Arizona Living Questions (AC)

[SD33]

Hey all,

I asked some questions about moving to and living in Arizona on here a while back and everyone was really helpful and cool (much better than City-data.com), so I thought I would ask again. My wife and I visited down there in September and fell in love with the place. We are now officially relocating from Seattle to the Phoenix area summer of 2012.

My current question is about air conditioning. How much does it cost to install a system? Do most new homes come with it installed? How much do you spend on average per month and what months do you operate it and at what temperatures? Also, does anyone use a swamp cooler and what happens during the monsoon seasons?

I would like to think that when we move we will be able to find a nice 2000-2600 square foot home that can be kept at a comfortable temperature the whole year without pinching pennies, but is this realistic? We loved Arizona, even in the 110 degree weather because we always knew we could find some AC when we needed it. But do those of you who actually live there put up with a certain amount of uncomfortableness in your homes in order to save money?

Also, is it better/cheaper to use AC if you have a single story home vs. a two story home?

Ok, I think that is all for now : )

Thanks for any information you can provide!

 

[PHXscuba]

First off, this is just me ... others may brag about toughing it out without using AC, but I'm pretty middle-of-the-road, I think.

There's no getting around, it, your AC bill will be high in July and August. Period. We use ours from when it gets too warm in April until often into November. Obviously those first and last "shoulder months" are where AC use really varies. I set mine around 76 in off-peak hours and 81 during peak hours (see below).

If you are looking at a Phoenix-area house that doesn't have AC, RUN!!! Every house built here in the last 30 years has AC, I have to think. How old the system is may be in question, but that's for a good home inspector to help you figure out. Swamp coolers are more common on older homes, For example, my in-laws' home was built in about 1979 and has a swamp cooler. Our home was built in 1995 and doesn't. More than likely you will have a heat pump, which runs as AC in the summer and heat in the winter if you don't have gas heat.

As for cost, lots of variation. Ask the people you buy a home from how they used energy and what their power bills have been. If the home has high ceilings (lots here do) you'll pay more to cool each square foot of home. If you have a two-story with separate condensers, you can set them to not use the downstairs at night, for example. If you are gone all day and set an electronic thermostat to cool your house only just before you come home, you can save some money. They have time-of-day plans that charge you more during peak times and less during off-peak to encourage you to bump up the thermostat during the afternoons. It's a whole education figuring it all out.

With all that, you can still probably expect a $200-300 power bill in the peak summer months for the size of house you mentioned. After a year you can get on a managed-payment plan where they average your usage over the whole year and that spreads the pain out.

We relocated here in the summer of 1998 and the first few months were hard. I had to get used to sleeping under ever-present ceiling fans (a must here). If I recall, you've already visited when it's warm. The nice thing is after toughing out the first few months, the rest of year is beautiful. I am typing this on my driveway watching my daughters ride their bikes around, in T-shirts.

I'd be happy to answer any more questions about living here.

PHXscuba

 

[SD33]

Thanks, PHXscuba! That is really helpful information!

 

[Desert Dwellers]

I agree with PHXscuba, the houses you'll be looking at will all have AC. I have a friend that bought an older home in Tucson which had the original swamp cooler and had been updated with AC. A great combination, I think.

I had a two story in the Midwest, but I only want a ranch here. I have the budgeted plan with SRP which means I pay $115 a month regardless of usage. So to run my house a year costs around $1500 in electricity. My gas bill (stove, water heater) is about $35, except when running my furnace, then it jumps to $70 or $80.

I keep the house at 79 in the summer, and run ceiling fans in every room. They really make a big difference in comfort. I love March, April, November and December when I don't use any AC or furnace at all.

 

[SD33]

Can you tell me a little more about the "budgeted plan with SRP". How do they determine how much to charge you? And wouldn't you be able to take the house down to say 72 instead of 79 if it doesn't matter how much you use the AC? Or do you just like it that way?

This is all very interesting. I like that you can spread out the cost and just plan for it. That's kinda what we are trying to do now. I'm hoping we can have a general idea of how much we will be paying monthly for utilities before we buy a house so we can budget accordingly.

 

[eeyoremommy]

A little OT...my aunt and uncle packed up everything about a year ago because my aunt swore that she wanted to live in Arizona (the medical, relatives, weather, etc., etc.). They have just recently returned to Washington State where they are staying with a family member until they can find a place to live. They were unhappy with the level of taxes. Her doctors in Arizona wouldn't accept her old medical records and wanted to run all new tests for conditions she has had her entire life. Although they lived in a safer suburban area of Phoenix, people began to feel less safe and were more brazen about flashing their firearms around (something that freaked her out). They were less than pleased with their decision. My aunt has flightly tendencies, but I think some of her fears were well grounded. I hope your decision works out much better.

 

[kailuagirl]

Although I never lived in Phoenix, we did live in Yuma, way down south, where it was very very very hot. To keep our electric bill's down, my dad would have our a/c on a timer and it would be off when we were all gone during the day and turn on about an hour before we would start getting home. He would also turn off the a/c vents in the rooms that weren't really being used or not at all. Also, their electric usage in the later years reminded me of green acres in a way. In the daytime, during the weekday, electricity was at its prime and most expensive, so you couldn't use say the microwave and the stove at the same time, it was kinda like use this first, then you can use that. Also couldn't use the washer/dryer in the day. But in the evenings, can't remember what time it would change, it was like go for it and get everything done. It was kinda weird. He also put in a swamp cooler (it was after I lived there) and they LOVED IT, they used in when they didn't use the a/c and it was way more efficient.

I don't think I knew anyone that didn't have a/c in their house, it was automatic. I think we had to use the heater in the winter too sometimes.

If you can, I'd get a house with a pool, it will be so worth it on those hot summer days and nights. We used our's almost year round, except in the winter of course).

Now as compared to hawaii electricity a $200 electric bill for us would be wonderful! It's so expensive, my auntie runs an average of about $500 to 600 per month and our's is almost always at least $300, $350 and that's without any a/c for a family of 4.

I really liked living in Arizona, weather was great, hard on your skin, but you get used to it really fast. It's affordable. Have a great move!!

 

[Peri]

I have lived in Arizona, with a three year absence, since 1961. When we were young, parents had a swamp cooler only - really only wealthy families had A/C. Now, as stated, everyone has A/C. If your unit breaks, for a 2600 sf house you would pay arond 5,000 for a new unit (with heat pump). We live in a 2700 sf house. Bills go up as stated above, in the summer we pay 250 to 300 a month, keep house at 78 all day. We have ceiling fans. You will pay more to cool a two story house and the rooms upstairs will be significantly warmer. The SRP program takes your average at your house, and then you pay a monthly fee but if you decide to lower the thermostat to 72, you will have to make up the difference - it does not mean you get to use all the electricity you want.

You might want to look at homes with solar panels to help lower your bills.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

Yes, any house constructed within the last 25 years. at least, will have an A/C. How efficient the A/C is depends on its age. Don't buy a house with a swamp cooler, total waste of money in my opinion. Costs for AC are just a fact of life here in the desert. You can't live without it. During the summer, you will pay more for it. However, you may want to consider a house that also uses natural gas for heating. That really cuts down on the SRP bills during the other months.

 

[PHXscuba]

SD33:

The way the "managed payment plan" works is an averaging system. Say your usage for a year (super-simplified) is $100 per month in the winter and $300 in the summer. You would just pay $200 per month all year round.

They will only put you on it in the fall after you've lived in your house a year so they can make a good estimate of how much you should be paying. It hurts a bit to pay more the first few winter months instead of seeing your bill naturally go down, but it makes it a lot easier to budget and you don't get the nasty $$$ payment in the summer. I think they reserve the right to adjust that payment if your usage goes way out of their estimate, but they normally only a adjust the monthly payment each fall, based on how your usage has charged and how the power rates go up.

Our AC units are 15 years old and have been repaired but not replaced. Cross my fingers to eke a few more years out of them. They are starting to do more solar panels but they are dependent on the big government rebates and the industry is still ramping up. We have neighbors that just put in some solar panels and I will be interested to see how they do over the next year.

As for the 1 or 2 story question, it's a lot of personal preferences -- I don't know how they rate on AC. Almost NO newer areas in Phoenix build basements -- it's still cheaper to build out or up than to dig out a basement. So if you want more square footage without a bigger lot, you'll find many 2-stories in big homes until you get to the custom-home range. My sister has a 2500-square foot single story home (4 bed, 2 bath) because her knees are too bad for stairs. I know she might have wanted a slightly bigger house, but it was hard to find bigger in a 1-story (in the Chandler/Gilbert area).

PHXscuba

 

[Carrie in AZ]

You are very smart to plan ahead, but I don't think you'll have any problems at all finding a house that size -- there are a gazillion of them! -- or being able to afford your electric bill. I have many friends with two story homes and all of them have two AC units. Friends of ours were over last night and we started talking about our SRP bill. They have a 3000+ sf, two story with a pool. They keep their temp at about 78 during the summer and they said their highest bill they ever had was $400. They said this month will be about $150 as they don't run their heat very much and don't run their pool much if at all in the winter.

We have a smallish home, 1600 sf, and we keep our house very cool during the day in the summer as I can't stand to be hot, so, around 74-76. No pool. Our highest bill this summer was $240. This month it will be less than $90 because we rarely run our heat.

When moving to the Phoenix area, two things I like to remind people of are: think heavily about your commute. Do lots of research on this and ask questions. If you live in the East Valley and need to commute to Downtown or to the West Valley, you are in for a long commute!

Another thing that I think catches folks by surprise is the cost of auto license and tags. Compared to other states, I think it can be costly.

On the other hand, I don't think our property taxes are as high as they are elsewhere. For example, our relatives live in a Chicago suburb and their taxes are A LOT more, thousands more a year. So, those are some things I would be looking at also.

Good luck!

 

[SD33]

Thanks again to everyone for contributing some facts and figures. This is all VERY helpful for my planning!

I'm going to sneak one more question in here fully realizing that it may be a much harder one to answer. Anyone with eczema down there that can speak to how the dryness of the climate affects your skin? My wife has small bouts with it in the winters here in Washington and we read that dry climates are not very optimal for this sort of thing. However, my wife says that hers has never been a problem in the summer but only acts up when it is cold and dry. Anyone know anything about how a desert climate will affect this?

 

[Desert Dwellers]

With the SRP budget plan, the goal is to build a sizable credit balance in the winter months. Then the higher summer bills are just deducted from your credit balance. You should end up pretty even around September. If I'm having a party I don't feel bad turning down the temp to 72 to make sure my guests are comfortable. But if I did that all the time, SRP would notice my usage was outpacing my credit and would adjust my monthly payment accordingly.

Just a note though: It is much more energy efficient for your cooling units to maintain a constant temperature than to turn off the AC and let it run for an hour cooling the house back down. I don't adjust my thermostat more than three degrees if I'm going to be gone from the house all day. Second, more efficient cooling is based on airflow. Turning off vents in some rooms restricts the overall airflow and actually makes your AC units less efficient.

I lived in Indiana, and my car tags are actually cheaper in Arizona. I drive an eight year old van, and my car registration is just over $100. My husband drives a newer Acura, and his car costs several hundred dollars. But I also lived in Wisconsin, and our property taxes are so much cheaper in Arizona. Compared to Illinois or New Jersey, for example, Arizona is a real bargin.

(The only guns I have seen here have been carried by police.)

 

[Desert Dwellers]

Other disjointed thoughts -- on the car registration, the majority of your car tag cost is deductible on your federal income tax if you itemize.

I don't have eczema, but I do have trouble with contact dermatitis. It's much worse in the winter, not so bad in the summer.

 

[pinktink83]

My brother and my daughter both have/had eczema. It flares up sometimes, but with Rx cream it usually stays under control. My daughter only had it while she was 1-3 years old. Then it went away. My brother has flare up still into his 20s. I imagine the dryness is going to affect it a lot, at least at first. However, your body does acclimate to the new conditions after a year or so, so maybe it will level off then.

The areas surrounding Phoenix are a bit safer/homier, especially if you will be having children. Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert, and Tempe are all established suburbs. Chandler is especially nice since it is almost all new construction. Gilbert schools have long been heralded for being great. Tempe has awesome shopping and culture from the college campus being so near. Queen Creek is also very cheap and all brand new, but its a long commute, and there can be some empty housing developments from all the foreclosures (but it is turning up again). Mesa is nice, but you have to make sure you get on the right side of town- the other side (Little Mexico) is pretty run-down. Scottsdale is of course, great, but very expensive.

Definitely check out the commutes before you buy a house. It will make or break your decision of where you end up settling. The highways can be a nightmare here during rush hour.

If I were choosing all over again, I'd probably aim for Chandler. They have such gorgeous parks and there is so much to do.

 

[SD33]

Ok, what about scorpions? Are they a problem down there and, if so, how do I prevent them? We plan on having a pool and I heard water attracts crickets which attract scorpions. I have also heard that newer developments tend to have more scorpion problems because the little buggers get into the homes before they are finished and sealed. I fully assume that we will see scorpions, rattlesnakes, black widows and other desert creatures while living there, but I'd rather not be stung or bitten by anything I don't have to. And from some of the sources I have read online, I am feeling a bit unnerved. People being stung in bed?? I've never worried about anything getting at me in bed while in Washington.

Anyway, what's the scoop on these guys? And if anyone knows of a good pest control company they would recommend, please let me know

 

[disneyfaninaz]

If you are planning to purchase a home in a well established subdivision that isn't out in the "desert", like North Scottsdale, Cave Creek, Care Free or way out East Mesa, the chances of seeing rattlesnakes and other desert creatures are hugely reduced. If you live in the suburbs, yes, you will see black widows and scorpions, but you shouldn't worry about them.

I have lived here for 45 years and have only seen a handful of scorpions and not the big ones you see out in the desert, but small brown ones. We do have exterminators if you have a problem.

 

[Desert Dwellers]

My house was a new build ten years ago. The first year here, we had terrible trouble with crickets. Our pest control company came and sealed up a lot of openings around thresholds, and now I only see a few crickets a year.

We have quarterly pest service. I have never seen a scorpion in the ten years I have lived in this house. I'm not worried about them though. I grew up in the New Mexico desert, and we had scorpions in our house all the time. Unless you're allergic, it's no worse than having a spider in your house.

A few years ago, we had a really wet late winter/early spring. That spring and summer we had black widow spiders like crazy. I would be sure to turn over and clean the patio chairs everytime I wanted to sit on the patio. I never got bit, although their bite really isn't bad. Now I see one black widow a year.

We have lots of lizards that live in our backyard. They seem to do a good job of eating the bugs. But they're just bugs, and I don't get too creeped out by them.

 

[SD33]

That doesn't sound so bad. Thats for the reassurance!

 

[PHXscuba]

I have lived here for more than 12 years and I've never seen a rattlesnake outside of a zoo. We get occasional scorpions (2 or 3 a year), but some places do get more. Partly it's killing the food source -- we spray every 5 weeks or so, so we don't get a lot of bugs. If your neighbor sprays and you don't, guess whose house the bugs will live at? I have been stung once and it only made part of my foot a numb for a day. (BTW, don't Google "scorpion sting" -- the Internet will convince you death is imminent)

A brand-new area that is displacing desert critters is the most likely to have them try to move in with you when their homes are eliminated.

PHXscuba