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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]

Here is the thing though, we try to keep our house cool also - 
- all blinds are shut in the day time
[/quote]
This doesn't really help keep the house cool. Once the sunlight is through the glass, it is converted to heat. It hits the inside of the blinds, heats the blinds, and the heat is distributed into the room. It does make it more comfortable for someone who would otherwise sit in the sunshine.

[quote=Anonymous]
- we have ceiling fans in all bedrooms
[/quote]
This doesn't cool the house either, but does make it feel cooler under the fan and help distribute the cooling.

[quote=Anonymous]
- we got great insulation added in our attic
[/quote]

This is probably the biggest thing you can do to improve comfort and efficiency.

[quote=Anonymous]
- we have a whole house fan
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This can help in cooling the house down in the evening. But you have to be careful. First, the fan itself has to be thoughtfully installed so it doesn't leak when it's not running. Second, you have to keep an eye on the dew point as well as the temperature. If the dew point outside is higher than inside you will be pulling in humidity which lowers your comfort.

[quote=Anonymous]
- we have attic fans not only on the roof of our house, but also we got one installed on the roof of our attached garage.  The difference that the attic fans and the extra-extra insulation made is phenomenal. 
[/quote]
Attic fans are a terrible idea. They depressurize the attic and end up drawing air from inside the house into the attic. This ends up making your air conditioning work harder. Also, the purpose of attic venting isn't to cool the attic, it's to prevent humidity from accumulating in the attic. The humidity that gets into the attic is coming from inside the house. Pulling more interior air into the attic is actually defeating the purpose of the attic venting.

[quote=Anonymous]

Finally, keep your AC unit clean outdoors. Watch YouTube videos to see the DIY. 
[/quote]

Indoors too! Change the filters regularly. [/quote]

Keeping blinds and drapes closed helps keep the house cooler for the same reason insulation keeps the house cooler. It reduces heat loss so the air conditioner doesn’t have to work as hard for the same benefit.  Windows the are the biggest heat loss in any house.[/quote]

Agree that windows are the biggest heat loss in any house. They're also the biggest heat gain in the summer. Blinds don't act like insulation because they have no insulation value. They also allow air to circulate freely so they don't prevent air leaking in, which is a major loss at windows.

But the biggest heat gain from windows in the summer is solar gain, and blinds do nothing to prevent that. The light is already through the glass by the time it hits the blinds and there's no place for the heat it brings to go but into the room. If you're sitting in the room it's more comfortable to not have the light shine directly on you, but the air conditioner doesn't work any less hard. Shutters on the outside, blocking the sunlight from going through the glass at all, are effective. So are awings and even trees. [/quote]

Cellular shades act as insulation though. [/quote]

+1 There was a noticeable difference in our heating and cooling bills after installing cellular shades. And ours were just from Home Depot, they weren't anything fancy.[/quote]

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