We're no supposed to get over 100 the next several days. Lots of cloud cover and storm activity cooling us off at night.

I can handle how hot it gets during the day. No problem. What makes me ill is when it's still 108 at 10pm.

pretty shiny?!

Are your electric bills horrendous? does the a/c go on all the time? or is your house well insulated?

We had the same issue, until one day I happened to notice a warm breeze coming from the kids bathroom. It turned out the exaust fan was installed directly to the outside with no protective flap so hot air was just flooding into the top floor. Once I fixed that it was MUCH better. You might want to go around with the candle test and see if you have any air leaks. Don't forget to look at outlets for leaks also.

Don't forget that cell phones can be charged in your car.

Hotel lobbies are nice, air-conditioned places to sit and read or whatever if you're home and dying and need somewhere to go. (And no one knows that you're not supposed to be there!) So are bookstores.

Stay cool, everyone.

How does our weather compare? At about 5 PM right now, it's 90 but "feels like" 96. 54% humidity.

Actually a well balanced two-zoned system can save you money in the long run. With a balanced load both systems have to work less to keep your house at the right temp. Also you can use a programmable thermostat that only heats/cools the sections of the house when you need them (ie if the bedrooms are all upstairs)

They are pretty large, but necessary and worth it. We don't have natural gas for heat or the dryer or water heater, either. There are a few things our electric company does that makes it easier to handle.

To put in context, we have a 2 story 2200 sq ft house.

We are on a program that allows us to pay the average of our real bill for the last 12 months. Right now it's $216/mo. The real bill over the summer has run as much as $360 (vs. $70 for a couple months immediately pre and post winter).

We also participate in a program that encourages electric usage at night. From 9pm to 9am and all day on Sat and Sun, the rate is 1/3 what it is from 9am to 9pm. So we make sure the dishwasher and laundry is done during these times, etc. We also crank the AC down to 64 from 6am to 9am to cool the house way down, and then the AC doesn't typically come on again until early afternoon.

We have decent insulation, typical for a Phoenix home, with dual pain windows, shade screens, etc.

Funny, right as I opened this thread, my grandma came up to me asking questions on how to fill out some form so we can save on our electric bill.

That, and I'm trying to figure out whether "dual pain" was a misspelling or a freudian slip...

Ha! A slip for sure. They are a pain, but not for insulating purposes. Some of them have some sort of leak allowing small amounts of water to get in between them. When the water disappears a nasty residue is left. I have three windows I can hardly see out of anymore and need to replace.

I bought a new computer this weekend.