[bruce213]

We have east facing garagedoor and 2 Br windows. I insulated the garage door and tinted the windows. Not difficult jobs. Both made a big difference. The garage stays cooler longer and the window tint keep my wives sewing room cooler longer. Remember a lot of these upgrades can be done after you move in.

[dewilson58]

Originally Posted by Toymeister

That's what I did to make my garage, used as a shop, quite pleasant. .

With or without ceiling fan(s)??

[wlasowicz]

Hi When your talking ROI how long are you planning on living there in this house a couple years and then moving to something newer or planning on staying a long time? If its just a couple of years your going to save enough compared to what you put in but if your in for the long haul yes the investment will probably be worth it. I would put some extra insulation in the ceiling. Invest in good energy saving window treatments. Personally I would put in a insulated garage door ( assuming the outside walls are insulated) even though the garage is not a condition space it will act as a buffer between the house and outside temperature. Also the items you store in the garage will not be subject to the higher temps a uninsulated garage may have. Depending on how large and layout of the home install zoned ducts with separate smart thermostats for each zone. Low flow shower heads 1.5 gpm to 2.0 gpm water is not cheap and your also paying to heat that extra hot water used. Irrigation there may be a saving depend on how large of a lot you have to water

[Pat2015]

We built a stretched Gardenia in Chitty Chatty and did not add any additional insulation or modify the HVAC. The AC is set on 76 and the heat was set at 72 with electric bills to date that have not exceeded $100 and some have been $60 or so in the Spring of the year. The homes are well built and insulated (ours is block) and you can always add insulation on your garage doors, attic, etc. after the build if you desire to do that. Personal choice though. Enjoy the home and finish selections, and the build process! 😊 🏠

[Toymeister]

Originally Posted by dewilson58

With or without ceiling fan(s)??

Without. The mini split moves enough air that there is a fan effect without ceiling fans. It's just a garage (shop). I don't need that much comfort and I don't want extra saw dust moved around.

[J1ceasar]

There's only a few things that are cost-effective and reasonable to do. A high efficiency AC with two multiple stages. And making sure you have a vent that forces hot air out of the garage. Also generally they put in multi-pane Windows with or without filming between

[Toymeister]

Originally Posted by wlasowicz

Low flow shower heads 1.5 gpm to 2.0 gpm water is not cheap and your also paying to heat that extra hot water

I actually tracked this. When I had a seasonal rental, all electric gardenia. I ran it as a business. Utility savings is part of that business.

I had a wifi water monitor on the hot water side and the cold water side. I installed a 1.75 GPM flow restrictor on the existing shower head.

With changing monthly renters I had a lot of data to analyze. Mainly I used the water data to determine if renters were truthful on not having four or six adults there. It is extremely easy to spot multiple adults in the home just by hot water usage. Spoiler alert: people lie and frequently at that. I didn't re-rent to those who lied to me

The total cost savings for. 1.75 GPM shower on average, including electric, water and sewer was .87/month/couple

Now, a flow restrictor is a cost effective saver. But when I became a full timer I skipped the flow restrictor. We are worth $10.44/year. Maybe you are too.

[GypsyRN]

Originally Posted by Soon2B-Villager

We have our home design meeting next month for our future home in St Catherine. We have done some research, but would like some feedback from our future neighbors in the Villages. With added costs in mine, we want to be realistic on what upgrades to add. We are leaning toward building the Sunflower/Begonia or Iris/Lilac model home. I guess we’ll find out when we get there on what is standard for our model and what is an upgrade.
Part 1 - Energy saving options. In terms of ROI, which additions should we request?

• Attic Fans: From aerial flyovers I see most (all?) the homes have attic fans. Is one fan standard and multiple fans optional? Also, are solar powered fans recommended?
• Attic insulation: is builder standard sufficient or additional insulation recommended?
• Garage door/ceiling insulation: Worth the cost? Additional ventilation or garage fans worth the cost.
• Insulated siding: Is insulated vinyl siding standard or an upgrade?

We have a CYV and the one thing that we have discovered over our last 5 years of domicile in TV is that most all homes don't have enough electric outlets in either the garage area, the lanai area or alongside of the exterior walls. Extremely frustrating when you attempt to do any work in the garage and have to power additional refrigerators, freezers, power packs for your lawn/garden equipment. Also, if you are thinking about hot tubs in your future, you might want to upgrade your electric panel to a 200amp model...you'll most likely need it.

[Dilligas]

Install a 'coolmygarage' (found on line) garage ceiling fan (under $500). It has a thermostat to go on and off as your attic heats up. It also has a fire break damper that actuates in case of fire. Add the blown in insulation over the garage, as there is no wall between garage attic and house attic. The garage ceiling fan will draw air through vents in your garage door, up into the garage attic and then they exhaust through the home roof vents. Installation is very easy and can be done yourself.

[Papa_lecki]

Let me say, this thread is the content on TOTV that is awesome. It provides real life examples of things relevant to living in The Villages.

THANKS.

[Villagesgal]

Originally Posted by villagetinker

We have a Gardenia, concrete block, very similar to sunflower/begonia. Most bang for the buck, careful control of the thermostat. We have 3 stretches, one to the house, the others to the garage and lanai. I did and a fan to force hot air out of the attic, a 120v AC powered unit thermostatically controlled. House is 8 years old, and I see no need to add insulation, etc. The electric bill ranges from $90 to $140, so IMHO any additional insulation, etc., will take a long time to pay off, especially if you will have mortgage. Be careful of the window tint as this typically cancels the 10 year warranty on the windows. I would order windows with a factory tint if necessary.
Hope this helps. Send a PM if you would like to discuss further over the phone.

I usually agree with you, but not on the insulation. We built a Gardenia model and paid for additional insulation in all ceilings and walls including over the garage and lanai ceilings and the garage walls. It added less than $1,000 to the build. Our electric bills run 35.00 to a high of 90.00, we live here year round. The added cost paid for itself in a little over 2 years. Well worth the initial investment. We've been here in our home for over 15 years and plan to stay till we pass. We also had a ceiling fan installed in the garage and 2 on the lanai for comfort. Our garage never gets as hot as our neighbors. We had tinted low E windows installed in the construction and had a 10 year warranty on them, one lost it's seal after 8 years and was replaced by the company under warranty. We love our home, love that we thought ahead and added the extra insulation all around and tinted double pane windows. It's well worth considering.

[tomwoodworker]

As of two years ago, the design team had only standard 'packages' to offer. I think the wisest thing I did was to ask for Carrier's highest SEER rated condenser. At the time it was 20. Secondly, go with the best insulation package they offer.

But, I would not recommend upgraded garage doors as that is something you can do once you take ownership of your home. (This is just my opinion.) And, yes by all means ask for the garage to be insulated as well. I had a mini split installed once I took ownership of my home and it seems worthwhile if you're going to spend anytime in it.

Just a word about warm air rising. This is correct but the other issue is heat. Heat will always seek a cooler space to migrate to. So if your garage attic is 115 degrees
(not likely to be much higher) it will seek to come downward into your garage. What stops it, or retards it, is the amount of insulation that can provide a barrier to the transfer.

[rjm1cc]

For a block home skip the items you mentioned.
I would add a circulating pump with a timer for hot water. Should be under $500. May not save any money but is coinvent.

[jimkerr]

Originally Posted by dewilson58

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

Right, they are at the bottom to pull the air in. The fan in the ceiling pulls all of the hot air out of the garage.