The trees need lots of water (avocado and pine). We found out the hard way lack of water on the pines makes them less able to resist the beetles that bore into them.
Air conditioning and fans use a lot of electricity.
@iluvmingos@lisaviolet Eek. PG&E implies must be California? Do you know your rate per kWh?
Years ago I was in Texas for work and was meeting a local engineer and sales guy there. The sales guy apparently had a big nice house. But said electric bill was $700/month mostly for AC. And sounds like rates much higher now if they can keep their independent grid up, which is often not the case. (Texas, no regulation, Freedom, Hoorah!). Texans, calm down and re-holster that pistol, cowboy! I actually have fond memories of Texas lived there part time for work.
Anyway for home AC depending on how old your system is, even though it’s a big investment, might want to look into one of the very new super-high efficiency systems. A lot of stuff, even newer cheaper stuff, is still basically technology from the 1960s. From my experience it pays to invest in the best variable-speed system. I recently got one of these. Also very quiet none of that Boing-oing-oing sound when it starts and lights don’t dim.
/image Trane xv19
@iluvmingos If my husband wasn’t self employed where he used a lot of electric tools (welder, big compressor, belt sanders, grinders, etc, etc, etc) our bill would easily be at least 40% less.
When he had to take a month off after he had a kidney removed, the bill was a lot nicer.
@cbatte@lisaviolet Also, tree-hugger here, it seems media has turned on things like Solar, but, may I recommend, Solar! I convinced my friend in NC to get it and he used to rack up big bills (but not as big as you guys are talking) mostly for AC. Now most months he breaks even. They had a plan where you could “bank” your extra power for a year and use the credit. Apparently because they are upset about this damn solar thing taking away their profits, they now don’t let you “bank” the power anymore. I will do solar soon too. Also charges your cars!
@lisaviolet@pmarin My house is relatively efficient and my last bill of $200 is an outlier. The quotes for solar don’t make financial sense unfortunately. I have not ruled it out for the future though
@cbatte@lisaviolet for solar it’s true there are a lot of sleazy companies out there. Some operate from out-of-state and hire local installers often with little overview and experience.
In my case a local contractor did work for a neighbor and then for me too, not solar, just new service entry and add some circuits (and my new AC wiring). Met owner and 2 of the guys working with him and were fun to talk to. His partner runs the other 1/2 of the business which is solar. But all local.
Local building inspector told horror stories of stuff that people were sold that went to a company in Texas (we were 1200 mi from Texas). That he never met anyone from the supposed company requesting the permit and the random part-time installers were hit or miss. Mostly miss. So yeah be aware of that. Also some ridiculously high quotes but say it will be made up by financing (it won’t) or various credits (probably not)
@Kyeh A friend of mine who lives in Ontario California left on a ten day vacay to the Boston area last Friday. She’s very unhappy now because of the fires in that area. She wants to come home, but they’re supposed to go on a cruise up to Canada.
Oooo, another thing - I won’t miss the goddamn noisy mowers, blowers &weedwackers - although throughout the fall those blowers will be obnoxiously constant for a while.
@Kyeh That’s funny, drives me crazy too. Especially the 2-stroke blowers. Sometimes I’ve had to hire a team of gardeners to do brush clearing, and for several hours have the buzz all around me and think, it’s going to be OK, they are doing stuff I asked for and was way too much work (or dangerous) for me to do myself. So I tried to think of it positively. But neighbor has people come in every 2 weeks or so. Come the Fall/Autumn season, they seem to have a “every leaf must be removed” policy so are almost nonstop in how often they have people come in. Have no idea how much they pay to have a crew come in every few days.
@pmarin Oh, I KNOW - and the crews that work around here often just walk around with the blowers on not even blowing leaves, just air. I think they want the owner to believe they’re working harder than they are. There are battery operated ones now that are a lot quieter but until they’re forced to use them they won’t, I’m sure.
Besides - nowadays garden experts are beginning to recommend that you leave your leaves alone. I rake the ones that are thickly covering the middle of my yard, but let the ones along the trees and bushes stay as mulch, and groundcover for pollinators.
@Kyeh@pmarin I have a big yard and lots of maple trees. Yet I only spend a total of maybe 1-2 hours over a couple weeks in the fall raking leaves. I don’t find it to be a huge chore. Granted, I’m not a perfectionist who insists on removing every single leaf - I just get the bulk of them that would otherwise smother the grass. I use the leaves as winter mulch on the vegetable garden and berry patches.
And I really dislike the droning leaf blowers that disrupt the rural quiet (like my neighbor’s ).
OK not related to the heat or bugs of Summer, but a seasonal thing that happens every 4 years: political ads! about 8 more weeks of political ads! Often the same angry ads repeated every break. If you watch local news/weather or broadcast programs (do people still do that? yeah I guess I do), it’s unstoppable and will just get worse the next few weeks.
Walking out of my door in June & July felt like what I imagine it feels like to be inside the DEVILS ASSHOLE!!! No oxygen!!! Eyes watered cuz the sun was so bright. For me, a chronic migraine sufferer, it was HELL!!! I CANNOT WAIT for it to get dark by 5:30!!!
The heat, the sweat, and the humidity. There are no crowded patios around here. It’s way too hot, sweaty, and humid to be outside.
Humidity and bugs
The high utility bills.
The trees need lots of water (avocado and pine). We found out the hard way lack of water on the pines makes them less able to resist the beetles that bore into them.
Air conditioning and fans use a lot of electricity.
@lisaviolet Yes! I have a small house and PG&E has been over $600 per month.
@lisaviolet
@iluvmingos Tagged the wrong person in my other reply Shocked at your monthly bill. That is a car payment!
@iluvmingos @lisaviolet Eek. PG&E implies must be California? Do you know your rate per kWh?
Years ago I was in Texas for work and was meeting a local engineer and sales guy there. The sales guy apparently had a big nice house. But said electric bill was $700/month mostly for AC. And sounds like rates much higher now if they can keep their independent grid up, which is often not the case. (Texas, no regulation, Freedom, Hoorah!). Texans, calm down and re-holster that pistol, cowboy! I actually have fond memories of Texas lived there part time for work.
Anyway for home AC depending on how old your system is, even though it’s a big investment, might want to look into one of the very new super-high efficiency systems. A lot of stuff, even newer cheaper stuff, is still basically technology from the 1960s. From my experience it pays to invest in the best variable-speed system. I recently got one of these. Also very quiet none of that Boing-oing-oing sound when it starts and lights don’t dim.
/image Trane xv19
@cbatte Our most recent utility bill was $737. Last month was $794. (We toughed it out a little more this month.
The water bill for April-May was $195
June-July was $603.
I am NOT a fan of summer.
@iluvmingos If my husband wasn’t self employed where he used a lot of electric tools (welder, big compressor, belt sanders, grinders, etc, etc, etc) our bill would easily be at least 40% less.
When he had to take a month off after he had a kidney removed, the bill was a lot nicer.
SDG&E here. San Diego.
@lisaviolet Geez! That is terrible! I will stop complaining about my $200+ bill. Here’s hoping for a cold front soon!
@cbatte @lisaviolet Also, tree-hugger here, it seems media has turned on things like Solar, but, may I recommend, Solar! I convinced my friend in NC to get it and he used to rack up big bills (but not as big as you guys are talking) mostly for AC. Now most months he breaks even. They had a plan where you could “bank” your extra power for a year and use the credit. Apparently because they are upset about this damn solar thing taking away their profits, they now don’t let you “bank” the power anymore. I will do solar soon too. Also charges your cars!
@cbatte @pmarin We’ve looked into it, but at our age it’s not cost effective.
Arguing with my husband is an exercise in futility - he can be very stubborn about some things.
@lisaviolet @pmarin My house is relatively efficient and my last bill of $200 is an outlier. The quotes for solar don’t make financial sense unfortunately. I have not ruled it out for the future though
@cbatte @lisaviolet for solar it’s true there are a lot of sleazy companies out there. Some operate from out-of-state and hire local installers often with little overview and experience.
In my case a local contractor did work for a neighbor and then for me too, not solar, just new service entry and add some circuits (and my new AC wiring). Met owner and 2 of the guys working with him and were fun to talk to. His partner runs the other 1/2 of the business which is solar. But all local.
Local building inspector told horror stories of stuff that people were sold that went to a company in Texas (we were 1200 mi from Texas). That he never met anyone from the supposed company requesting the permit and the random part-time installers were hit or miss. Mostly miss. So yeah be aware of that. Also some ridiculously high quotes but say it will be made up by financing (it won’t) or various credits (probably not)
The threat of wildfires. Although they happen in the winter too, but there’s less risk.
@Kyeh A friend of mine who lives in Ontario California left on a ten day vacay to the Boston area last Friday. She’s very unhappy now because of the fires in that area. She wants to come home, but they’re supposed to go on a cruise up to Canada.
@lisaviolet Oh no! Pretty hard to enjoy your vacation under those circumstances.
Mosquitos… Little blood sucking bastards!
@chienfou a billion times this!
“Hey, lisaviolet, whatcha doin’?”
Me: I’m just sitting here watching Justified again and feeding a family of bloodsuckers.
Temps upper 60s+ for my morning run.
I will not miss mosquitoes
Oooo, another thing - I won’t miss the goddamn noisy mowers, blowers &weedwackers - although throughout the fall those blowers will be obnoxiously constant for a while.
@Kyeh That’s funny, drives me crazy too. Especially the 2-stroke blowers. Sometimes I’ve had to hire a team of gardeners to do brush clearing, and for several hours have the buzz all around me and think, it’s going to be OK, they are doing stuff I asked for and was way too much work (or dangerous) for me to do myself. So I tried to think of it positively. But neighbor has people come in every 2 weeks or so. Come the Fall/Autumn season, they seem to have a “every leaf must be removed” policy so are almost nonstop in how often they have people come in. Have no idea how much they pay to have a crew come in every few days.
@pmarin Oh, I KNOW - and the crews that work around here often just walk around with the blowers on not even blowing leaves, just air. I think they want the owner to believe they’re working harder than they are. There are battery operated ones now that are a lot quieter but until they’re forced to use them they won’t, I’m sure.
Besides - nowadays garden experts are beginning to recommend that you leave your leaves alone. I rake the ones that are thickly covering the middle of my yard, but let the ones along the trees and bushes stay as mulch, and groundcover for pollinators.
@Kyeh @pmarin I have a big yard and lots of maple trees. Yet I only spend a total of maybe 1-2 hours over a couple weeks in the fall raking leaves. I don’t find it to be a huge chore. Granted, I’m not a perfectionist who insists on removing every single leaf - I just get the bulk of them that would otherwise smother the grass. I use the leaves as winter mulch on the vegetable garden and berry patches.
).
And I really dislike the droning leaf blowers that disrupt the rural quiet (like my neighbor’s
OK not related to the heat or bugs of Summer, but a seasonal thing that happens every 4 years: political ads! about 8 more weeks of political ads! Often the same angry ads repeated every break. If you watch local news/weather or broadcast programs (do people still do that? yeah I guess I do), it’s unstoppable and will just get worse the next few weeks.
Walking out of my door in June & July felt like what I imagine it feels like to be inside the DEVILS ASSHOLE!!! No oxygen!!! Eyes watered cuz the sun was so bright. For me, a chronic migraine sufferer, it was HELL!!! I CANNOT WAIT for it to get dark by 5:30!!!
Mosquitoes.
Mosquitoes and hornets/yellowjackets