Why Air Conditioning? Different Answers In Different Places
October 16th, 2009 categories: Energy Package, EnergyWise Education, EnergyWise Examples, EnergyWise House Flipping, EnergyWise Renovation, Green Renovation, RENOVATORS
Luelle and I just got back from spending a week grandparenting in Cancun, Mexico. Taking the 3 year old Noah and 18 month old Abigail swimming through the underground river at Xcaret was the highlight along with much sand construction and time in the kiddie pool….
Wow, was it hot. Over 90 on both temperature and humidity. So I got to see first hand the “Other Reason For Air Conditioning” taking moisture out of the air. Water condensed on the Outside of bus windows when air conditioning was turned on in the bus. And the cold tile floors in our room condensed pools of water near the door way. (Sweep or door bottom not existent)
Condensation is a real concern for Energy Wise Renovators, especially for some of you who live in more humid areas than Fresno, where GreenEarthEquities renovates foreclosed homes. But it’s important even here with our tighter homes. I’ll share two examples and the solutions in upcoming posts.
In the mean time, Luelle will be recommending her travel clients schedule Cancun for a December – February vacation.
Hi Dave,
Shawna in Australia here. LOVED reading about your humidity mexico blog. Am currently suffering in humility of humidity after declaring that we didnt need AC in our energy conscious renovation. AFter a solid week of rain, ALL the towels are mildewed – even our pillows are starting to be sniffed suspiciously. What I wouldnt do for a DRYER or AC! Wondering if you know the difference in energy between the two. Hubby’s solution of plugging the old tiny space heater in the loo with all windows closed and the towels hanging out just doesn’t seem to be a good thing to me…
Hi Shawna,
It sounds like you and your husband are trying to go to the “bleeding edge” of Green and Energy Conservation. You are to be commended, as we need leaders like you. My business focuses on keeping all the comforts and making it as bullet proof as possible. There is so much waste in most houses from the last century that it is pretty easy to cut 30 to 50%. Then we could more easily go to zero with PV if we want to….. and still have all the comforts.
This is the type of home that I find will sell easily in my market anyway.
I assume you mean what we call a de-humidifier vs an air conditioner. I think the de-humidifier, would be a little cheaper but wont provide the comfort of the AC which will do both. Each of us have to choose how much we want to pay and how comfortable we want to be. In my area 99% of the people “need” air conditioning. It sounds like you do to. Good luck on your projects.