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Old 01-26-2019, 09:46 AM
 
Location: Foot of the Rockies
90,316 posts, read 120,488,465 times
Reputation: 35920

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Quote:
Originally Posted by LHS79 View Post
I grew up here and we all talk about how it was cooler in the 70's and 80's and hardly anyone had A/C . We just used fans for a few weeks in those years but it was bearable - being younger probably helped too!

I have one of the large roll-around (portable) A/C units too and it works pretty well. I put the unit in my main room and it can keep the house at 76-77 when outdoors it might be in the 90's.
We moved here in the fall of 1980. The summer of 1981 was one of the hottest on record! I was so glad we had a swamp cooler in our apt. A lot of people I worked with, older and richer than me, lived in single family homes with no AC, no swamp coolers, no nothing and they complained like crazy. As I recall the next summer was cooler.

Fast forward a few decades-we put in central air about 10 years ago. Some years we use it a lot, some years we hardly turn it on.
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Old 01-26-2019, 10:09 AM
 
Location: Indianapolis, East Side
3,054 posts, read 2,364,460 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by davebarnes View Post
Exactly.
Doesn't everyone own a mountain home?
This is 'Murica. Get with the program.
Mention Denver, and people say, "The mountains!"
I point out that Denver is on the plains, and the response is "But the mountains are right there in your back yard!"

Next time, I will point them to this thread.
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Old 01-27-2019, 11:45 AM
 
Location: Phoenix, AZ
2,653 posts, read 3,029,835 times
Reputation: 2869
Quote:
Originally Posted by jweb29 View Post
how the hell do portable swamp coolers work? i just gotta turn them on inside? it confuses me. keep a window cracked? really?

Meh, I think i'll go for it!
You must be from the east.

But seriously, what is with landlords that they wouldn't provide some sort of summer cooling? That's just plain ignorant of them.
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Old 01-27-2019, 12:10 PM
 
1,087 posts, read 1,234,233 times
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We lived in our house in Centennial for 30 something years without AC.

For about five or six weeks in the middle of summer, we would close and shutter all the house windows in the morning and then open the windows when it cooled off in the evening. The house had good windows and attic insulation but not that great other wise (built in the 1970's).

Last few years before retiring, I worked out of the house a fair amount and the heat seemed worse simply because I was not leaving during the day to go to work somewhere. But it was really not that bad. At night, we just used fans.

Im going to sell that house soon (maybe this summer) and am thinking about adding AC simply because it will make it easier to sell. Or I may find out what it costs to add AC and accept that difference when negotiating. But if I were keeping the house.. no AC, I just did not think it was that bad.

Retirement solution move to the mountains!!! No stinking AC needed..
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Old 01-27-2019, 03:52 PM
 
Location: Foot of the Rockies
90,316 posts, read 120,488,465 times
Reputation: 35920
Quote:
Originally Posted by DougStark View Post
You must be from the east.

But seriously, what is with landlords that they wouldn't provide some sort of summer cooling? That's just plain ignorant of them.
When we moved to Denver in 1980, the mantra from many Denverites was "you don't need air conditioning in Denver". They would say that as they were swooning from the heat. They couldn't accept that A/C, while maybe not strictly "needed" sure is nice. People talk about climate change, but really, the summers have not gotten noticeably hotter over the years. It's always been hot in the summer. I had never lived anywhere before where temps get up to 100 degrees in summer, almost every year.

Back in 1980ish, some new townhomes were being built in our neighborhood. We went on a tour of them with my in-laws who were visiting from Omaha. My MIL was shocked that they weren't putting A/C into these homes. I don't know when it became common to include A/C in newly built homes around here.

I was a visiting nurse when we first came here. I was so excited when we bought an air-conditioned car. One of our friends gave me a condescending smile and said "you don't need air conditioning in your car in Denver". I retorted back, "You do if you're a visiting nurse". Good grief, I had to drive around in the heat of day, sometimes going some distance. It's kind of nice to show up at the patients home not looking like a limp rag, as well.
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Old 01-28-2019, 05:42 PM
 
5,118 posts, read 3,391,469 times
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I think you can tolerate a summer without a/c, especially if you're renting. I'm in southeast Aurora in a newish neighborhood with all homes having a/c, but no shade trees, and several of my neighbors choose to never use the a/c in the summer. They claim that a whole house fan is all they need. In August 2017 we chose to not use our a/c for the entire month to see if we could, and it was surprising how quickly we adjusted to it. We kept the windows and plantation shutters closed on the side of the house that had the sun, used a fan in the kitchen when cooking dinner, used ceiling fans in the bedrooms for sleeping. It cools off dramatically in the evenings, so the temp for sleeping wasn't a problem at all.
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Old 01-29-2019, 10:13 AM
 
Location: Phoenix, AZ
2,653 posts, read 3,029,835 times
Reputation: 2869
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gorges View Post
I think you can tolerate a summer without a/c, especially if you're renting. I'm in southeast Aurora in a newish neighborhood with all homes having a/c, but no shade trees, and several of my neighbors choose to never use the a/c in the summer. They claim that a whole house fan is all they need. In August 2017 we chose to not use our a/c for the entire month to see if we could, and it was surprising how quickly we adjusted to it. We kept the windows and plantation shutters closed on the side of the house that had the sun, used a fan in the kitchen when cooking dinner, used ceiling fans in the bedrooms for sleeping. It cools off dramatically in the evenings, so the temp for sleeping wasn't a problem at all.
Life is too short to have to endure summer without AC or evap IMO- even in Denver. So I don't admire your neighbors who "tough it out" to save small change. Lots of easier ways to save $$.
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Old 01-29-2019, 10:50 AM
 
1,087 posts, read 1,234,233 times
Reputation: 1704
Doug, it looks like your in Phoenix.. we spend the winters in Western Az (summer in Denver at the moment) but visit Az during the summer for couple weeks to maintain and water. Seriously huge difference between Az and Denver in the summer. Could not survive without AC in the lower elevations of Az in the summer. Maybe you lived in Denver so this doesnt count.. just saw the Phoenix location in your ID.

One other thing I have noticed.. your tolerance for both cold or hot goes down as you get older. A younger person might not mind a house that is hotter in the summer and colder in the winter while someone in their 60's or older may be miserable. May be that even people of the same age have different tolerance??

And..some places in Colorado may be warmer now than in the past https://wwa.colorado.edu/climate/co2...2014_FINAL.pdf
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Old 01-29-2019, 07:22 PM
 
Location: Phoenix, AZ
2,653 posts, read 3,029,835 times
Reputation: 2869
^^^^Yeah, Walt. I get what you're saying. Denver summers are hot enough IMO to make a/c or evap an easy creature comfort in this day and age; not a "must have", but greatly appreciated. My point was that the landlord was just being cheap.
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