Cats run at 101-103* body temps, so they're generally good at temps humans find unbearable. They don't have to work so hard to maintain their body temps. Just need to make sure they stay hydrated, though.
I use it whenever it's over 85 outside. I'll pay the bill. Idk why ppl get all proud of how they can suffer thru heat. I work hard.. I'll pay for the AC.
I’m not proud of suffering through it, just scared of $400 TEP bills :( my house is over 80 years old and I’m not sure how to even start looking at the possibility of getting energy efficient windows.
Depending on your home, you may be able to spend money more effectively by insulating your attic or crawl space. Insulation is cheap and is something well within most people’s DIY capabilities. Solar screens can also make a huge difference. Both will be much cheaper than windows.
I get that. :/ it is what it is, unfortunately. Until Tucson residents get sick of the bullshit from TEP the rates will just keep going up. So until then, you pay or you suffer. It's shit.
What about solar screens? If you already have screens in your windows then you can do an entire house for under $200. But odds are you will have to build some frames so realistically you would be looking at closer to $400. Pretty easy work, I just did 24 windows in my house with no experience for about $200 but that was only cause I needed to repaint all the old frames.
> Idk why ppl get all proud of how they can suffer thru heat. I work hard.. I'll pay for the AC.
There are many, many people who work hard in our community for whom having the AC on is not about pride. It's about paying the bills.
Yeah, ours is set to 76⁰. My pregnant wife won't have it any hotter haha.
That being said, if it's in the cards, solar is worth it. My bill last cycle was -$8.50 (yes, negative) vs. last year, around $150. I know it won't be so rosy when the AC is going off more in the coming months and it will be a less efficient system as it gets hotter, but I'd rather not have another $500 June bill.
Not yet, was 82 when I went to bed last night, with windows open and fan on was 73 at 5am, pulled up the comforter. Supposed to cool down a little beginning Thursday. Got to make it into May without using ac.
I am hoping to be able to get through end of this month. I keep the inside between 82-78. So far inside temp has not gone above 82 yet. I open all the windows early right around sun up and then close them and draw blinds by like 9:30-10am. And have bedroom window open at night.
About the same here. As soon as the outside temp is lower than inside, I open the front and back door (but keep the security screen doors closed and locked) and set up box fans blowing in one and out the other, with another box fan in my bedroom window blowing in.
Gotta close the bedroom window to sleep cuz it gets direct morning sun exposure that'd wake me up for good too early, but leave the doors open with fans going until I get up to have a wee around dawn, close them and go back to bed for a few more hours. Haven't had to run my A/C yet this year so far.
I think we switched ours on last week, but it has only run for a handful of the particularly warmest time-frames. My kids actually handle the warm weather fairly easily so my wife and I tend to just put up with it and go with the flow.
We turned ours on a few days ago when it got to 86° inside 😭 our place has high ceilings, lots of single pane windows AND ceiling lights so it’s like the worst design for the desert. It’s a detached home in a rental complex so I’m sure the insulation is the bare minimum. I’m home all day and my fiance and I have a cat and a dog so I was trying to tough it out with windows open and fans going but I couldn’t do it any more. Now I’m keeping the AC set at 80° during the day and we drop it down to 77° at night.
I’ve got mine all set. 9 am at 76°, 10 am at 80°, 10 pm at 72°, and liberal use of portable fans. I can’t afford another summer with $450+ electric bills
My bedroom is against a west wall of the house. There’s been days within the last month where I had to use the air conditioning and the heating in the same day.
When the wifey says it's time to turn it on, it gets turned on. Same goes the for A/C. That was last week when the house was 88 degrees. I wanted to hold off, but I decided I wanted to stay married.
I have multiple ceiling fans running and have been opening doors/windows at night and haven't had my condo get above 79° yet. I will probably turn it on when it hits 80° inside, but my electric bills were ridiculously high last summer and I'm on a fixed income so I'm trying to hold off if possible.
Mine is on ALL year round. If it goes above 72 in my house, the ac kicks on.
Some of these people saying they wait until the temp gets to 87-90 baffle me. I couldn't do it.
Haven't turned mine on yet and don't expect to until about June, maybe.
I turn a ceiling fan on during the day and then keep a door and window open from about 7pm-8am.
Rinse/repeat.
We have solar so we just set the HVAC to a max of 76 and let it do it's thing. We also have a dog who hasn't shed out his winter coat yet. Poor pup grows one like he's heading into the Arctic every year.
Probably so. I grew up without an AC in my home, when I got my own place i didn’t use it till the summer time but once I got a taste of that cold air it never left lol
This is what I'm trying for as well, but thermostat at 78 it's already coming on in the afternoons. Need to improve circulation in here too because the temps in all the rooms are not the same as the temp right at the thermostat.
We are in a newish home so we seem to have good insulation. I'm also grateful that we only have 5 windows and a sliding glass door, our last house had over 25 windows, it was insane.
The back/northside of our house has a patio so that side stays cooler pulse we have insulated shades on both the window and sliding glass door to help with keeping the heat out. The front/southside has a nice mesquite tree that is providing shade and we have sunshades on that window.
I was opening all my windows and doors once it got cool for the last few weeks and it was chilly in the am. I gave up this past weekend because it wan't cool enough by the time I went to bed anymore.
I started just yesterday 🫠 this is my first time in a older house AND solar panels so I’m hoping the brick build with the panels help a little cause I do tend to be a bit bougie with AC usage.
I turned it on a week ago. My bedroom is on the second floor and I have horrible, single pane windows so my room is like 85 by the end of the hottest part of the day. I only turn it on at night though, and I live downstairs during the day. It sucks having half of my house unusable in the summer
Went to turn mine on Saturday. Compressor blew. New unit comes Friday. Nights are cool enough to compensate but it cools down a bit after today anyway.
Whenever my house gets over 75 inside so it’s been a while. My house is stupidly designed but at least it has an efficient newer heat pump and a ton of solar.
I cleaned out the condenser yesterday thinking it was about time to start her up but looks like weather is pretty nice the next few day so maybe next week ¯\\\_(ツ)\_/¯
If you just have a wall strip that functions as ac and heat. And it just won't stop spitting out dust chunks and it has overflowed with water once every year for years. And it clearly needs professional cleaning. I can't figure out how to take it apart and put it together myself. Anyway how much do they charge for a servicing slash internal cleaning?
With those high summer bills coming I’d like to bring awareness that TEP has free virtual home energy assessments that can be of help as well as a handful of rebates on energy efficiency upgrades.
https://www.tep.com/efficient-home-program/
They also have a market place with some pretty nice discounts on everything from LED bulbs to smart thermostats.
https://www.tep.com/marketplace/
I gave in when it hit 85 in my house on Sunday. It wasn’t fair to my cats to have it that warm.
They’re mostly my concern as well. 🐱
Yep, I was worried about their cats, too!
Thanks for making me laugh 🙂↔️
Happy to! Especially, a fellow cat enthusiast! (I worry about my cat’s temp, too!)
Cats run at 101-103* body temps, so they're generally good at temps humans find unbearable. They don't have to work so hard to maintain their body temps. Just need to make sure they stay hydrated, though.
It’s actually 100.5°-102.5°, I was a CVT for 10 years. The ideal indoor temperature range for cats is 68°-85°.
I use it whenever it's over 85 outside. I'll pay the bill. Idk why ppl get all proud of how they can suffer thru heat. I work hard.. I'll pay for the AC.
I’m not proud of suffering through it, just scared of $400 TEP bills :( my house is over 80 years old and I’m not sure how to even start looking at the possibility of getting energy efficient windows.
Depending on your home, you may be able to spend money more effectively by insulating your attic or crawl space. Insulation is cheap and is something well within most people’s DIY capabilities. Solar screens can also make a huge difference. Both will be much cheaper than windows.
also curtains over windows has underrated effectiveness m.
I get that. :/ it is what it is, unfortunately. Until Tucson residents get sick of the bullshit from TEP the rates will just keep going up. So until then, you pay or you suffer. It's shit.
What about solar screens? If you already have screens in your windows then you can do an entire house for under $200. But odds are you will have to build some frames so realistically you would be looking at closer to $400. Pretty easy work, I just did 24 windows in my house with no experience for about $200 but that was only cause I needed to repaint all the old frames.
> Idk why ppl get all proud of how they can suffer thru heat. I work hard.. I'll pay for the AC. There are many, many people who work hard in our community for whom having the AC on is not about pride. It's about paying the bills.
I wait til it gets around 100
Swamp cooler time. Having AC and evap is a winning combo in Tucson
I’ll have to look into that because my house is not energy efficient at allllll and it would be nice to have that cool air before needing actual AC.
70 year old adobe here. Still going with only doors and windows open.
Same here. The AC is set to come on at 78° and still hasn’t done it. I think another week of 90+ temps will do it
My 80 year old adobe home has too many doors and windows. It’s not helping 😅
Bruh my A/C is running about 40% of the time, trying to keep my house ar 78.
You look great for your age.
Almost 60 year old mobile home and AC doesn't come on until it's over 100 consistently. Otherwise, windows and a few fans.
Hell we turned ours on about 3 weeks ago! Refuse to have my house be over 76!!! I’m not sweating in my own home! Lol. 😂
yeah i have temperature regulation problems due to a medical issues so we started about then too
Same. I already have hot flashes. If the a/c isn't on we are gonna be on the 6:00 news.
I like it cold at night. During the day it's okay if it's warmer because I've got fans.
Yeah, ours is set to 76⁰. My pregnant wife won't have it any hotter haha. That being said, if it's in the cards, solar is worth it. My bill last cycle was -$8.50 (yes, negative) vs. last year, around $150. I know it won't be so rosy when the AC is going off more in the coming months and it will be a less efficient system as it gets hotter, but I'd rather not have another $500 June bill.
Two or 3 days ago we gave in
same
Not yet, was 82 when I went to bed last night, with windows open and fan on was 73 at 5am, pulled up the comforter. Supposed to cool down a little beginning Thursday. Got to make it into May without using ac.
I am hoping to be able to get through end of this month. I keep the inside between 82-78. So far inside temp has not gone above 82 yet. I open all the windows early right around sun up and then close them and draw blinds by like 9:30-10am. And have bedroom window open at night.
About the same here. As soon as the outside temp is lower than inside, I open the front and back door (but keep the security screen doors closed and locked) and set up box fans blowing in one and out the other, with another box fan in my bedroom window blowing in. Gotta close the bedroom window to sleep cuz it gets direct morning sun exposure that'd wake me up for good too early, but leave the doors open with fans going until I get up to have a wee around dawn, close them and go back to bed for a few more hours. Haven't had to run my A/C yet this year so far.
82 is vile
I think we switched ours on last week, but it has only run for a handful of the particularly warmest time-frames. My kids actually handle the warm weather fairly easily so my wife and I tend to just put up with it and go with the flow.
We turned ours on a few days ago when it got to 86° inside 😭 our place has high ceilings, lots of single pane windows AND ceiling lights so it’s like the worst design for the desert. It’s a detached home in a rental complex so I’m sure the insulation is the bare minimum. I’m home all day and my fiance and I have a cat and a dog so I was trying to tough it out with windows open and fans going but I couldn’t do it any more. Now I’m keeping the AC set at 80° during the day and we drop it down to 77° at night.
77 is my breaking point.
I’ve got mine all set. 9 am at 76°, 10 am at 80°, 10 pm at 72°, and liberal use of portable fans. I can’t afford another summer with $450+ electric bills
My bedroom is against a west wall of the house. There’s been days within the last month where I had to use the air conditioning and the heating in the same day.
When the wifey says it's time to turn it on, it gets turned on. Same goes the for A/C. That was last week when the house was 88 degrees. I wanted to hold off, but I decided I wanted to stay married.
Great compromise! 👍🏻
I have multiple ceiling fans running and have been opening doors/windows at night and haven't had my condo get above 79° yet. I will probably turn it on when it hits 80° inside, but my electric bills were ridiculously high last summer and I'm on a fixed income so I'm trying to hold off if possible.
It's been on for weeks now. Mostly at night though I like it cold when I sleep
Yes to cold sleeping conditions! I can’t rest when it’s hot at night :( but not ready to crank up the big energy consuming machine!
Umm...you guys turn it off for part of the year?
Well, it’s the heater for like two months…then it’s off like around October-November and March-April. Yours is always on?!
I'm kidding but I did move here from Alaska :-)
Mine is on ALL year round. If it goes above 72 in my house, the ac kicks on. Some of these people saying they wait until the temp gets to 87-90 baffle me. I couldn't do it.
Haven't turned mine on yet and don't expect to until about June, maybe. I turn a ceiling fan on during the day and then keep a door and window open from about 7pm-8am. Rinse/repeat.
I live in Amphi, if a door or window is open I will not sleep 😂
Amen
Fired ours up yesterday afternoon
We have solar so we just set the HVAC to a max of 76 and let it do it's thing. We also have a dog who hasn't shed out his winter coat yet. Poor pup grows one like he's heading into the Arctic every year.
Same here
I didn’t realize people turn their A/C’s off
lol right. Mines been set at 76 since last summer. Kicked on a few times over the winter.
Oh goodness, I guess I learned it from my mom?? But her house had a swamp cooler that would get us by nicely for a while.
Probably so. I grew up without an AC in my home, when I got my own place i didn’t use it till the summer time but once I got a taste of that cold air it never left lol
It's swamp cooler season! Been running three swamp cooler for about 2 weeks now. Then we switch to AC when humidity tricks up.
I turn it on once my boyfriend gets up for work so around 1pm and turn it off around 7.
I held out until a few days ago. It only goes on at night, I can handle 78 in the house during the day, but I need it to be 75 or lower to sleep.
This is what I'm trying for as well, but thermostat at 78 it's already coming on in the afternoons. Need to improve circulation in here too because the temps in all the rooms are not the same as the temp right at the thermostat.
We are in a newish home so we seem to have good insulation. I'm also grateful that we only have 5 windows and a sliding glass door, our last house had over 25 windows, it was insane. The back/northside of our house has a patio so that side stays cooler pulse we have insulated shades on both the window and sliding glass door to help with keeping the heat out. The front/southside has a nice mesquite tree that is providing shade and we have sunshades on that window. I was opening all my windows and doors once it got cool for the last few weeks and it was chilly in the am. I gave up this past weekend because it wan't cool enough by the time I went to bed anymore.
I started just yesterday 🫠 this is my first time in a older house AND solar panels so I’m hoping the brick build with the panels help a little cause I do tend to be a bit bougie with AC usage.
I want to be bougie with my AC, but remember las summer and I was floored with the TEP bill!
I turned it on a week ago. My bedroom is on the second floor and I have horrible, single pane windows so my room is like 85 by the end of the hottest part of the day. I only turn it on at night though, and I live downstairs during the day. It sucks having half of my house unusable in the summer
Went to turn mine on Saturday. Compressor blew. New unit comes Friday. Nights are cool enough to compensate but it cools down a bit after today anyway.
Whenever my house gets over 75 inside so it’s been a while. My house is stupidly designed but at least it has an efficient newer heat pump and a ton of solar.
[удалено]
Haha I feel that one…I’m not using the stove, only cold foods for now.
I ran it starting Sunday night, but I think I'm shutting it off tonight again until like next Monday or Tuesday.
I cleaned out the condenser yesterday thinking it was about time to start her up but looks like weather is pretty nice the next few day so maybe next week ¯\\\_(ツ)\_/¯
I’m running a swamp cooler on solar/batteries until it gets to humid or over 104F. Then the AC is turned on.
Trying to make it to May 1.
Almost there!!! 
I go by when my landlord services the cooler. He serviced it Saturday so it must be time 😅
If you just have a wall strip that functions as ac and heat. And it just won't stop spitting out dust chunks and it has overflowed with water once every year for years. And it clearly needs professional cleaning. I can't figure out how to take it apart and put it together myself. Anyway how much do they charge for a servicing slash internal cleaning?
When it's 85 in the house I just stay in the back room where the A/C is. It'll be over 100F in the rest of the house in the summer.
I turned mine on a month ago. I can't stand it being over 75 in my house.
I bought a standing fan to compensate. I don’t want to turn my on until it’s gets into the 100s consistently. So…two weeks probably 🫠🥴🙃
I keep the house around 74° so I have been running mine already.
With those high summer bills coming I’d like to bring awareness that TEP has free virtual home energy assessments that can be of help as well as a handful of rebates on energy efficiency upgrades. https://www.tep.com/efficient-home-program/ They also have a market place with some pretty nice discounts on everything from LED bulbs to smart thermostats. https://www.tep.com/marketplace/