Alternative:

Ditch the old HVAC + jerry-rigged room solutions and move to Mitsubishi ductless system. Allows whole house cooling with a lot of control for more in one area and less in others.

More expensive up front, but probably lower cost over time, especially if you'll need to replace your HVAC anytime soon.

quote:

Originally posted by Steve Miller:
Cut another window banger in to a wall. Very cheap.

Problem solved.

This is what we did when we lived in NY (Queens). Window units upstairs, through the wall in the living/dining room. (It was a tiny house.)

quote:

Originally posted by Piano*Dad:
Alternative:

Ditch the old HVAC + jerry-rigged room solutions and move to Mitsubishi ductless system. Allows whole house cooling with a lot of control for more in one area and less in others.

More expensive up front, but probably lower cost over time, especially if you'll need to replace your HVAC anytime soon.

They're popular in Hawaii. They're great.

Our HVAC is pretty new. These old houses are not conducive to installing zones, though. We looked into that when we first moved in and no one would even prepare a bid.

Moving LS could work, but boy. Kids get really attached to their rooms. So I would have two kids unhappy with me! And the basement won't work because the room down there is very small, has a lot of bugs, and is already designated as Mr. Sphinx's work space.

I think we could put the unit on a table in his current room. His window is mighty small, though. Still, it's worth a shot.

quote:

Our HVAC is pretty new

If you have a newer HVAC that has a good efficiency rating, wouldn't prioritizing using that be the cheapest solution? I think you should try it for a month and see.

As an aside, or maybe not even an aside, the ductless units (also called mini-splits) are ridiculously energy efficient.

I had one in my attic office in Massachusetts. The guy who put it in said that they are so efficient compared to regular units, they can't even fit on the same scale for comparison.

As he was leaving after installing it, he suggested to me leaving it on all summer, and letting it dribble cold air downstairs. He said that would be cheaper, in terms of added cooling capacity, than leaving the main AC system to do the whole job downstairs.

Another thought for those with hot/cold zones... There is often a big advantage to setting the furnace fan to "on" instead of "auto" during the cooling season to keep the air moving around. We do it in our apartment in the city that has windows facing the sunrise - those would bake without keeping the air moving because the thermostat is in the hallway away from that side.

We do the same thing. The fan brings up the cold air from the basement.

Now way to answer without more data that you probably couldn’t get. The key to the answer is will the smaller units cool enough to keep the thermostat for the whole hose system from kicking in. If so, how much is saved? How much did it cost to save that amount?

Either way, save the marriage. It is worth a lot more than water the cooling costs.

Jf