Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I lived in southern CA without A/C for 28 years, but in Texas, no way. OMG! I would slit my wrists before I'd live without air conditioning in the gawd-forsaken south. How they did it long, long ago is beyond me, but there is no way I'd do it nor would I put my dog through such agony. It's just plain miserable weather.
All you have to do is synthesize the house construction with the natural climate features of the South, and you will have yourself a comfortable home in the hot, humid environment without A/C. If you live especially on immediate coastal areas of the South, you will get strong sea-breeze that cools the home.
Do you think that Hawaii, Fiji, Cancun, Puerto Rico, Guam, Maldives, Rio De Janerio, Aruba, Zanzibar, Panama City, etc all have "plain miserable" weather? All have the same heat and humidity of the South, but year-round.
Quote:
Originally Posted by svedski
I live in Manila where it gets like 100 degrees with 100% humidity. Everyone here has an AC. Even the ones in the ghettos. It is not possible to create a house that is comfortable without an AC if you can't even be outside in the shade without pouring in sweat.
It is very possible to create a house to be comfortable without A/C. It's just that, unfortunately, it isn't cheap to make such appropriate designs, as it is to just plop A/C in a house.
Do you think that Hawaii, Fiji, Cancun, Puerto Rico, Guam, Maldives, Rio De Janerio, Aruba, Zanzibar, Panama City, etc all have "plain miserable" weather? All have the same heat and humidity of the South, but year-round.
Do you think that Hawaii, Fiji, Cancun, Puerto Rico, Guam, Maldives, Rio De Janerio, Aruba, Zanzibar, Panama City, etc all have "plain miserable" weather? All have the same heat and humidity of the South, but year-round.
All of these places are where the majority of people live on the water. Not 50 miles inland from the water like Houston. This is apples to oranges. Sea Breezes matter.
All of these places are where the majority of people live on the water. Not 50 miles inland from the water like Houston. This is apples to oranges. Sea Breezes matter.
I'd love to see what suggestions the OP has for people who live inland.
All of these places are where the majority of people live on the water. Not 50 miles inland from the water like Houston. This is apples to oranges. Sea Breezes matter.
Many of the islands I listed have significant populations of people living away from their coast...
Anyways, 50 miles inland is still close enough to the coast to have comfort-inducing circulation of the air from sea-breeze. While it obviously wont be as strong as a breeze along the coast, it still is adequate movement for comfort. However, Houston suburbs along Galveston Bay/Gulf, like Clear Lake and League City, and some cities in the metro, like Baytown, Kemah, and Galveston, all get strong sea-breeze, without a doubt.
However, even inland from the coast, frequent thunderstorms, lush vegetation, cloud-covered skies, and summer temps that aren't too hot all help to make living without A/C comfortable. Also, inland areas in the South won't have the humidity problem as coastal cities, and thus can have cool enough nights for a chill in the air.
It really does not matter how far away from the coast a location in the South is; because of the prevailing atmospheric configurations, the dominant airflow in the South comes from the Gulf/Atlantic Ocean. Thus, the region exhibits a mostly moderated, subtropical maritime climate, and thus comforting factors, even inland from the coast. Even places like Louisville, Kentucky will have frequent cooling thunderstorms from oceanic air-masses during the summer.
Quote:
Originally Posted by PDF
I'd love to see what suggestions the OP has for people who live inland.
All of these places are where the majority of people live on the water. Not 50 miles inland from the water like Houston. This is apples to oranges. Sea Breezes matter.
And, 1. These areas all have A/C, and 2. They don't have weather like Houston.
He's just listing random areas on the water which have nothing to do with Houston weather, which makes no sense anyways, since they're all cities with AC.
They use AC in freaking Germany and the UK. You really think they aren't going to use it in Houston?
They use AC in freaking Germany and the UK. You really think they aren't going to use it in Houston?
A/C isn't that common in the UK.
Quote:
He's just listing random areas on the water which have nothing to do with Houston weather, which makes no sense anyways, since they're all cities with AC.
About half Hawaiians don't have A/C, I wouldn't say it's not really a place with A/C. But yea, it's weather isn't like Houston so I agree it's irrelevant. Some of the other places lack A/C for many but it may because of poverty rather than choice.
And, 1. These areas all have A/C, and 2. They don't have weather like Houston.
He's just listing random areas on the water which have nothing to do with Houston weather, which makes no sense anyways, since they're all cities with AC.
They use AC in freaking Germany and the UK. You really think they aren't going to use it in Houston?
Look up the data for each of those cities, and you would find that conditions would not be too dissimilar to what Houston experiences during summer.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nei
About half Hawaiians don't have A/C, I wouldn't say it's not really a place with A/C. But yea, it's weather isn't like Houston so I agree it's irrelevant. Some of the other places lack A/C for many but it may because of poverty rather than choice.
Summers in Houston naturally aren't much hotter than summers in Hawaiian locales like Honolulu. As you go closer to the Gulf Coast, in Houston area locations like Kemah, Seabrook, or Galveston, summers would be practically the same as Honolulu in terms of temp averages.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
