Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : The Residential Real Estate Crash Index -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: patron_anejo_por_favor who wrote (299048)	12/20/2010 12:34:39 AM
From: Smiling Bob	Respond to of 306849

Break out the shovel- or ask your dentist for the oversized caps up front. undergroundhousing.com

To: patron_anejo_por_favor who wrote (299048)	12/20/2010 9:19:28 AM
From: Tommaso	Respond to of 306849

I live where it gets extremely hot in the summer--especially last summer, when some nights it never dropped below 80F by dawn, and many days came close to 100. 2200 ft/sq interior. My electric bill never went higher than $50 above what it runs when not cooling the house. I heat with gas (steam boiler) in the winter. The house is largely shaded by an enormous willow oak. Porches on three sides shade the lower walls, too. I kept it nice and cool--about 72 F. In spring and fall the stone exterior--about a foot thick--provides thermal inertia, as does the tile roof and the old massive plaster walls inside. But when it never cools off at night, that's a liability. I have added insulation wherever I could, which is not everywhere--lots in the attic and blown-in cellulose where possible in the walls. So cooling is very cheap--a couple of dollars a day on the hottest days and nights. Mostly I use one highly efficient 24,000 BTU window unit, plus another small unit for the kitchen. Heating, however, is much more expensive than a truly energy-efficient house would be. I expect to pay over $400 for this extremely cold December. No way to plug all the little air leaks, and the stone on the outside stays freezing cold the whole time.