Ouch! My wallet hurts

[Repaid1]

When I grew up my dad got the solar film from Sears and put it on the Sunny side of the house. Was really kinda weird as outside during the day all the windows were like mirrors and you had to cup your hands to barely get a glimpse inside but seemed to work really good. However at night it reversed....and that was really creepy as you couldn't see outside, but they could see in!

[Dubious]

Would that be solar film on your windows?

It's a layer of silver sandwiched between two layers of poly film with a water activated adhesive on one side. Blocks heat transfer both ways too. In the winter it will keep more heat in the house.

It's really expensive though, especially if you have someone else install it.

Sun shades it says so it was close

5 windows for about $150 or so and its already paid itself with lower power bill

[Loveable_guy]

I forget where he said the leak was at, but he did quote the blower at $550 so I trust him (have used them for 20+ years)

6800 was the lowest we could get everything, but we opted for some energy efficiency upgrades in both the heater (two-stage gas valve and variable speed blower)

[Bettypooh]

The best approach is to define a houses 'envelope' then insulate that against the outdoors. With well-sealed basements or encapsulated crawlspaces, you're actually adding them to the house envelope which changes where the insulation belongs. A lot of people don't understand that and create more problems than they solved by failing to understand the 'envelope' concept Of possible gains via insulation after cracks and gaps are sealed, the attic

[Honu]

I'm on DailyD's side. The overall age of both the Air Handler Unit and the Condenser make them candidates for replacement plus the efficiency move from SEER 10 to SEER 16 make this a good decision. The property value will increase and more importantly, he'll enjoy the house more. The Contractor has proven that he's pricing things honestly and the only downside is that it's a substantial amount of money to come up with.

I understand the financial side as well. I bought a house in Florida in 2006 and it lost a lot of value during the 5 years I lived in it. I moved to California for a promotion and converted it to a rental 3 years ago. This years has been nothing but problems with the pool there and after replacing the pump, fixing the filter and doing some plumbing repairs, now I hear that it needs over $7,000 in repairs to the shell because of leaks. A new HVAC adds value to a house but a pool doesn't. In fact, some buyers shy away from houses with pools because of the cost and time to maintain them.

[DailyDi]

New system is in, and just in time! Was 85 in the house when we hit the switch, and now it's a comfy 72. Few degrees warmer than I like, but that's what you get when you live with old people lol.

Hoping more stable temps will help with my migraine (day 5 of this particular attack) if not I have to go get a migraine buster shot tomorrow.

[Bettypooh]

Hope you get to feeling better soon!

Bettypooh

[Wet Knight]

A/C has not been able to keep up this year and it's been close to 80 in the house most evenings.

Who says there is global warming?

Autumn doesn't start for another 3 days, but last night the need to put a blanket on the bed, woke me up before I'd wet.

[Repaid1]

New system is in, and just in time! Was 85 in the house when we hit the switch, and now it's a comfy 72. Few degrees warmer than I like, but that's what you get when you live with old people lol.

Hoping more stable temps will help with my migraine (day 5 of this particular attack) if not I have to go get a migraine buster shot tomorrow.

So sorry to hear the darn migraines are back. I really hate to even say anything (other than I care) It seems lately all the things that others have had way back in my past have now reared their head at my door step. Not sure what I would do having something so terribly debilitating as these migraines. Might as well just give me a tooth ache for the rest of my life

So anyway not to be nosy, but from a scientific kind of prospective....exactly how cold can you get your bedroom with your window unit on top of the central? I take it the cooler air and darkness tends to help quite a bit?

Can't imagine what living down south would be like without air conditioning, even in SC I would walk outside my base housing and just bust into a sweat walking to the car...remote starts on vehicles was used for the exact opposite version from up here in Ohio, but I guess primarily for the same reason. Anyway I hope you get by this spell soon, and hope for someday they find some "cure" for this condition.

Edited August 4, 2015 by Repaid1

[Diapered Jason]

First if your fan goes out in many cases you can replace it your self.

As far as i know no A/C company uses custom built fan motors.

If you look on the fan motor you will find a frame # and shaft size and length

Buying from a company that stocks motors for industry use.can save up to 100s of dollars.

Back when i worked in the trade the place i work for had a 100 to 120% markup on the price they payed and the price you payed for the part.

This was on top of the repair time cost.

And if your motor was made in china you can replace it with a better built made in the US motor in many cases. this will save you money in the long run.

[DailyDi]

I keep it about 67 in my bedroom. Even the cats have been hanging out in there for cooler cleaner air