One summer in central Georgia without electricity will cure you of that idea LOL!no power, no phones, no computers, to me that is the natural way to live, but then I've always been an old fashioned kind of person, I KNOW i'm not like everyone else!!
I am always ready for FALL,,,,,
Lol, one night without AC is miserable! I had a friend call me with no power yesterday. It was midday and when I pulled up he was sitting in the carport. I was able to restore power for the house but the condenser fan was toast on his AC. I don’t do AC work but probably could have found a motor to replace it, but he said an AC guy worked on it days ago so he called him back. Luckily he got the unit going by the evening. Even if my main unit fails, I will get a window unit for the bedroom to sleep in while I’m waiting for the new unit to get going again. I love the south, but not everything about it!
If I had it to do over I would do the same here. Changing the ductwork at this point would be more work than it’s worth at this point. I really do like the idea of two independent systems. Odds of them both failing at once are pretty low. My unit is about 11yrs old now so is ready to be changed. I guess I need to start looking now, before I need to. Luckily I can install a package unit myself as labor is about half the cost for an AC replacement.
I hadn’t even seen up to 24seer! I just looked at a 2.5 ton package unit at 16seer delivered for 2600 with no tax. The 14seer are closer to 2k. I like the package unit as it’s already pre charged and all you have to do is connect power and ducts. The thermostat is the hardest part to wire but isn’t too bad.
Just realized I need a 3 ton unit, back to google!
So far the units I’m looking at only go up to 16seer. I’ll dig some more, but think my old unit is around 10,so anything is an improvement.
I used 2 by 6’s on the walls and have r36 in the floor and ceilings so it’s tighter than most. I agree there’s a cost benefit ratio to consider. If it takes too long to make back the difference it’s not worth it. I only found up to 16seer on a quick look again for sale on line, and will be ok with that jump in price from the 14 seer.
I think the moisture build up is an issue. I’m near the only rain forest in N America, and it’s damp most of the year. Mold buildup is a tough issue to deal with.
I figure I’m probably old enough to be able to keep most things running at least until I wear out too. I’ve always been ok at scavenging parts or improvising . I am glad I don’t have small kids just starting out though. I do believe the next generation will have a rougher time of things.
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Depends on where in the South you live. Here and every other place I've lived, the water table it too high most of the time to do much underground. Not only will the water get in your way during construction, things you bury are liable to float up out of the ground. And even if you do get them to stay put, they have to be 100% water tight.
Build mounds, just like our native americans did a thousand years ago.
They had to be rescued, that says it pretty much. I did post on the site once and said I didn't think they would be able to keep the road open to the top of the hill due to seasonal torrential downpours, but the owners responded to me. I was shocked, but in any case they had put a lot of money into it, said bought that land that was split with some on the bottom and a lot way up top and no way to get up there because it was all they could afford. I had to think they could have found better land and not put so much into creating and maintaining a road. Roads are expensive. But, what blows my mind is that they often have resources and don't even know how to use them. They can't even figure it out. If you can't problem solve I don't think you should try it. They just get way in over their heads.
Like living in a mound. I wouldn't want to live in a sodie so I don't think I'd like mound living much either. but, you do what you have to do. Mayb half sunk and the mound on top , like some root cellars where the soil is moist, that might be OK. dunno.
