[Schaumburger]

I'm planning my first (although brief - 4 day) trip to TV next month. I've been to Florida a couple of times in the summer on vacation, so I have some idea of the heat/humidity which I'm sure I will get to experience again in about 28 days. People in the Midwest differ on how much they use A/C at home, depending on our variable summer temps. I might turn on the A/C at home only a few times the whole summer like last year's cool summer, versus this summer which has been hotter. I've had the A/C on probably 5 days already since mid-May--I'm in suburban Chicago.

For people who live in TV year round, does the A/C stay on 24/7 from June through August, or can the A/C be turned off at bedtime and still have comfortable sleeping conditions? What are the TV residents' monthly electric bills like during the months of heavy A/C use?

Now to winter -- do houses in TV have furnaces? I've been to Central Florida in mid-January, and the temps. got down to the low 40's at night, but rose to low 70's by early afternoon, so just wondering if TV homes have furnaces for those low 40 degree nights, or you just throw on a sweatshirt and tough it out.

Looking forward to seeing TV next month.

Laura, Schaumburg, IL near Chicago, home of the 2010 Stanley Cup NHL Champion Chicago Blackhawks

[getdul981]

Why would you want to turn the AC off? Just set the thermostat and forget it. That way it's always the same comfortable temp. As far as I know, all the houses in TV are equipped with heat pump. They cool in the summer and heat in the winter. I personally think it would be nice for some of the designs to have gas fireplaces, but none of the newer homes have gas - total electric.

[784caroline]

Realistically you will be using the AC "FULL TIME" a alot more than June to August...more likely April to October on a steady basis..with few days off.....and you will be using the AC some days march and November. Florida is not the mid west. The heat and humidity may not be any worst than VA or other locations BUT the season is certainly much longer!!! Dont kid yourselvelf otherwise. IN spring and fall you will have short streches of days that you can open the front door and back sliders and let the breeze flow throgh the hosue but these days are rare in the summer.

Depending uponm your location in the Villages, you will have a Gas furnace or a heat pump. Our Gas costs were very reasonable even with last winters cold

[ajbrown]

Originally Posted by Schaumburger

Now to winter -- do houses in TV have furnaces? I've been to Central Florida in mid-January, and the temps. got down to the low 40's at night, but rose to low 70's by early afternoon, so just wondering if TV homes have furnaces for those low 40 degree nights, or you just throw on a sweatshirt and tough it out.

Laura, Schaumburg, IL near Chicago, home of the 2010 Stanley Cup NHL Champion Chicago Blackhawks

Low 40s at night, 70s during the day. I guess you did not come down this past wnter

We have furnaces and we used them too much last winter.....

[zcaveman]

There are times during the winter when I have the heat on at night and in the AM and then put the A/C on in the afternoon to cool the house down.

I wish there was a system that could totally control the heating/cooling system. Heat when you need it and A/C when you need it so you could keep the house at a constant 74 without touching a button.

[K9-Lovers]

zcaveman: there are thermostats that can do that for you. Once you set the temp, it can kick in air/cond. or heat to keep your house at a constant temp. Or you can program it to be a different temperature at night that in the day, etc.

[swrinfla]

Without checking any records or such:

My a/c is set for "on" from about 15 April until maybe 01 November. My heat is set for "on" for the rest of the year!

I frankly don't pay much attention as to when things turn on or off.

I set the summer to 78 degrees, the winter to 76 degrees.

When I get uncomfortable, one way or the other, I may make some temporary adjustments, but that's fairly rare!

SWR

[Pturner]

Originally Posted by Schaumburger

People in the Midwest differ on how much they use A/C at home, depending on our variable summer temps.

When you're here all summer, you'll kind of get the feeling that you're not in Kansas anymore.

[NJblue]

Summer AC - for us the AC went on fulltime about mid-May or so. Before that it was on a few days at a time for a hot spell, but mostly off since the humidity level was still low and the nights cooled off considerably. So, with just the windows open and the ceiling fans it was quite enough. Last summer I was hoping to turn the AC off by mid-to-late September, but it stayed warm longer than normal and we used it until sometime in October. Once the AC goes on fulltime, you will probably want it on FULLTIME. The evenings do not get really cool here. They are fairly consistently in the mid-70's and humid. There is so much heat build-up in the attic that the AC will continue to cycle on all through the night to keep the house cool.

For winter, last winter was the coldest on record around here so we used the heat quite a bit. However, I don't think I really turned it on until late December for a day or two here and there. By January, the cold came with a vengeance and we kept the heat on until about mid-March I would guess with the latter period only requiring heat at night. (Of course, we tend to be Eskimos and typically set the heat at 68 during the day and 62 at night and then just wear sweatshirts if we feel cold.)

Excluding the unusual winter that we had, I would expect our normal year to go something like:

Jan-Feb: use the heater about 50-60 percent of the days.
March: heat for perhaps 25% of the days.
April to Mid-May: pretty much no heat/cooling, only occasional use of AC
Mid-May to end of Sept: pretty much 100% AC
Oct: occasional AC
Nov-Dec: Pretty much no heat or cooling except perhaps a little heat first thing in the morning in late December to take the chill out.

[Schaumburger]

As a lifelong Midwesterner, I appreciate everyone's feedback on their use of A/C and furnace.

Now I need to know: where do you all store your snow shovels, snow blowers, snow brushes and ice scrapers? And how much ice melt or salt do you store in your garages at TV?

Here's wishing I would not have to see a snow shovel, snow brush or ice scraper again.

Laura

[Tweety Bird]

Originally Posted by Schaumburger

As a lifelong Midwesterner, I appreciate everyone's feedback on their use of A/C and furnace.

Now I need to know: where do you all store your snow shovels, snow blowers, snow brushes and ice scrapers? And how much ice melt or salt do you store in your garages at TV?

Here's wishing I would not have to see a snow shovel, snow brush or ice scraper again.

Laura

I still keep an icescraper/snowbrush in the TV garage as a "memory". I hired a plow guy in MN. No more plow bills. Farewell to ice melt or salt and farewell to the shovels. Gave them to my neighbor as I wiggled with delight. adieu mon petite shovel.

[getdul981]

As soon as we have a contract on our house, we're going to have one heck of a sale. If the purchaser doesn't want them, we're selling a snow blower, lawn tractor and generator along with lots of stuff that goes with them. We're afraid to sell any of these items yet because we may still be here through another winter. But, I'm thinking positive and I'm shooting for being moved to TV by Christmas.

[wendyquat]

Does anyone want to share what an average utility bill is like in TV. I understand how much it can vary. Just wanted some idea for about 2,000 sq.ft home. Also, how much more will the bill be for solar heated 12 x 24 self cleaning pool. Thanks for your help. Looking at houses!

[villages07]

Wendy...here goes.

We have a little over 2000 sq ft, 2 electric golf carts, and keep a/c set at 78 and heat at 73. We have gas for heat, hot water, dryer, and stove; elec for all else.

Over the past year, adding up elec+gas and dividing by 12, the average monthly cost for us is about $150. We had some extreme heat last summer and extreme cold this winter, so, this average is higher than prior years (and rates are going up too). Each golf cart adds about $9/month to the elec bill.

Highest elec in summer $160; Highest gas bill in winter $148.

Non A/C months, elec is about $70; Non-heat months, gas is about $30

Electric for the year was right about $1,200; gas for the year approx $700

Hope this helps. Can't provide any insight on pool costs....

Also, all new homes are all electric with heat pumps...their numbers may be very different.

[champion6]

OMG - wonderful summary, villages07!