the change.
**I noticed room with ultra thin see through curtains, much hotter today than all other rooms. So curtains help too.
We live in a double brick house and downstairs provides excellent insulation against the heat - it was 25 degrees indoors today and 38 outside. We do close windows and doors and draw curtains if it gets too hot.
Upstairs isn't double brick and has ducted air conditioning, which we use very sparingly just before going to sleep if it's hot, but turn it off after 1/2 hour or so. We don't spend the day upstairs much. In the past I used to sleep downstairs in the summer and upstairs in the winter without having to spend anything on heating or cooling costs.
In winter it's cold downstairs but it's easier to wear a couple of layers to keep warm rather than turn on the under floor heating or gas heater, which is nice, but a waste.
I use air con occasionally in lounge, I find sleeping with air con awful, rather use ceiling fan.
My wife Cains the air con non stop at 18 degrees. Might as well move back to Norway
Ozbargainers,
Summer is the best time of the year but the worst in terms of electricity bills.
Any ideas on alternatives/complimentaries for A/C? I've done my research and come up with couple of things below. Thoughts please..
EVAPORATIVE AIR COOLER - low wattage but how about noise?
https://www.kogan.com/au/buy/devanti-evaporative-air-cooler-…
COOL GEL MATTRESS TOPPER - not sure if it actually works?
https://www.kogan.com/au/buy/giselle-bedding-cool-gel-memory…
CHEERS big ears.
Be nude.
I'm cool but the air isn't.
Eat watermelon, let it drip on you.
Maybe the air should take up smoking
Ceiling fan - cheap to install, cheap to run, great cooling effect and work in winter too (in winter mode).
Had them already but they won't help to cool down the hot air.
gel mattress topper didnt work for me i still got hot and i feel the cold
I wish it was this easy. I've done the evap' cooler research and realised is not suitable for me. They add much moisture to the air and I'm a 'dry air' freak.
Humidity is hell IMO. Refer to what 'big1964' said about mattress toppers. Sadly as a renter with a less than impressive R/E co' there is little to no chance a system would be installed.
Nice for them I always think… as I'm quite certain they likely have full ducted systems in their homes. Could get a portable A/C unit but doesn't seem many of them get terribly great reviews.
Happy to hear if anyone does know of good/reliable ones though…
Thanks for the heads up on moisture.
I used 'bamboo mattress' before when I was overseas but the cost of bringing them here is quite high.
People are so soft these days.
You don't understand the Adelaide Heat bruz.
Of course it is possible to not use AC. We only use ours a few days per year. Probably should have used it yesterday, but didn’t. We are more likely to use it if we have visitors, for their comfort. Not ours.
Just manage your house temp with windows, curtains, fan, cold drinks and don’t be a. sook.
If it is too expensive, just don’t use it, but don’t complain about the heat then.
Look at the facebook group "my efficient electric house". Lots of discussion around this sort of thing. Lot of focus on energy efficiency of insulation.
If your renting there aren't many options, but getting the air-conditioning serviced and cleaned may improve performance. If you have ducted heating, sealing those ducts up may help. If you own your home lots of stuff you can do. We've got a new build and even on the hottest days it won't go over 26C with the air-conditioning off. I did get a 9kW split system in to handle a 300sqm house and it does it easily (9kW is the output power and it only consumes 2.5kW input… So I can heat or cool my house for the same price as one of those blow heaters). I was dubious about the value of paying to get it serviced but it did make a difference. Probably not the $120 or so worth in power consumption but something at least and probably an increase in service life too.
Hi back pager, I just bought a large house and the upstairs gets a lot of sun and so I’m looking at what best option. Downstairs will be cool (I don’t move in until mid-December)
What make model did you get? There are so many and I know very little about them.
I also want to get solar panels - any advice from anyone on that much appreciated. I plan on this being the home I have for 30 yrs (then nursing home I expect!!). So want best long term options not cheapest short term.
Thanks to everybody who posts. Always great info
Nah. Every night in summer we turn it on.
At a comfortable temp though which is not going to cost too much.
I just hang out in my underwear, and use a cold facewasher and a fan.
Not my best look, but it does freak the Jehovah's witnesses out when they come knocking.
I've always wanted to wear a satanic outfit to open the doors to these guys, then call back to someone unseen "hold on a minute I think we've got that virgin now".
Lol virgin.
This is the nastiest thing you have ever said on ozbargain.
Very good.
Firstly… Can't afford to buy one.
Secondly… Can't afford the installation cost.
Lastly… (This is the reason why people whine about the cost of their electricity.) I can't afford the excess bill.
So… it's probably good to be poor!
Amazing how being poor magically increases your tolerance to hot weather isn't it?
Yes, set the temperature higher as the a/c doesnt work as hard
Sure it's possible. Comfort is not a necessity.
Yep, you just have to go to a Westfield's/beach