Weather

iannis said:

Jesus Christ.

How the fuck.

It's been sorta warm in NC. But not as bad as usual. However it does feel like you're living in soup. I mean you leave the window open and fabric gets wet.

At least it's a dry heat? I guess?

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It's hot. I've been out west once when it was 108 I think but the humidity was like 20%. It was a million times easier to breathe than here in KY when it is low 90s but 80% humidity.
It WILL cook you and fry you up no doubt about it and those 120 days is just nuts but big difference in that humidity. Worst I ever saw here was a few years back when it was 107 with 70% humidity. Body was pumping out a gallon a hour of fluids.
I know people who lived out west who said the dry heat was more tolerable than the wet heat.
If you look at the weather expanded they have no heat index and humidity this week is all less than 20%.
Not trying to attack it because 120 is fucking hot no matter how you look at it, but if you are used to eastern temps and humidity it isn't the same thing as 120 would be in Ky/NC at all. Everyone would be dead when tied with the humidity we have, including all grass and plants.

I'm more curious how AC works out there because AC does several things to cool, none of which would seem to work properly in a low humidity environment.

Why would low humidity affect ac more negatively than high humidity? I figure it would be the opposite.

Leadsalad said:

Why would low humidity affect ac more negatively than high humidity? I figure it would be the opposite.

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"The first modern air conditioning system was developed in 1902 by a young electrical engineer named Willis Haviland Carrier. It was designed to solve a humidity problem at the Sackett-Wilhelms Lithographing and Publishing Company in Brooklyn, N.Y. Paper stock at the plant would sometimes absorb moisture from the warm summer air, making it difficult to apply the layered inking techniques of the time. Carrier treated the air inside the building by blowing it across chilled pipes. The air cooled as it passed across the cold pipes, and since cool air can't carry as much moisture as warm air, the process reduced the humidity in the plant and stabilized the moisture content of the paper. Reducing the humidity also had the side benefit of lowering the air temperature -- and a new technology was born."
Part of the AC function is pulling moisture out of the air, it has a cooling effect. If you are in an area without moisture to pull out, that effect would be greatly reduced.
We have a central unit which pulls out buckets of water when running but my office also a window AC because I like it colder than Shelly and it only uses 480 watts. Even it pulls out 1.3l a hour of water from the air.

Most AC's are not effective when it is cool outside or when it is super hot. A AC cannot cool a house/room to 68 degrees when it is 120 outside due to how it works.
Which is why I am curious what else is done or types of AC units they have out west. I'm going to assume not exactly the same as we have over here and I am not aware how they tackle this problem. Obviously they don't sit around in 90 degree homes, so what do they do to keep themselves cool.

Yea, low humidity is generally better for AC units because they handle less water and run less because you feel cooler with higher temps in low humidity. It's very comfortable most of the year a 75 inside in dry air, whereas in humid climates that would be unbearable.

The difference is unit size. In Phoenix the absolute smallest common unit size is 3 ton whereas I think there's lots of more 1.5-2tons in more moderate areas?

Palum said:

Yea, low humidity is generally better for AC units because they handle less water and run less because you feel cooler with higher temps in low humidity. It's very comfortable most of the year a 75 inside in dry air, whereas in humid climates that would be unbearable.

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I'd imagine whole house fans are pretty big out there as well right?
It is rare to see one here, although some do use attic fans only.
It is 73.1 in my room currently at 66% humidity. The house is 75 with 71% and it is 78% and dropping outside at 80 degrees.
That is considered "cool" unless you have been outside and working all day. When I was doing that I had to keep it 68 in house to remain feeling cool.
Noticed being on blood thinners I feel much cooler than I used to as well.

Olebass said:

I'd imagine whole house fans are pretty big out there as well right?
It is rare to see one here, although some do use attic fans only.
It is 73.1 in my room currently at 66% humidity. The house is 75 with 71% and it is 78% and dropping outside at 80 degrees.
That is considered "cool" unless you have been outside and working all day. When I was doing that I had to keep it 68 in house to remain feeling cool.
Noticed being on blood thinners I feel much cooler than I used to as well.

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It really does help.

I wouldn't suggest it to anyone else, but sometimes i'll take an aspirin if i'm hot.

The dry heat thing is legit. I moved out here from Kentucky in the summer, and it was instantaneously noticeable.

That said, once you get above about 105 it's just fucking hot. You don't really care anymore at that point.

Also, for the deserts (the places hitting the 110-120's this week), swamp coolers are pretty prevalent. Although, they only drop the temp by about a max of 30 degrees. Using air conditioners works, but have fun with your $900 electric bill.

You also have the abiility to use swamp coolers in Phoenix and many homes have both a traditional ac and swamp coolers. I moved out here 4 years ago from Chicago and I will take 120 over fucking 85 with 88 humidity any day.

117. AC is working fine. Going to be a record come Tue/Wed peak.

Lanx said:

yo, you hot summer living guys.

I've been trying to find real info on whether or not:
1. closing vents save energy
2. closing doors save energy
3. ceiling fan (spun the proper way, ccw for summer, cw for winter) does anything

it's like mountains and mountains of myths.

1. common sense says close the vents in rooms you don't use (guest rooms, etc) and that's less sq/ft to cool/heat, conversely they say this indirectly makes the hvac work "harder" b/c now theres less airflow, or neg airflow.
2. same could be said for closing doors, that is why there is a 1in gap in all interior doors to allow a draft to come in the doors, but then these are all the rage

3. they say ceiling fan is only good to "wick" away perspiration and let the human in the room feel cooler, no human in room, does nothing. However others say it pulls hot air up (where humans don't feel it) and pushes hot air down (in cold months).

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I remember sweltering in the classroom those Sept. dog days as school just started, teacher turned out the lights, it felt cooler.

Don't close your vents or shut out bedrooms you don't use. Rooms closer to the HVAC will have better air pressure naturally and cool quicker so what you want to do is just slightly close them or get a nice fan like a vornado to push that air out and into other rooms. Black out curtains are huge energy savers for keeping the sun out in rooms you don't need lit. Make sure you use weather stripping or something to actually seal your doors or windows so you don't get hot air flooding your house. Ceiling fans are for personal comfort and don't do shit for pushing enough air around to help the hvac. Of course the number one thing is to have a properly insulated house including the attic with vents for the hot air.

Olebass said:

Show me your humidity though. All you bastards living in that dry heat. I would take 110 with low humidity over 90s with the 100% humidity bullshit we get in the summer. I could cut the air and ship it to you around here in July.

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That's how south Florida was 11 months of the year, shit was ridiculous and when I got up here I just laughed at the people who said the humidity was pretty bad up here on some days.

zombiewizardhawk said:

That's how south Florida was 11 months of the year, shit was ridiculous and when I got up here I just laughed at the people who said the humidity was pretty bad up here on some days.

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I've been to Daytona about a dozen times in my life. Always nice even on hot days. In late 2000s we took a trip down and stayed in Orlando for a week, except after 2 days we moved it to the beach. People who live inland Florida are mentally insane.

zombiewizardhawk said:

That's how south Florida was 11 months of the year, shit was ridiculous and when I got up here I just laughed at the people who said the humidity was pretty bad up here on some days.

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I visited Boca one April, told the ex-wife we could move here. Next day the humidity rolled in. Cancel that idea.

Lanx said:

yo, you hot summer living guys.

I've been trying to find real info on whether or not:
1. closing vents save energy
2. closing doors save energy
3. ceiling fan (spun the proper way, ccw for summer, cw for winter) does anything

it's like mountains and mountains of myths.

1. common sense says close the vents in rooms you don't use (guest rooms, etc) and that's less sq/ft to cool/heat, conversely they say this indirectly makes the hvac work "harder" b/c now theres less airflow, or neg airflow.
2. same could be said for closing doors, that is why there is a 1in gap in all interior doors to allow a draft to come in the doors, but then these are all the rage

3. they say ceiling fan is only good to "wick" away perspiration and let the human in the room feel cooler, no human in room, does nothing. However others say it pulls hot air up (where humans don't feel it) and pushes hot air down (in cold months).

Click to expand...

You want to close off all vents and possible airways on doors like that picture, only more secure. You often need a fan but because you want to save energy and not run the AC, so it's best to turn off all your really carbon credit heavy wired equipment and run a generator in your bedroom to power it. Just make sure none of the air escapes!