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DrPepper.

If water is cheap and plenty-full run, a soaker hose across your roof ridge line and wet down the roof. This methods turns your entire roof into an evaportive cooler. That will help your A/C system maintain a reasonable temp. A/C units are sized for square footage at a typical high temp average (95*). Your unit may be working just fine but was not designed to over come 100* plus days.
 
DrPepper.

If water is cheap and plenty-full run, a soaker hose across your roof ridge line and wet down the roof. This methods turns your entire roof into an evaportive cooler. That will help your A/C system maintain a reasonable temp. A/C units are sized for square footage at a typical high temp average (95*). Your unit may be working just fine but was not designed to over come 100* plus days.
Thank you that’s an excellent idea, but unfortunately I have a high arched roof. I would never be able to get a soaked hose over the top.
The city will only allow is to water 2 days a week only. We have water restrictions.
But I do hope the air conditioner will be able to keep up when it gets cooler.
 
I'm a firm believer of staying out of debt.i might be barely getting by.but yet.I'm not in debt with a bank.car lot or what ever..i know a couple who replaces their vehicles when ever the factory warranty gets close to running out.which means their making car payment's every month.instead of spending it on something else. and here they are barely getting by.
I’ve always felt that it’s not how much you make as it is how well you do with it. I’ve known lots of people that made great money and were broke.
 
DrPepper.

If water is cheap and plenty-full run, a soaker hose across your roof ridge line and wet down the roof. This methods turns your entire roof into an evaportive cooler. That will help your A/C system maintain a reasonable temp. A/C units are sized for square footage at a typical high temp average (95*). Your unit may be working just fine but was not designed to over come 100* plus days.
That is an interesting solution but you also bring to light a pet peeve of mine... HVAC should be sized by much more than square footage. Windows, insulation, roof type, even landscaping all change the requirements. I would be highly skeptical of any hvac person that only uses sf alone!


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That is an interesting solution but you also bring to light a pet peeve of mine... HVAC should be sized by much more than square footage. Windows, insulation, roof type, even landscaping all change the requirements. I would be highly skeptical of any hvac person that only uses sf alone!


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That's a very good point. It's also likely that they could sell you a system that's much larger than needed or unnecessary components. I'd rather go over sized than under though. I built my house with double the "needed" insulation in the roof and extra insulation in the wall's and floor and top quality windows. I also went with a larger heat pump and heating/AC system than necessary for my sized home.
The point is if you're going to add an HVAC system to your home is to do some research in the recommended systems, and in to the contractor. Be involved and ask questions throughout the entire process.
 
Since we are on a prepping site we should consider how to heat and cool without electricity. The houses built in the 20’s and 30’s were pre AC. Take cues from their designs. High windows that could let the naturally rising heat out, windows that lined up from 2 sides of the house so a breeze could blow right through, porch overhangs that provide shade. Using both the modern improvements like insulation and multi pane windows and the old designs that made the best of heat removing natural processes just makes sense. There’s a really good chance we will be without electricity one of these days so including it in any building design is much smarter than making something that can’t function in the warm summertime months.
 
That's a very good point. It's also likely that they could sell you a system that's much larger than needed or unnecessary components. I'd rather go over sized than under though. I built my house with double the "needed" insulation in the roof and extra insulation in the wall's and floor and top quality windows. I also went with a larger heat pump and heating/AC system than necessary for my sized home.
The point is if you're going to add an HVAC system to your home is to do some research in the recommended systems, and in to the contractor. Be involved and ask questions throughout the entire process.
I would also advise against an oversized unit unless you are getting a variable power one, otherwise an oversized unit will move more air than needed, making a unit cycle too often and wasting your money. I am no expert, but my expert says get a unit sized correctly or you will regret it...


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Since we are on a prepping site we should consider how to heat and cool without electricity. The houses built in the 20’s and 30’s were pre AC. Take cues from their designs. High windows that could let the naturally rising heat out, windows that lined up from 2 sides of the house so a breeze could blow right through, porch overhangs that provide shade. Using both the modern improvements like insulation and multi pane windows and the old designs that made the best of heat removing natural processes just makes sense. There’s a really good chance we will be without electricity one of these days so including it in any building design is much smarter than making something that can’t function in the warm summertime months.
Yep. That is why if I were building, I would go with an ICF house that is tightly sealed and I would never install fixed glass windows.


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I would also advise against an oversized unit unless you are getting a variable power one, otherwise an oversized unit will move more air than needed, making a unit cycle too often and wasting your money. I am no expert, but my expert says get a unit sized correctly or you will regret it...


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Your correct about the system being right sized for your house. An undersized unit would stay on too much and work too hard trying to keep your house warm or cool. My system is more of a backup. My primary heat will be wood and I don't expect the AC to be used more than a few days per year. So far this summer the inside of the house hasn't gotten above 70 degs. The house is built in the trees so very little sun ever hits the house, plus I have 2 celling fans that move a lot of air.
Our cabin gets a lot more sun and I've used the AC one day so far this summer.
 
Since we are on a prepping site we should consider how to heat and cool without electricity. The houses built in the 20’s and 30’s were pre AC. Take cues from their designs. High windows that could let the naturally rising heat out, windows that lined up from 2 sides of the house so a breeze could blow right through, porch overhangs that provide shade. Using both the modern improvements like insulation and multi pane windows and the old designs that made the best of heat removing natural processes just makes sense. There’s a really good chance we will be without electricity one of these days so including it in any building design is much smarter than making something that can’t function in the warm summertime months.
Now days many people, around here anyway, build their homes out in the open and on a hill to take advantage of the views. Down south of me it's pretty much desert with no trees around and summers can get over 100 degrees during July and August. It's be misrable living if they ever lost power.
When we were trying to decide where to build our house on this property we were tempted to build on a hill overlooking several mountain ranges. The views would have been spectacular, but we'd also be exposed to the high winds and drifting snow in winter and sun all day during summer.
So the site we ended up building on is at the top of a small valley with a ridge on 3 sides and surrounded by large trees. We still have a great view to the west where we can see the storms coming in over the mountains but we're protected from the wind.
The design of our house incorporates many of the features that you mention above. The living room, dining room and kitchen ceiling's are two stores high with dormers and large windows to let natural light in, and the heat out. The rest of the house has 9 foot walls with cathedral ceilings. We have one large fixed picture window in the living room, the rest open. On the outside of the house we have covered porches on three sides. During summer the sun doesn't hit the house directly anywhere. But in winter when the sun is low it will shine on the decks.
Our wood stove has a flat surface for cooking if things went bad and we can no longer get propane.

For some reason I can't post pictures anymore.
 
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One of the important things you don't see anymore was a big ceiling exhaust fan that blew air from the house up into the attic. My grandmother's house and my parents' house both had one. The attic didn't get blistering hot, so even though there was no insulation between the attic and the house (just dead space between the attic floor and the house ceiling), you didn't have heat radiating down from the ceilings in the house. And there was a good breeze blowing throughout the house.
 
One of the important things you don't see anymore was a big ceiling exhaust fan that blew air from the house up into the attic. My grandmother's house and my parents' house both had one. The attic didn't get blistering hot, so even though there was no insulation between the attic and the house (just dead space between the attic floor and the house ceiling), you didn't have heat radiating down from the ceilings in the house. And there was a good breeze blowing throughout the house.
We had one of those fans growing up and it could be run on a small generator, unlike an air conditioner so we could cool the house even if the power went out.
 
I’m covered fairly well with being able to function without electricity now with being able to keep food cool and dark in the root cellar to help it last longer. having a wood stove to heat and cook on is good too but having the stove in a place you can use it in the summer is important too. I placed it on a porch so in the winter I close all the windows and open the porch up to heat the house, and reverse it in the summer. I still have three things to work on here, a solar hot water heater, a 110v pump for the well and a solar system to run the 110v circuits in the house. It all takes time and money, and when you have one you don’t seem to have the other! Life is a balance but the best we can do is keep heading in the direction we think is wise.
 
One of the important things you don't see anymore was a big ceiling exhaust fan that blew air from the house up into the attic. My grandmother's house and my parents' house both had one. The attic didn't get blistering hot, so even though there was no insulation between the attic and the house (just dead space between the attic floor and the house ceiling), you didn't have heat radiating down from the ceilings in the house. And there was a good breeze blowing throughout the house.
A whole house fan like they used to have has its benefits but also drawbacks. Obviously, it requires some electricity to work but also it brings in whatever is outside inside—- humidity, pollution, dust, pollen, etc. another similar solution if your house isn’t already built that doesn’t require electricity is to incorporate a “chimney “ that naturally ventilates the hot air. Auburn’s architecture department created their Rural Village for low cost housing incorporating this technique in at least one of the homes. The residents were apparently happy with it. Another solution is to control the recovery air by installing a filtering unit, which of course uses electricity again, but if you are concerned with air quality, it may be the way to go (ERV or HRV). It works well with a well insulated house, where the other methods basically create a large hole in your house’s conditioned space.


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I use mister (mist) lines just on the outside of the porch (where we set the most) we have ceiling fans on the porch that draws the air through the mist. I makes things a little more comfortable, I reckon that can be done with the bedroom window with a window fan on low setting, I find water drawing through the mist cooler than using a swamp cooler.
 
an attic venting fan can be set up temporarily for the summer if you have a fold-down stairs for attic access - a 20"+ fan across the opening will create a positive pull thru-out the house - makes one hell of a difference especially if you have additional attic fans operating also ....
 
I have 4 grandkids visiting this weekend so I had to kid proof the house from sharps and anything with gunpowder... got me to do some much needed deep cleaning too. I have three mowers, two riders and a self propelled walk behind. Both riders are broke down and the self propelled one stoped self propelling. I don’t think the weed eater is up to the 2 1/2 acres here.... oh well, at least the house looks good.
I had to order a new propane regulator for the portable generator. I ordered it almost a year ago and it never worked on propane, only gas. They finally got the part in, and charged me shipping even with warranty. My advice is don’t buy a duramax generator.
 
I think I mention this a couple of years ago, duramax generators are not highly thought of here in fact most consider them paperweights or Columbia river boat anchors
On gasoline it runs pretty smooth, we will see if the new regulator fixes the propane issue. As far as reviews go, 90% of them are bad. When the overwhelming majority is bashing something, it’s probably wise to take heed. Everything in life is a trade off though. Sure I would like the comparable Honda generator, but at almost three thousand it’s a tough choice when this was three hundred. I probably have 15 hours on this unit and will see if it holds up down the road or not.
 
I have 4 grandkids visiting this weekend so I had to kid proof the house from sharps and anything with gunpowder... got me to do some much needed deep cleaning too. I have three mowers, two riders and a self propelled walk behind. Both riders are broke down and the self propelled one stoped self propelling. I don’t think the weed eater is up to the 2 1/2 acres here.... oh well, at least the house looks good.
I had to order a new propane regulator for the portable generator. I ordered it almost a year ago and it never worked on propane, only gas. They finally got the part in, and charged me shipping even with warranty. My advice is don’t buy a duramax generator.
Once when the lawn mower broke when we were growing, my brothers and I cut the grass with machetes. It's not a solution I recommend.
 

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