Air conditioner poll-- who's getting by without?

I've been close to installing my window units several times now, but then we cool off and things are reasonably bearable again with windows and a box fan.  Looks like we're supposed to get back down into the 70s in a few days . . .

Who all's getting by without AC, and who plans to do so through the summer?

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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on June 10, 2012 at 8:35am

We're in the same pattern as you.  We haven't yet installed any window units.  Still getting by with open windows, ceiling fans and other fans.  We haven't made any definite yes or no decision on the rest of the summer.  I guess we'll play that by ear.  What a weird weather year!

Permalink Reply by spencewine on June 10, 2012 at 9:01am

I just turned central air on today at the behest of my girlfriend. We have a basement and first floor apt. The basement is a balmy 73 degrees...almost cold and the 1st floor is an oven. I've done a summer with no AC, but we have already begun hitting 90s in May - some people might forget that these temps are usually reserved for mid-to-late July and August. I have a feeling this is going to be a bad summer. So, Cheers to those that can make without AC...you're welcome to spend the afternoon at my place whenever you need cool down.

Permalink Reply by King CeZar on June 10, 2012 at 12:20pm

I am can't afford a air conditioner, just fans!

Permalink Reply by Lanterne Rouge on June 10, 2012 at 12:48pm

Wow, that's crazy. We live in the top of a two-flat that has no attic, so the sun beats down on the roof and right into our apartment. Never mind that the front of our place faces westward and gets our interior crazy hot even with drapes and blinds.

We've had to use the window unit in the bedroom since the beginning of the month - it was regularly getting to 90 degrees or more in here. 

Permalink Reply by Thunder Snow on June 10, 2012 at 12:50pm

I've got a fan on a stand that I drag from room to room.  It's always pointed right at me whenever I'm home.  Haven't had air conditioning in years.

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on June 10, 2012 at 1:21pm

My condo is a basement unit.  We've got a tree on the South-Eeast facing side shading the windows, another unit to the South-West so we get no sun from that side at all as they are insulating us from it.  There is a deck to the North-West side, and a narrow alley to the South-west so it is shaded by the next building over. 

Since we are in the basement the earth is always about 56-degrees.  In the summer it's pretty comfy down there.  Sometimes we put a box fan in one open window and crack a window on the far side of the unit for some cross-ventilation.  We never run the AC unless it is really humid -and just enough to dry the place out, it doesn't take long.  That only is an issue for a few days in the hottest and moist days of the summer when the humidity is really, really high.

In the Winter we really don't need to run the heat very much either.  We also use all CFLs and keep them turned off as much as possible so our electric bill is tiny too.

It's nice right now with the one box fan.  Cool and comfy...

Permalink Reply by Gene Tenner on June 10, 2012 at 2:01pm

Same here. I have a garden apartment - half below and half above ground - and have but do not use air conditioning. Same for when I owned cars. In August a window fan (sealed in place) at one end and an open window at the other end and the steady stream drawn through the place keeps me cool. I can afford it; I just do not need it and it keeps my carbon footprint smaller than my size 12s.

Permalink Reply by Lanterne Rouge on June 10, 2012 at 2:06pm

Lucky you, James. I really believe that being first floor or non e/w facing units are huge determinants in how hot it will get. I used to have a studio that was middle floor and n/s facing - didn't have to use the air at all. 

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on June 10, 2012 at 2:13pm

My wife bought this condo long before I met her.  She got a really efficient place in an up-and-coming section of Logan Square before it was cool and the prices were still very low before the real estate bubble started to expand.  It's still worth more than what she paid for it and it is nearly paid off.  

Not only that, but we are 1 block from the underground LS blue line station.   I can almost hold my breath and run to the L station, and even when it is 30-below it is nice and cozy waiting for the train in the sheltered station.  It's cool in the summer too -just like our condo.  Brilliant!

Even though the platform is 75 yards the way the crow flies (or burrows, as the case may be) we can't hear the trains, or the "Ding Dong, doors closing" dialog every 10 minutes like most people who live near an elevated station.  

In the dead of the night if it is REALLY quiet I can sometimes hear the faint rumble of  a train passing -but it isn't even as loud as the refrigerator when it kicks on, and it is a quiet high-efficiency 'fridge. 

My wife is smart.  That's why I married her. 

Purchasing a high-efficiency home is its own reward. 

Permalink Reply by Ride it like you stole it on June 10, 2012 at 3:01pm

No Pleasure, no rapture, no exquisite sin greater.. Than central air.

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on June 10, 2012 at 3:16pm

Or maybe Skeeball. 

Ride your bicycle said:

No Pleasure, no rapture, no exquisite sin greater.. Than central air.

Permalink Reply by Lanterne Rouge on June 10, 2012 at 3:55pm

You may be on to something here. I'll tell you what - rolling two or three 100 pointers in a row is a truly amazing feeling. I can't say that I'm that excited when sitting in a dwelling cooled by central air. But yes, modern HVAC is a truly wonderful thing.

James BlackHeron said:

Or maybe Skeeball. 

Ride your bicycle said:

No Pleasure, no rapture, no exquisite sin greater.. Than central air.

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