Single Room AC unit monthly cost

[mraynrand]

Look on the A/C unit and you will see the number of watts it uses. A light bulb (100watt) will probably be about 1/10 to 1/20 of an A/C which will pull at least 1-2 kW. Then check your electric bill to see what you're paying for Kilowatt hours. If I have this right, if you Run you A/C at 1kw for 1 hour, that's a Kw hour on your bill. Think of it as having on ten lights (100 Watt bulb) all at once. A way to conserve is to turn the A/C on in a small room with the door closed. Takes less to cool it down - sometimes you can cool the room off before you go to sleep and then get through the night without the A/C on.

[MadtownPacker]

Damn, some of you are getting ganked hard. I was living at a place that was $300 a month for electricity during the summer and I said fuck that. My bill now is $75 for everything including the AC all day, a big TV, a small tv, PC, and a electric dryer.

[Zool]

Damn, some of you are getting ganked hard. I was living at a place that was $300 a month for electricity during the summer and I said fuck that. My bill now is $75 for everything including the AC all day, a big TV, a small tv, PC, and a electric dryer.

How is that efficiency in the barrio?

[retailguy]

I have a fairly large home too.

cheers.

I'll take that as an invite, RG. Don't worry, I only need a few rooms. :P

You're welcome any time... Bring the popcorn.

[retailguy]

Damn, some of you are getting ganked hard. I was living at a place that was $300 a month for electricity during the summer and I said fuck that. My bill now is $75 for everything including the AC all day, a big TV, a small tv, PC, and a electric dryer.

I had one of those places too, but the commute from Indonesia was a little taxing so I had to give it up... :P

[MadtownPacker]

How is that efficiency in the barrio?

Bitch these adobe walls hold in all the cool air. The straw roof doesnt hurt either.

[Zool]

How is that efficiency in the barrio?

Bitch these adobe walls hold in all the cool air. The straw roof doesnt hurt either.

Win

[3irty1]

I keep a rotation of wet boxers in the freezer.

Or sometimes I make a heatsink for my balls out of aluminum foil and run a fan on it.

[Partial]

I keep a rotation of wet boxers in the freezer.

Or sometimes I make a heatsink for my balls out of aluminum foil and run a fan on it.

I am sure Chris and Blake love your wet boxers in the freezer

[Tyrone Bigguns]

That $225 would just be his AC on the top of his regular electric.

I got that, but AC is the majority of your electric. Unless you leave your computer on, etc..your electric is practically nothing.

[3irty1]

I keep a rotation of wet boxers in the freezer.

Or sometimes I make a heatsink for my balls out of aluminum foil and run a fan on it.

I am sure Chris and Blake love your wet boxers in the freezer

They care more when I leave my used heatsinks in their beds.

[packinpatland]

Here in CT, the land of the highest electric rates in the nation. My electric bill goes up amost $300 a month in the summer........it NEVER goes below $150. I've got an average size house, one daughter still at home......new energy efficient appliances............
Just bought a new woodstove for this winter.........the cost to fill the oil tank the last time was almost $800! The woodstove will pay for itself half way thru the winter. If I could just find a way to cool with wood!

[Iron Mike]

Damn, some of you are getting ganked hard. I was living at a place that was $300 a month for electricity during the summer and I said fuck that. My bill now is $75 for everything including the AC all day, a big TV, a small tv, PC, and a electric dryer.

How is that efficiency in the barrio?

He lives at the laundromat.

[MJZiggy]

Here in CT, the land of the highest electric rates in the nation. My electric bill goes up amost $300 a month in the summer........it NEVER goes below $150. I've got an average size house, one daughter still at home......new energy efficient appliances............
Just bought a new woodstove for this winter.........the cost to fill the oil tank the last time was almost $800! The woodstove will pay for itself half way thru the winter. If I could just find a way to cool with wood!

Ceiling fans and minimal amounts of clothing have eliminated my need for air conditioning (ok, occasionally I put an ice pack on the back of my neck). PIPL, I love my woodstove. I only wish we'd put it upstairs, then we wouldn't need heat either.

[Freak Out]

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=how-to-keep-cool-without-a-c

How to Keep Cool without Running Your AC

Are there environmentally friendly alternatives to keeping cool indoors without running the air conditioning?

Dear EarthTalk: Summer’s going to be a scorcher this year, and I’d like to know how I can keep cool indoors without just running my energy-hogging air conditioners all the time. Any tips?
-- John McGovern, Cohasset, MA

According to Harvey Sachs of the non-profit American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, the movement of air over the skin is what’s key to keeping the body cool. So instead of turning on that A.C., see which direction the breeze is blowing outside (no matter how minimal it may be), and then open a few windows strategically to try to get it flowing through the house from end-to-end or side-to-side.

If the breeze alone isn’t enough, apply some fan power. Even small tabletop fans, which can be had for $30 or so at Target and similar stores, can really whip the air around. Placing one facing in by the window where air is coming in, and one at an opposite window positioned to blow warm air out, can create a nice “wind tunnel” effect in pulling air through the house.

This strategy can be especially effective at night when it is cooler. But then it’s important to shut the windows when you leave for the day in the morning to keep the cooler air in and the warmth of the new day out. Keep blinds shut and curtains drawn, too, as sunlight pouring into the house only creates more heat. And remember that lights left on are not only wasting electricity—they’re creating heat, as well.

Ceiling fans also do a nice job of circulating air in the rooms you occupy most, and though they do require some up-front costs for installation they use only about 1/30th the electricity of a room air conditioner.

Beyond moving the air around to keep cool, the website WikiHow.com lists several tips for using water to keep cool sans AC. One tried and true method is to wet your wrists and other pulse points with cold water, and then keep those spots cool by holding an ice cube wrapped in a face cloth against them. The relief is immediate, and this method will cool down the entire body—by as much as three degrees Fahrenheit—for upwards of an hour. Another WikiHow suggestion: Wear a short-sleeved shirt and keep the sleeves wet with cold water (from a squirt bottle, faucet or hose). Keeping the pant legs of long pants wet is also a good way to keep your legs cool. Add in a breeze or a fan, and you can actually get cold.

Of course, if you just can’t live without air conditioning, there are greener options out there. For starters, a single window unit that keeps one room cool is far less energy intensive and polluting than central air conditioning that keeps all the rooms in the house (including those you’re not using) cool. Look for new models sporting the federal Energy Star label, which marks units as energy efficient.

Another option for those in hot, dry climates is an evaporative cooler, which cools outdoor air through evaporation and blows it inside the house. These units make for a nice alternative to traditional central air conditioning, as they cost about half as much to install and use only one quarter of the energy overall.