[dewilson58]

Originally Posted by DAVES

As said elsewhere, hot air rises, cold air falls so the air moves out the top. .

When people install vents in their garage doors.....I'm always surprised they install the vents at the bottom where the coolest air is.

[retiredguy123]

I agree with adding additional insulation to the attic space above the air conditioned spaces in the house. But, I don't agree with installing insulation on the ceilings that are located above unconditioned spaces, like the garage and the lanai. The basic concept of insulation is to create an insulation barrier between conditioned and unconditioned spaces so that it will slow down the rate of heat transfer between two spaces that have different temperatures. But, if you create an insulation barrier between two unconditioned spaces, like the lanai and the attic above it, the insulation doesn't really do anything because neither space is being temperature controlled. That is why homebuilders never install insulation in these locations.

[Packer Fan]

Originally Posted by Toymeister

I have an whole home electricity monitor. With 10,000 snapshots a second for three years for a home here I believe I can offer an extremely accurate perspective.

Pay for an upgrade to a two stage HVAC.

Powered vents, by 110 current or solar are not cost effective, a solar will never be in your lifetime, your children's, and your grandchildren. Extra non powered vents may be worthwhile in terms of increasing the lifespan of your roof. What you think are attic fans from the overhead views are round unpowered vents although attic fans are somewhat common.

Insulation over the lanai or garage is not cost effective for energy savings but may be worthwhile for comfort. It is unlikely that extra insulation for the home will be cost effective. You simply do not get that much heat gain radiating down from your ceiling. Here it depends on the cost and how long you will be in that home.

Powered hot water circulation pumps (for tankless water heaters) are never energy efficient, if you opt for this for comfort be sure to use this on a timer. NO! Water savings do not offset the cost of operation of the timer.

Window tint is not cost effective and is generally not needed as the windows are already low e coated.

Any questions, please ask.

I will translate toymeistereese to English - Don't do a thing, none of it matters. These homes are built VERY efficiently and don't need a lot more. Your power bill will average $100-120 a month. In the summer might hit $140. Not much will change that.

Now WATER is another thing. You can spend a fortune on that. I would add a sprinkler controller with a remote app to control that when you are away.

[Road-Runner]

Love our Begonia, ours has several stretches include 2 in the garage and the BR 2 & 3 / LR stretch. Ours was a spec home, only thing I would have changed is our lanai is 30x10, I would have gone either 12 or 14 feet if we'd built custom.

[DAVES]

Originally Posted by Arctic Fox

Go with the lightest color allowed for your roof shingles - costs no extra but saves on A/C

Nothing is perfect. All the sections are built at the same time or close to it. Our home is roughly 9 years old. It was built on spec so we did not choose. We do have a darker colored roof. All the roofs, here are roughy 10 years old and all have dirt and mold on them. As the dirt and mold is black, the lighter colored ones look dirtier.

It does make sense that a lighter roof will absorb less solar heat and that it will save on cooling. It will also cost more to heat in our cooler season. Cost of cleaning? Effect on roof life due to cleaning due to removing some of the grannuals that protect the tar like material that the shingles are made from? Net difference? Truth I have no idea.

[Toymeister]

Originally Posted by Packer Fan

I will translate toymeistereese to English - Don't do a thing, none of it matters.

Not quite, I noted it is worthwhile to upgrade the HVAC to a two stage unit. The standard, spec HVAC is a one stage system.

The Federal requirement for new HVAC units is 13 SEER, TV installs 14 SEER. The upgrade is 16 SEER.

Let me slow the roll here. SEER is Seasonal Energy Efficiency Rating. Or more specifically it is is how many BTUs per watt that unit can cool.

By itself 14 vice 16 SEER isn't insignificant. It is has 14.3% more cooling efficiency. It has bonus savings because the two speed system is better at dehumidification, this usually means you will keep the drier air home warmer.

Between the higher SEER unit and two degrees higher temperature you'll save 20% of your heating and cooling costs or slightly more than 10% of your total electricity usage. No other savings measure approaches this. Radiant barrier, for example saves 1.5% (at best) and only during the cooling season.

Now we could get into a discussion if a even higher SEER. unit would be worthwhile. That really exceeds the depth needed for this post. At design you can choose a two speed HVAC. It is well worth it for energy savings and comfort.

HVAC costs are by far the greatest cost in your electric bill. The gas bill, if you have gas, is insignificant.

You will not be offered any way to save water at the design stage, so it is not relevant here.

[xkeowner]

We have a West facing oversize two-car garage plus a golf cart garage. I installed insulation on the doors from a kit (required two kits) I believe I bought at Lowe's. The insulation resulted in a noticeable reduction in garage temperature. I also keep the small window partially open as well as the propping the drop down stairs open about two inches to create an updraft which helps lower the temperature. I can't quantify how much, if any, savings resulted from this.

[graciegirl]

Our Seabrook only has eight windows in the house part and two in the garage. We added extra insulation to the lanai and garage and insulated hurricane glass to the lanai.

Our house in Cincinnati had 57 windows. Three floors, counting basement and some were small ones over others but it was a big energy drain with 22 ft. ceilings in the great room.

The one we have here is very good to save energy, we think.

[TCNY61]

Originally Posted by DAVES

As said elsewhere, hot air rises, cold air falls so the air moves out the top. Perhaps, in older homes but I expect all current models have proper venting.

Putting in a power fan without increasing the intake is like trying to suck air out of a glass coke bottle.

It will also create negative pressure and suck conditioned air through every penetration for wires and vents from the living space below and into the attic.

[Normal]

Originally Posted by Toymeister

I have an whole home electricity monitor. With 10,000 snapshots a second for three years for a home here I believe I can offer an extremely accurate perspective.

Pay for an upgrade to a two stage HVAC.

Powered vents, by 110 current or solar are not cost effective, a solar will never be in your lifetime, your children's, and your grandchildren. Extra non powered vents may be worthwhile in terms of increasing the lifespan of your roof. What you think are attic fans from the overhead views are round unpowered vents although attic fans are somewhat common.

Insulation over the lanai or garage is not cost effective for energy savings but may be worthwhile for comfort. It is unlikely that extra insulation for the home will be cost effective. You simply do not get that much heat gain radiating down from your ceiling. Here it depends on the cost and how long you will be in that home.

Powered hot water circulation pumps (for tankless water heaters) are never energy efficient, if you opt for this for comfort be sure to use this on a timer. NO! Water savings do not offset the cost of operation of the timer.

Window tint is not cost effective and is generally not needed as the windows are already low e coated.

Any questions, please ask.

We opted for windows in the garage and did insulate wherever we could on our building, garage door and attic. The house won’t be done till December. Is there a way to cool the garage further? Do some homes go the extra mile and exhaust their garages through the soffits or something? Any advice would be taken seriously. My parent’s garage is an oven in the summer.

[Calisport]

I did my own garage door insulation on the West Coast. Fairly easy and cheaper. You buy the foam panels and insert them after cutting down and lots of caulking. Door insulates and becomes quieter. Garage fan would be necessary though for the heat.

[Annie66]

We purchased a home with a radiant barrier already installed in the attic. The first time I went into the attic during the summer, I thought I had an AC leak and I was cooling the attic. Turned off the AC for a few hours and returned to the attic. It was just as cool. Having the attic cooler (by approximately 15 deg F), places a much lower heat load on the ceiling. I cannot quantify the savings, but when I compare my electric bill in the summer with neighbors with the same floor plan, my bill is consistently lower. Of course, thermostat settings are a big player. We leave our thermostat at 76 deg F year around. Not necessary the most efficient setting, but comfort for us is more important.

[Toymeister]

Originally Posted by Normal

We opted for windows in the garage and did insulate wherever we could on our building, garage door and attic. The house won’t be done till December. Is there a way to cool the garage further? Do some homes go the extra mile and exhaust their garages through the soffits or something? Any advice would be taken seriously. My parent’s garage is an oven in the summer.

No matter how you quantify it garages will never be efficient to cool. There are simply too many ways for the outside air to leak in.

I'll let others discuss the benefits/drawbacks of fan ventilation from the garage to attic.

If the point is to mitigate heat gain the most effective ROI in a garage is insulation on the garage door.

If you want the garage to approach living space comfort then insulate the ceiling, the exterior block wall (or frame on a stick built) and install a mini split.

The mini splits for a garage (often two ton units) use raw cooling capacity to overcome the heat gain. They are sold as 18 SEER or 20 (I believe) units and will cost 4,500 and up.

That's what I did to make my garage, used as a shop, quite pleasant. I use this on an as needed basis. A neighbor leaves his mini split on yearlong. I have never asked him how much it costs to operate. It makes him happy and that is what it is all about.

[nick demis]

Instead of a garage fan have a couple of the glass panels in the garage door replaced with screens. Careful with attic fans since it has to have air enter the attic to replace the air it is forcing out and that can be pulled into the attic through any leaks in the airconditioned house. Also, don't run the exhaust fans more than is necessary for the same reason.

[Susan1234]

Put a electric plug in your master closet to use when your ironing if you buy an iris. I also have a sink in the garage..comes in handy so you may want pipes run there.