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We live in a Florida community that has almost identical looking villas bunched together (concrete block). However, mine is usually warm in the summer. Air conditioner runs most of the time and it never gets really cold. My neighbors home is nice and cool when you go over there. Their AC doesn’t run nearly as much as mine. We have had the air conditioner checked numerous times and checks out okay. We have put film on our windows. One difference is our neighbor has a heat pump whereas we have a regular AC unit. We do have taller ceilings than our neighbor. Would this be the difference? We thought that heat rises and would be better for cooling. Would like to build another stucco Florida home, but am wondering what we need to do to insure we won’t have an AC that runs so much all the time and that will keep the place cool.
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Replies
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The best advice is hire an architect to design your new home. He will design for your specific site, microclimate, personal needs etc. The answer to your question will need quite a bit of on-site investigation and analysis. There simply is not enough in the post to offer a difinative answer.
-Tallahassee Architect
*One question is how much "sun" shines on your house walls and "loads" the house with heat as compared to your comparison house. What is the difference in insulation in walls or ceiling?We have a house that the Western Sun bakes a side. The shade trees are to young. The temp difference is 15 degrees between one side on the house and the other. We are working on and looking into all kinds of methods to reduce the heat loading of that wall. The most acceptble for us to is installing additional insulation in the attic and an overhang to shade the wall from the Western sun.
*Is your roof or siding a dark color? Lots of glass? You might want to lighten up the colors. Awnings that shade the windows will help. Triple glazed windows (heat mirror - low E) on the south side would probably help. Attic ventilation could be helpful if yours is poor. Replace incandescent bulbs with fluorescent. Check for additional sources of heat etc. Insulate heavy in the attic.
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We live in a Florida community that has almost identical looking villas bunched together (concrete block). However, mine is usually warm in the summer. Air conditioner runs most of the time and it never gets really cold. My neighbors home is nice and cool when you go over there. Their AC doesn't run nearly as much as mine. We have had the air conditioner checked numerous times and checks out okay. We have put film on our windows. One difference is our neighbor has a heat pump whereas we have a regular AC unit. We do have taller ceilings than our neighbor. Would this be the difference? We thought that heat rises and would be better for cooling. Would like to build another stucco Florida home, but am wondering what we need to do to insure we won't have an AC that runs so much all the time and that will keep the place cool.