People who don’t pay your utility bills, #1

The world population is just shy of 7 billion people. Of those, the number who will pay your utility bills is probably even smaller than the number who have been in your kitchen. So we’re starting a series on people who don’t pay your utility bills, and the advice they give. The individuals will remain unnamed, but these stories are based on situations Tay River has actually encountered.

Neighbor who owns a truck says open an upstairs window, because hot air rises

Everyone knows hot air rises, right? Of course! So on the hottest days it makes perfect sense to take a two-pronged approach to beating the heat:

1. You’re definitely going to need air conditioning. Obviously. But what if that’s not enough?
2. On really hot days you need a bit more punch. If hot air rises, wouldn’t it make sense to open some upstairs windows, heck, maybe even put a box fan in them? Wouldn’t that force the heat right out the window? Obviously.

This is a really bad strategy for “saving” energy. Air pushed out of a building is always replaced by air pulled into it, so you end up drawing a lot of hot air inside. On top of that, stack effect is typically the biggest driver of air leakage. In summer, the pressure on an air-conditioned building pushes air downward through it, which feels a lot like heat rising, but isn’t.

So don’t listen to the neighbor who gives this advice, even if he owns a truck. Remember, he doesn’t pay your utility bills!

Originally published on the Tay River blog. Lightly edited.