Hi, James from Arizona here.
 

I'm James, I live just outside of Phoenix Arizona in the scorching hot desert. My wife and I bought a brand new house 4 years ago, back when we weren't really thinking about energy efficiency or anything. Luckily we were smart enough or poor enough to buy a small house around 1200 sq ft. Also the majority of our windows are on the north side of the house so they are always shaded except for really late afternoons and early mornings during the longest days of summer. We covered the rest of the windows that get direct sunlight with sun screens and have blinds on all the windows.
Things I wish we had done when we bought the house is upgrade the insulation and move to a area served by a power company that does net metering and solar incentives. We live in just about the only town in Arizona that doesn't have access to solar incentives through their power company. The good thing is that it should be coming in the next couple years, so hopefully we can get our solar power on.
We're always looking for more ways to save on energy, we've never gone over $200 during the hottest parts of summer. It isn't uncommon for bills to jump up to $300 - $400 in these parts. Will be here looking for more ideas on being more efficient.

$200 a month is pretty darn impressive (to me) in Phoenix.

I've only spent about 12 hours there and I figure I may have used that much electricity that day. hehe

Welcome!

Hey jimmy, thanks for stopping by, ;)

Thanks! Our highest this year was this August $192. It pays to have a small efficient house out in the desert. Of course I'd like to get the utility bills even lower!

cool, my dad lives in maricopa. also has a small place out in the middle of nowhere. i've been out there once, and really liked it.

Hey James, Welcome to the board! It does stink that in such a sunny place as AZ, they don't have the solar incentives yet. It does sound like the perfect opportunity for a solar set up, though, once the incentives kick in. With how little power you use, it sounds like you'd be making quite a bit of money if you could sell the excess power back to the power company. I'm really glad to hear that you covered the southern windows as well. It's such a simple thing to use passive cooling methods on a house, and to see so many people not take advantage of opportunities like that is bothersome. It sounds like you have your energy conservation down pretty well, so I can't wait to hear what you do next with your place. Please keep us updated on any future mods or plans :D

Woody

Hey James, do you know anyone living in an earth home? I've read that they are big out in your parts.