The No Stupid Questions Thread

[FearlessF]

Ft Lauderdale was enough humidity for me.   In January 

[Cincydawg]

Breckenridge is quite pleasant in the summer, I think, no AC needed really.  Not overly crowded, good restaurants, nice scenery.  My wife liked it.

9600 feet ASL.

About 2900 meters.

[betarhoalphadelta]

My father-in-law says many houses in Colorado where he lives don't have A/C.  I think maybe his house doesn't, not sure. 

I can't even imagine. 

I have AC, but I try not to use it when I can avoid it. It's an old house with an inefficient AC unit, so when I get to July/Aug and maybe have to run it, electric bills get into the $400-500 range.

I'd actually use it even less if it was just me, and just not WFH during those months and use my office's AC... But we have a dog, and I don't want him to be miserable or overheat. So even if I leave the house to go to the office, I still have to run it for him. 

We're not far from the ocean, but there are some foothills between us and there. When I drive my Jeep heading south on the freeway, there's a point I can always feel right where the foothills aren't blocking anything, and it drops about 10 degrees in a mile. If I lived there, I wouldn't need AC at all. 

[Cincydawg]

We moved to ATL in 1964 to a new house that had no central AC.  It was OK I thought.  My parents had central air installed around 1970.

[847badgerfan]

I have AC, but I try not to use it when I can avoid it. It's an old house with an inefficient AC unit, so when I get to July/Aug and maybe have to run it, electric bills get into the $400-500 range.

I'd actually use it even less if it was just me, and just not WFH during those months and use my office's AC... But we have a dog, and I don't want him to be miserable or overheat. So even if I leave the house to go to the office, I still have to run it for him.

We're not far from the ocean, but there are some foothills between us and there. When I drive my Jeep heading south on the freeway, there's a point I can always feel right where the foothills aren't blocking anything, and it drops about 10 degrees in a mile. If I lived there, I wouldn't need AC at all.

These really work. @betarhoalphadelta 

Portable Air Conditioners, Portable AC Unit in Stock - ULINE

One of my friends has one, and I'm thinking about getting one for my office so I can keep the house at 78 and my office at 73.

Right now, keeping the house at 75 costs a lot of money. Our AC and air handler are 6 months old too.

[Cincydawg]

Our building faces either north or south, ours is the former, though it wraps around east and we get full sun in the AM.  The units facing south have a major sun issue obviously, and they all have blinds of some sort.  The glass is reflective but not enough.  My buddy says he hardly uses his heat in winter, but in summer, he keeps the place dark and runs AC.

My electric bill for a year averaged $147, we don't have gas, most of it is for heat for my wife.

[betarhoalphadelta]

These really work. @betarhoalphadelta

Portable Air Conditioners, Portable AC Unit in Stock - ULINE

One of my friends has one, and I'm thinking about getting one for my office so I can keep the house at 78 and my office at 73.

Right now, keeping the house at 75 costs a lot of money. Our AC and air handler are 6 months old too.

Thanks. I'd certainly consider that if I needed to use AC as often as people in FL or TX... But it's pretty much a 6-8 week thing here. And I'll keep the set point at 78 or sometimes even 80. 

I basically run the AC intermittently (as it cools down nicely in the evening) for 2 months, but then don't run the AC or the heater at any other time all year. 

[Gigem]

Where we stay in Breckenridge has no AC.  We were there once in July and folks complained about the heat.  It got up to 80°F one day.

Well, what somebody told me (never been that far North in summer) is that even though it gets somewhat hot during the day, it still gets cold at night.  Like 40's and 50's at night, every night.  So It's relatively cool in the morning, but by around 2-3 PM when you're in the heat of the day the house may finally catch-up and start to heat up.  So by the time you hit 80 deg F, the outside is finally cooling down and pretty soon it's comfortable again. They told me you really only need AC for 2-3 hours of the hottest days.  And usually the humidity is super low so you really so it's not like a humid day around Houston.  

[betarhoalphadelta]

Well, what somebody told me (never been that far North in summer) is that even though it gets somewhat hot during the day, it still gets cold at night.  Like 40's and 50's at night, every night.  So It's relatively cool in the morning, but by around 2-3 PM when you're in the heat of the day the house may finally catch-up and start to heat up.  So by the time you hit 80 deg F, the outside is finally cooling down and pretty soon it's comfortable again. They told me you really only need AC for 2-3 hours of the hottest days.  And usually the humidity is super low so you really so it's not like a humid day around Houston. 

Yeah, this was the difference that I've seen here in SoCal, and I believe to be the same in Colorado. 

But it's not being further north that does it--Illinois or Minnesota can be terribly muggy even after the sun goes down. You simply don't see the same drop in temperature that you would in CA or CO. 

It's the humidity. The specific heat of water is very high, so it tends to hold onto the temperature. In humid places, that means the temperature persists long after the sun drops. In arid places, that's not true, and so once the sun drops, the temps drop much more rapidly. 

[Cincydawg]

Humid air is less dense than dry air. 

[Cincydawg]

https://www.oglaend-system.com/news/top-10-world-s-longest-road-tunnels#:~:text=Being%2025%20km%20long%20the,huge%20hall%20every%206%20km.

[betarhoalphadelta]

Humid air is less dense than dry air.

Less dense, yes. H2O is 18 atomic mass, while O2 is 32 and N2 28. But O2 or N2 molecules don't have anywhere near the same specific heat as H2O molecules. 

[OrangeAfroMan]

Met some family a couple of summers ago at the Grand Canyon.  They're from South Carolina and stayed in one of the cabins right on the rim.  At that elevation, the cabins have no AC.  It was like 95 degrees when they were there.  Misery.

I camped about 10 min south of the GC park in a shady wooded area and felt fine once the sun went down.  Woke up surrounded by elk.  I think it was better than the cabins.

[Gigem]

Yeah, this was the difference that I've seen here in SoCal, and I believe to be the same in Colorado.

But it's not being further north that does it--Illinois or Minnesota can be terribly muggy even after the sun goes down. You simply don't see the same drop in temperature that you would in CA or CO.

It's the humidity. The specific heat of water is very high, so it tends to hold onto the temperature. In humid places, that means the temperature persists long after the sun drops. In arid places, that's not true, and so once the sun drops, the temps drop much more rapidly.

Friends of mine have been to places like Michigan and other places north in the middle of summer (July/August) and told me the difference is no matter what be sure to take a jacket with you because it gets cold at night, sometimes like high 50's, even in peak summer.  That aint' even close to muggy to me.