Why is my house always hot?

Question

its a small ranch built in the 50s. it gets to the 90s here now that its summer. i have 2 air conditioners in the windows and no matter how much they run the house is always about 80 degrees. all my friends have modern houses that are freezing..why cant my house be like that. is it cus bak then when they made houses they used thicker wood and insulation? even in the fall when its 50s and 60s out we open all the windows and its still about 80 in this d**n house

Answer 1

A big source of heat problems with older homes such as yours is inadequate ventilation in the attic space.   It has nothing to do with thicker wood and only some to do with the type of insulation used (if any).  



I have a rancher that  was built in 1953, the windows have been upgraded from single pane to triple.  That helped a bit.

The attic insulation was upgraded from 6 inches of mineral wool to 18 inches of fiberglass batts.  That helped some.  I do have central AC, but it seemed to run more than I thought it should.

After reading some information one day at the library on the subject, I decided to install some roof vents.   Right now the heat in your attic is migrating downward as that is the path of least resistance, thus it is working againts your AC units.

The existing ventilation for my house attic space was a rectangle louvered vent at end of the house (  the gable ends ) and each vent measured 18" x 24".  That was it.  The soffits and roof were not vented in any manner at all.   The attic temperature was reading 40 - 50 degrees higher than the temperature inside the house since the only way for heat to escape was through the two small gable vents.

Here's what I did or had someone do for me.

A siding contractor came out, removed the old soffits and installed new vented soffits.  They also removed all the insulation that was setting on top of the soffits and would block the air flow through the new ventilated soffit panels.

I installed 2 wind turbines near the ridge line of the roof on the backside of the house.  My house is 58 feet long, so I came in 20 feet from each gable to divide the length approx. in thirds.  Wind turbines are not dependent on any power source and function regardless of the season or time of day.  

The turbines work by taking advantage of the fact that hot air rises, by providing an escape point for the hot air through the high point of the roof, the turbines begin to spin as the air escapes.  As they spin they draw even more air out by suction.  The air going out the turbines is replaced by cooler air being drawn into the attic space through the soffit vents, where at least one side is not in the sun, so that outside air is cooler than what is in the attic space.   As the cooler air is drawn inside the attic it picks up heat from the underside of the roof, thus it is moving faster and removing the heat as well.  The convection process really does work.

Newer homes, built in the 80's and newer, use ridge vents along with soffit vents to accomplish this same thing.  I opted to not use the ridge vent as it would have been more work and less beneficial.

My house is now cooler, my power usage is running about 22% below two years ago.

Answer 2

Vent your attic. Least expensive way to go. Add a larger vent at each end of the house. About $20 bucks at your local store. A thermostat controlled attic fan. About $60-$80 to draw the hot air out. Hire a neighbor with some building exp. This is an easy job depending on the exterior walls. Brick requires more labor and should be performed by a professional. Vents can be installed between attic supports. No need to change the structure. About $100-150 dollars labor, 3 hours and 15 degrees cooler and your done. You can also install a whole house fan in the ceiling. Try to center this fan in the home. When not operating the air conditioner, turn this fan on. It will draw cool air from out side threw the home and into the attic where it is pushed through the attic vents and back outdoors. Very efficient. Also helps to eliminate humidity and condensation through out the entire home. No more air conditioning in the evening. Saves you a bundle. About $150 dollars and 2 hours labor.  Electrical should be done by a professional. Check into it. You may be surprised. Insulation is a good investment but cost. Depending on your location it could pay for itself in just a few short years.

Answer 3

what's the landscaping around your house like?  Do you have any shade of large trees around?  That could be a source of your baking in the sun.

Has your house had any modern updates?  Are your windows still single paned?  Have you added any extra insulation to it or is it all original?

Answer 4

Do you have insulation in your walls and roof?

Do you have a lot of glass?  Is it double paned (better insulation)?

Maybe you could try closing blinds/drapes to make it darker so that the sun doesn't come in?

Go and hang out at your friends' modern homes that are freezing.  You're wasting energy on air conditioning that doesn't work.  :)

Answer 5

is there alot of "you know what" goin on in there?? wink wink:;)

Answer 6

Check with your electric company, Most will do a free energy survey, and you may get coupons or a rebate for upgrading windows , wall and attic insulation. The walls can be insulated without tearing them up, if you were wondering.Good Luck !