Is A/C needed for homes in Falmouth/Cape Elizabeth? (Portland: condos, how much)

[Maine2009]

I am looking to move to Maine sometime later this year or next year and I'm noticing that alot of homes that I am looking at in the Falmouth/Cape Elizabeth area appear to not have A/C.
I'm moving from Southern California, where A/C is a MUST. Southern Maine is obviously MUCH colder than where i currently live, and granted Falmouth/Cape Elizabeth are coastal cities, but in the summer, doesn't it get too humid not to have an A/C? I'd be curious to know if most people have A/C or not in the Portland area, and what their experiences are. Thanks.

[K-Luv]

My personal take on the humidity is that it doesn't happen enough to warrant A/C. Of course there are many on here who say otherwise-then again I endured eight years of horrid humid weather in Minneapolis before I finally got an A/C unit, so I am the wrong person to respond.

As you are coming from LA, you will probably find the summers here to be overall a lot more bearable.

The weather here along the coast varies quite a bit as well. One day it will be really hot and humid and then the next-when you decide to go down to the beach-it will be overcast and windy.

[Abbymoulton]

I lived in Southern Maine for years and no one I knew had air conditioning. I have been in Florida for 20 years and am going back to Maine in 74 days. I doubt very much I will need air conditioning the first summer. But, alot of people on this forum say YES to air conditioning. So, I guess it is a matter of how hot is hot to you. And... summer seems hot at times to Mainers but those of us returning or just moving there from some of these hot places will probably think it is cool even on thier hotest days the first year you are back. After that however, you will get acustomed to it and want a window unit for the "hot" summer nights.

[casualobserver]

While I am from NH and not Maine, I will suggest this "highly effective substitute" for a/c since you will be close to the water. Whenever you feel a bit warm, take a stroll into the surf. It is guaranteed to cool your body temp down promptly for the rest of the evening.

[399083453]

Do not have AC? You might mean they do not have central air or central ac. Well maybe not one that comes with the house. Most Mainers use a ac that fits in the window. It comes out of the window in the winter. They only cost $100 or so. I have one and it works well, i take it out of the window in Sept.

[Maine2009]

Originally Posted by Abbymoulton

I lived in Southern Maine for years and no one I knew had air conditioning. I have been in Florida for 20 years and am going back to Maine in 74 days. I doubt very much I will need air conditioning the first summer. But, alot of people on this forum say YES to air conditioning. So, I guess it is a matter of how hot is hot to you. And... summer seems hot at times to Mainers but those of us returning or just moving there from some of these hot places will probably think it is cool even on thier hotest days the first year you are back. After that however, you will get acustomed to it and want a window unit for the "hot" summer nights.

Hi Abbymoulton, You must be looking forward to moving back to Maine if you are counting the days down Do you find that the Southern Maine/Portland area (Falmouth/ Cape Elizabeth area in particular ) gets a lot of cool breezes off the ocean in the Summertime? I'm probably still leaning towards getting a central A/C sytem installed (expensive though) or at least some Window units for the summer. What Part of Main are you moving back to? Good luck with your move!

[Mainer61]

If your house is on the water at Falmouth Foreside or Cape Elizabeth you may not need central air...just get a couple of window a/c units. Summers can be pretty humid in some years. We live in the midcoast (not on the water) and have window a/c's in the bedrooms.

[zoe456]

I suppose I'm one of those oddballs that does prefer A/C - especially if it's above 60 degrees dewpoint (I've commented on this on another post recently). I live approx. 1 mile from the coast in Yarmouth, and depending on where you're looking to live in Cape Elizabeth/Falmouth Foreside, you may be a few miles inland. Even when you're directly on the water on very hazy/hot/humid days, if there's no afternoon seabreeze to provide relief it can be rather stifling. The nighttime doesn't get much better on those days, especially if there's no wind. I can also imagine that a larger home that is multi-story would get quite warm. There are new condos in two developments in Cumberland Foreside that all have central a/c. My condo is a little older so I rely on window units.

[libbykt]

I think you'll find that most Mainers will tell you that you don't need central a/c, and when I lived there the first go-round, I would have said the same thing. It's not that hot, you only have a couple of days when you reallllllly need it, etc. Well, maybe. But after having moved from Maine to California back to Maine and now back to California, I'll tell you that the summer that I was back in Maine was H.O.T. And granted, I think it was one of the record breakers, but we had window units in our house in Scarborough and it just wasn't enough. And my house is about 2 minutes from the beach.

And funny enough, I am not an a/c person. I had it at my house in Oceanside (Southern Cal) and rarely tuned it on, but it doesn't get nearly as hot down there as it does on the hot days in Maine. I don't know if it's my old age, or if living in California has weakened me because the Maine cold is a whole lot colder too.

[AliceT]

For the first 20 years that I lived in downtown Orlando, I did not have A/C. I was not from there, but was from Maine. But what one person can tolerate or is used to has nothing to do with the comfort level of another. I would wait and see when I got there if it felt too uncomfortable.

While a window A/C is not particularly expensive to buy, it can get expensive to run it every day. Maine tends to cool off nicely in the evenings, so if you have a means to ventilate your home with the evening air, close the curtains in the morning on the sunny side of the house, you could probably keep your house very comfortable without it. You may also want to consider getting a dehumidifier to run in the house. It's amazing how much cooler the house is when the humidity is taken out of the picture. It'll save you money on your utility bill, too.