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Old 06-21-2010, 11:11 PM
 
Location: Chicago
15,585 posts, read 27,438,384 times
Reputation: 1761

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Quote:
Originally Posted by hxcobd View Post
...It's only a huge issue if you don't know how to properly shade your living space and know when to cleverly open doors/use window fans...Plus, it's freaking Illinois. It doesn't get that hot here, trust me...
Obviously you have never lived on a third or fourth floor that has windows facing West or Northwest.

No, I do not trust you. I know otherwise. It can and does get really hot. Of course not as much as L.A. where you are from but it happens almost every year for a few weeks in the summer-often more than a few weeks total.

I have over 3 decades of experience in Chicago you only have a few weeks.

Last edited by Avengerfire; 06-21-2010 at 11:32 PM..
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Old 06-21-2010, 11:43 PM
 
Location: River North, Chicago
226 posts, read 638,458 times
Reputation: 96
Quote:
Originally Posted by Avengerfire View Post
Obviously you have never lived on a third or fourth floor that has windows facing West or Northwest.

No, I do not trust you. I know otherwise. It can and does get really hot. Of course not as much as L.A. where you are from but it happens almost every year for a few weeks in the summer-often more than a few weeks total.

I have over 3 decades of experience in Chicago you only have a few weeks.
I went to college in northern IL all 4 years and have lived on the top floor of a 12-story building for 2 years.

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Old 06-21-2010, 11:51 PM
 
Location: Chicago
38,707 posts, read 102,737,620 times
Reputation: 29967
Quote:
Originally Posted by hxcobd View Post
I went to college in northern IL all 4 years and have lived on the top floor of a 12-story building for 2 years.

If you lived in a 12-story building, then there's a 99% chance it was air conditioned.

Compared to most sun-belt cities, Chicago is an old city with a lot of old buildings that don't have air conditioning. That can actually make summer harder up here than in a "sun belt" city where just about every single building imaginable is air-conditioned. It may sound silly but people actually die during heat waves up here because there's such a preponderance of residential buildings that are not air-conditioned.
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Old 06-22-2010, 12:13 AM
 
Location: Chicago
15,585 posts, read 27,438,384 times
Reputation: 1761
Quote:
Originally Posted by hxcobd View Post
...have lived on the top floor of a 12-story building for 2 years...
Let me guess you live within a block or two of the lake. If you lived in a 3-4 story building farther than a couple of blocks form the lake you would change your tune quick if you did not have A/C.
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Old 06-22-2010, 06:18 AM
 
11,973 posts, read 31,635,920 times
Reputation: 4641
I'll definitely have the AC on this week. Lake or not.
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Old 06-22-2010, 07:08 AM
 
Location: Andersonville, Chicago
188 posts, read 603,059 times
Reputation: 95
I live about six blocks west of the lake, on the top floor of a third floor building, and I survive without AC just fine. I take the money I save from running an inefficient (and environmentally unsound) window unit and spend it on sipping good wine al fresco when the apartment gets too stuffy. It only ever gets terribly unbearable maybe 2-3 days a year, in which case I take myself to some sort of air conditioned establishment (usually the library) until sundown.

I really have no desire to get an air conditioner. Even when I lived in an apartment with central air, I only ran it a few times a year. It's natural to be in touch with the seasons. Too hot? Get your ass off the couch and go outdoors.
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Old 06-22-2010, 09:03 AM
 
8,276 posts, read 11,841,506 times
Reputation: 10075
Quote:
Originally Posted by binarybelle View Post
I live about six blocks west of the lake, on the top floor of a third floor building, and I survive without AC just fine. I take the money I save from running an inefficient (and environmentally unsound) window unit and spend it on sipping good wine al fresco when the apartment gets too stuffy. It only ever gets terribly unbearable maybe 2-3 days a year, in which case I take myself to some sort of air conditioned establishment (usually the library) until sundown.

I really have no desire to get an air conditioner. Even when I lived in an apartment with central air, I only ran it a few times a year. It's natural to be in touch with the seasons. Too hot? Get your ass off the couch and go outdoors.
Getting "my ass off the couch" on a very hot day isn't necessarily the best advice, either.

It can get very uncomfortable at night, too, if the temperature is still in the 70s, and the air is quite sticky; can make for a long, sleepless night. Sometimea a little A/C, with a low setting , is just what you need in order to get a good night's sleep. In most cases, a simple fan will do the trick. I'm personally trying to get by with an electric window fan with a temperature gauge, but I'm ready to switch to a real A/C unit if it gets to be too oppressive.
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Old 06-22-2010, 09:10 AM
 
11,973 posts, read 31,635,920 times
Reputation: 4641
Try having a baby get hot and sweaty. You'll buy a window unit after the first day of chafing, redness, and crying.
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Old 06-22-2010, 09:36 AM
 
1,464 posts, read 5,487,608 times
Reputation: 410
Quote:
Originally Posted by Husker Power View Post
I'm going to be moving to Chicago soon, and am looking at apartments. Why is it that very few even have an air conditioner? This seems odd? Even in new, high rise buildings, alot don't have air conditioners?

Doesn't it get hot in Chicago in the summer, or is it completely cool due to proximity to the lake?

Just wondering. Seems a little odd to me that i'd be paying $1300 for a near south side apartment, with absolutely no option for an air conditioner...
The lake does keep it cooler no doubt, but it still gets d@#n hot even right on the shore. Most apartments in the city were built before A/C was even invented it seems so you can always buy your own unit and put it in or even get one of those portable in room a/c units. Really our A/C season here runs from June - Sept. depending on your "woose" level for me, the a/c goes on when the temps are expected to go over 83 with humidity which lately has been about everyday. (tis costing me a fourtune)
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Old 06-22-2010, 09:41 AM
 
2,156 posts, read 11,122,882 times
Reputation: 800
Quote:
Originally Posted by Avengerfire View Post
Yeah maybe the last few years. But many years we get plenty of it as evidenced by this year.

By the way for anyone looking for a small unit I picked up a 5000 BTU at Sears for $99 before tax today. Pretty good deal.
Is that a Fedders unit?
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