Originally Posted by ChrisTinaBruce (Post 2339063)

I’ve worked for a few of the largest building products manufacturers since 1993 and fortunate to have sat in on LEEDS, HUD, & DOE seminars.

The greatest return on your money is soffit and peak roof air exchange and attic insulation. Think of the interior of your home as a sealed unit and your attic is a tremendous heat source. Typically, I recommend the homeowners rent the machine at Home Depot and blow their own additional insulation and I’m sure their services The Villages.

HUD recommend a 40 to 50 R-value for the attic which is 20 to 25 inches at the time of installation. The second step which most people neglect is the airflow from the soffits to the peaks of your roof (gable vents &/or vents). Just adding gable vents &/or power vents It’s not enough as you can only extract as much air to pump in. Therefore, you need to add additional soffit vents. Which I can tell you from 30 years experience I’ve never seen anything but custom energy, energy minded builders ever put enough soffit vents.

Originally Posted by retiredguy123 (Post 2339071)

Sounds good, but does it really make a significant difference in your electric bill? To me, ceiling fans are just annoying and don't provide any temperature reduction. Also, leaving your garage attic stairs down is a code violation and can cause a fire in the garage to spread quickly to the rest of the house.

Originally Posted by missyomama (Post 2338866)

Are there things we can do to conserve energy in this extreme heat?

Should we leave garage doors open or closed and if we have attic stairs should we pull them open to let heat escape from the attic?

Originally Posted by Glowing Horizon (Post 2339201)

Reverse snowbird? Is that called being a sunbird?

Originally Posted by Glowing Horizon (Post 2339200)

Code violation? How can the gestapo prove WHEN you put your ladder down, why you did it, or how long they it had been down? Has there EVER been a fire which has spread more quickly due to attic stairs being left open? While this is theoretically a problem, in reality this just seems like fear-mongering.

Leaving your attic open will definitely increase the possibility of insects moving in. They don't seem to die off in high heat either—creating a whole new problem.

Originally Posted by fdpaq0580 (Post 2339206)

You might be right? But, the "snow birds" fly from the snow toward the sun. So, what are the "sunbirds" trying to get away from? 🤔🤔🤔

Originally Posted by retiredguy123 (Post 2339210)

The fire code writers recognize that house fires are more likely to start in the garage. If the garage fills up with smoke, and there is no separation between the garage and the attic, the attic will quickly fill up with smoke and the smoke can permeate the entire house. Leaving the attic stairs open for an extended time period ignores and defeats the intention of the code. Obviously, the code is not perfect, but if someone dies in your house from smoke inhalation, it won't give you much satisfaction to know that you successfully violated the fire code. I would call it common sense, not fear-mongering.

Originally Posted by Badger 2006 (Post 2338945)

Good plan! Wisconsin transplant and now an 18 year Villager. Most important fact to remember, YOU DON’T SHOVEL HUMIDITY!!!!

Originally Posted by ThirdOfFive (Post 2338986)

Back in the day (University days 1970, to be exact) we had a one-room apartment on the second floor above a Western Auto store. About the size of a telephone booth. Got hot up there in July and August. There was a place you could buy these blocks of ice: put one of them in a plastic tub, turn the fan on it and Presto! Air conditioning! Good for a couple of hours anyway.

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby (Post 2339134)

Nonsense. Everyone knows that northerners move to Florida because of the beautiful weather.

Get out there and acclimate. It's what you paid for.

Originally Posted by Runway48 (Post 2339211)

There are many in TV and throughout FL. Florida residents that fly north for the summer.

Originally Posted by Aces4 (Post 2339214)

Yeah, you don't shovel humidity... you just die in it. If you can afford to live in The Villages, you surely could have afforded a snow removal company.

Wisconsin is 75 degrees, sunny and no humidity today. Can't beat that! It's always amusing to read posts trying to reassure themselves why they live full time in Florida.

Originally Posted by fdpaq0580 (Post 2339271)

Enjoy Wisconsin. I will enjoy Florida. We RV'd for many years and always missed out on summer here. Heck, we put in a pool when we bought the place and never got to use it. Finally, sold the RV and we are really getting to enjoy the pool, finally. Different strokes for ---- you know.