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Stupid AC, stupid house!
I live in a house that's about 30-35 years old. Brick with wood siding and CRAP (or maybe no) insulation.
Our room is either too hot or too cold. In order to get it somewhat reasonable, we have to set the thermostat at 21 in the summer - which I think is ridiculous. The main floor and basement are fine most of the time without the AC. At most, on humid days like we've been having, we'd need to set the thermostat at about 24-25, just to get the humidity out.
So I'm thinking about buying a small window AC unit. I found one at Lowes for $88. I know they aren't entirely efficient, but hoping that running it for 1/2 before bedtime and overnight is better than trying too keep the entire house at sub arctic temperatures just to get some relief.
What do you think? Do you think this will help conserve energy or use even more?
Re: Stupid AC, stupid house!
We had a unit for our bedroom in our old apartment, which was okay. Not great (didn't cool the whole room), but our bed was near the window so it was okay.
Might be worth trying... I don't know how it affected our energy as hydro was included for us.
Can you set up a fan that blows the cooler air into your bedroom? We live in the same kind of house and have started doing a few things to help out.
We plug the vents in the basement - it's cold down there anyway and doesn't need any help. We also plugged the bathroom vent b/c how long are you in there for anyway, and I swear it was one of the coldest rooms upstairs. This seems to force the air into the other rooms. We have a fan pointed at the bed (so I don't die in the night - even 22-23 degrees makes me melt right now and our thermostat doesn't get below 24-25), and I close the door about an hour before bed so it's nice and cool in there before bed.
This also has the added benefit of keeping the dog off the bed for a while before bed so at least I'm not getting into a pre-warmed bed...
Done, done and done
. The vents in the basement and some on the main floor are plugged. The smallest bedroom that we don't use is also blocked off and the door is kept closed. We have a blackout lined blind in our room and have a ceiling fan, an industrial fan and a tower fan. We leave both of them running for circulation. Still an inferno 
I guess it can't hurt to try.
Assuming the budget does not have room for an energy audit and upgrading windows or whatever needs to happen to improve the overall efficiency of your home. If you've been thinking about it, now might be a good time with the tax breaks available for renovations and I've lost track of "green" tax credits/rebates that are out there that might make it more affordable.
DH had a portable ac unit in his old apartment. He never really moved it but he could if he wanted to. It basically is a unit on wheels and a small hose goes out the window. It worked really well in the room it was in and we just used a fan to blow the cool air to the bedroom.I think it was kinda pricey though - maybe $300 - 400 4 years ago.
Damn. So much for my brilliant plan. Honestly you're only gonna get hotter as your pregnancy progresses. I'd break down and get the window unit. Very few things trump a good night's sleep.
Windows are 4 years old. It's the insulation that's the problem, but we definitely don't have the budget to reinsulate the house. I'd love to, but not realistic right now.
Do you have a ceiling fan in your bedroom? For years my parents never had AC and our saving grace each summer were the ceiling fans in each room. They really do make a difference.
I've never had a window unit, so I don't know much about them.
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