Inexpensive Ways To Cool My Home?

Question

Las Vegas, Nevada. 105 - 110 degrees so far this summer. I want to stop using my ancient air conditioner (it came with the house and I've been in it 31 years!) to ease the cost of my electric bill. It gets up to 95 degrees inside if I don't turn the air conditioner on by 2 pm. I have several areas where cool air escapes outside and I am working on plugging these leaks. The attic isn't insulated and I want to do something to allow warm air to escape. Fans are not the solution (they only blow hot air around) and I need any fix I can come up with. Thanks.

I'm also looking into solar heating and cooling in the near future.

Answer 1

Put a wet towel in the freezer and then put it in a plastic trash bag and wrap it around your neck. That way you can fix you air leaks and insulate your attic.

Answer 2

One thing that help my house is keeping your curtains or blinds closed during the day to keep the sun for warming the room as much.  Avoid using the stover or oven too much when it is hot out, and don't use too many lights.  

Answer 3

Well, if you own your home I would suggest buying a new ac unit.. the new ones are much more efficient.. also make sure you have adequate ducting... and do not underestimate the value of good insulation!!  A whole house fan will help cool the house once it cools down during the day, but during the daytime, I prefer AC.

We have an older house.. in process of remodel. We can't afford to do everything now, so in the mean time, we have a new swamp cooler for the majority of the house.  Our house has no ducting, so it is installed in a window opening. It cools the house, but not super great. You still have to choose the time of day when you are doing housework etc, and I still refuse to turn on my oven until the weather cools down.  We have installed a small window style air conditioner in the bedroom (which we have already remodeled), and that works great... that room has new windows and insulation, so it cools quickly and efficiently, even gets cold..

It has been in the 100's -110 here several days, and my electric bills are approx $100 a month.. I am not super cool, but not miserable, and I do not have the outrageous bills that I hear others complaining of....

Solar is great, but it is not cheap.. make sure you research extensively, as the pricing varies greatly. And you will still want to insulate as much as you can....

here is a link to a site where I found some info

http://www.homepower.com/home/

Answer 4

An attic fan works really good.  You can get one that will help move the air around in your attic.  If your nights get cool enough open the windows and doors at night and close your house up in the morning.  Keep shades drawn to keep the suns heat out.