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There are a couple of weeks a year that I wouldn't mind air conditioning, but that's only if I'm stuck at home during the day. Most summer evenings the temps cool down so that, if anything, only a fan is needed.
Heating is definitely needed - but whether you "need" central heating depends on the degree of creature comfort you want. I know folks who heat with wood or pellet stoves, and others who turn their heaters on just in the rooms they will occupy. Most, if not all, of the homes you will look at will have central heating systems of one kind or another; and because the winters do get cold, and you'll be glad they do.
Well there are probably people who think you need AC in Fairbanks in the summer, but I think it's safe to say that it's a minority view. At 7000 feet, semi-arid, and in the the temperate zone (although in the southern part) you're are likely to find more people concerned about heat in the winter then AC in summer.
I grew up in Fairbanks and sometimes wished that I had AC in the summer. But you're right, don't need it when it only really gets high enough to justify it a handful of times each year. Live north of Albuqeurque now, in Bernalillo, where we do need A/C but I agree it doesn't get warm enough often enough in Santa Fe to justify it.
I have a question about whole house fans. Lived in Sacramento for 15+ years and they were all the rage for new construction. Basically work to exchange air for the entire house quickly in the evenings to cool it down. Haven't even heard of them since we got to New Mexico. Does anyone use/market them here? Maybe open windows are good enough?
I have a question about whole house fans. Lived in Sacramento for 15+ years and they were all the rage for new construction. Basically work to exchange air for the entire house quickly in the evenings to cool it down. Haven't even heard of them since we got to New Mexico. Does anyone use/market them here? Maybe open windows are good enough?
Turn off the water pump to a swamp cooler (which is one of three switches on the wall cluster) and your swamp cooler is a whole house fan...
In the deep south "attic fans" were the main means of cooling in the days before refrigerated air. You opened windows and the attic fan drew in the air and blew it out through the attic.
Here in Ruidoso it gets hot enough for daytime air conditioning (97F yesterday) but I use an "industrial strength" portable floor fan - very high speed, large diameter - to draw in the air in the early morning from 5 to 8am most days. That will usually get my indoor temp down to almost 60F before I close the house up for the day. On a 90+ day, the inside temp will gradually rise to near 80F by sundown. Not real cool, but tolerable with ceiling fans stirring the indoor air.
When I go to bed on a warm night, with daytime humidity in the 5 percent range, I use my humidifier as a mini-evaperative cooler. I set it on a small folding table at the foot of my bed so that it blows over me. It allows me to sleep until I need to pull up a sheet to get some warmth, at which time I turn it off.
All of the above works for me because I live alone and don't have others running in and out of the house during the day.
I have a question about whole house fans. Lived in Sacramento for 15+ years and they were all the rage for new construction. Basically work to exchange air for the entire house quickly in the evenings to cool it down. Haven't even heard of them since we got to New Mexico. Does anyone use/market them here? Maybe open windows are good enough?
I think most whole house fans are in the attic space, right? If that's the case... they wouldn't be all that popular in Santa Fe since the majority of houses have flat roofs. That said, I've never seen a whole house fan advertised around here. It was hot enough yesterday that I would have been willing to build an attic just to put a whole house fan in!
I grew up in Fairbanks and sometimes wished that I had AC in the summer. But you're right, don't need it when it only really gets high enough to justify it a handful of times each year. Live north of Albuqeurque now, in Bernalillo, where we do need A/C but I agree it doesn't get warm enough often enough in Santa Fe to justify it.
I have a question about whole house fans. Lived in Sacramento for 15+ years and they were all the rage for new construction. Basically work to exchange air for the entire house quickly in the evenings to cool it down. Haven't even heard of them since we got to New Mexico. Does anyone use/market them here? Maybe open windows are good enough?
I have a whole house fan that runs all the time to exchange outside air with inside because the house is so tight. Is that what you mean? I keep it running all the time especially in the winter. I have ceiling fans in all the bedrooms and living room which work great if the room is a little warm. I usually get cold sitting under them. The house is four years old.
I've got central AC. All the folks who told me I didn't need it are the same ones who grow envious each June when temps climb into the 90's during the day. When the rains come (usually around July 4th), the temps drop and it's less of an issue. I prefer open windows and enjoying the cleanest air in the USA - but I like having the AC when I need it...
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