how many months per year is ac needed? (transplants, school)

[theredsnowman]

Originally Posted by Ben Around

I do too. But after living in Miami for 2 years with no AC, I'd never do it again. (See Mr Close's post! Been there, done that.) Much as I hate heat & humidity, I'm not fond of AC either. I solved the problem by living in a place where I require AC maybe 10 or 15 nites out of the year.

Some A/C is fine, but most people in South Florida seem to go overboard with it, as evidenced by this thread, in any case I salute you as well.

[theredsnowman]

Originally Posted by Nolefan34

Which 10-15 nights do you have it on? It seems that June through October are unbearable without AC.

People lived in South Florida before A/C was widely available and did not find the weather from June through October to be unbearable. You are an A/C addict so understanding this is impossible for you, and from continually being in a climate controlled environment the weather from June to October is much worse for you than for people who use the A/C sparingly.

[Ben Around]

Originally Posted by easyjett

Where is this place? I'm looking for a move & I hate A/C as well. One reason I really loved ABQ, NM. Never had to use A/C!

My wife though is looking for more "green." What city/state do you call home now?

St. Paul. (You may be averse to frigid winters, but the trade-off for me is worth it to be able to sleep with the windows open 5 months per year!). Very green around here when it's not winter!

[Ben Around]

Originally Posted by theredsnowman

Some A/C is fine, but most people in South Florida seem to go overboard with it, as evidenced by this thread, in any case I salute you as well.

Thank you! One thing I hate about the more humid parts of the Midwest is in the summer time, on hot humid days, the hotter it is outside, the colder the AC is turned up in restaurants and other businesses. What's wrong with keeping AC no cooler than ~72?

[k_clementine]

You need it all year round unless you were born and raised here. If you are moving from another state that has nice weather, you should expect to run your air a lot because you're always going to feel hot really fast - a lot. Lots of times, 80 degrees will feel like 95 due to the amount of humidity. It can be rainy and cloudy but still feel really hot because it's humid. People who are native to Florida can be comfortable without air, but that's not me!

[Dino1]

if you have any type of health issues such as bad heart or high blood pressure, nine months per year.

[Nolefan34]

Originally Posted by theredsnowman

People lived in South Florida before A/C was widely available and did not find the weather from June through October to be unbearable. You are an A/C addict so understanding this is impossible for you, and from continually being in a climate controlled environment the weather from June to October is much worse for you than for people who use the A/C sparingly.

People also did not use toilets and used outhouses too back then. What's your point?

When you sweat constantly, it is not normal or healthy to not have A/C. I think most agree with me, but there are a few extremists on here.

[Brimstone33]

Yeah I was a kid a bit north of here when most folks didn't have A/C. It was really weird to spend all summer in the heat, then walk into say a Piggly Wiggly supermarket and feel the frigid arctic blast of commercial A/C and cold terrazzo floors on dirty bare feet. And of course no one drove with the car windows up. There was a lot more waving to one another.

The traditional houses were made for cooling without A/C. Mostly sorta Craftsman style, pre-1930's Spanish revival and pre-1950's concrete block mushroom. They were mostly pinewood, painted white and uninsulated. The wood somehow "breathed" a little better than the concrete boxes or fiberglass insulated coolers people have now. Tin roofs with big shady overhangs that you didn't want to touch during the day and couldn't hear anything under in a rainstorm. Lots of windows, always double hung, with screens. Screen doors front and back, with the main doors almost always open. Window fans that would suck bugs into the screens for most and ceiling fans in fancier places. Big porches front and back to shade the windows and allow opening during rainstorms. Porch swings front and back so you could sit in the shade and move through the air when the air refused to move around you. Nobody would ever cut down a Live Oak tree without a damn good reason. Houses were elevated on "piers" or "footers" to allow air to flow underneath, and give the dogs and snakes a place to hide from the sun. Men wore straw hats. Felt on Sundays. Churches had little spade-shaped paper hand fans with hymns and verses printed on them, and pictures of a golden-haired Jesus. The Fridgedaire and ice tea were your best friends in August.

Yeah I guess it was sometimes miserable but...no one really knew they were miserable. So how many months do you need A/C? Well, if you've never gone in the Piggly-Wiggly when it's 98 degrees and 100% humidity outside you might not need it at all. Otherwise there might be 10-12 weeks a year you won't miss it.

[theredsnowman]

Originally Posted by Brimstone33

Yeah I was a kid a bit north of here when most folks didn't have A/C. It was really weird to spend all summer in the heat, then walk into say a Piggly Wiggly supermarket and feel the frigid arctic blast of commercial A/C and cold terrazzo floors on dirty bare feet. And of course no one drove with the car windows up. There was a lot more waving to one another.

The traditional houses were made for cooling without A/C. Mostly sorta Craftsman style, pre-1930's Spanish revival and pre-1950's concrete block mushroom. They were mostly pinewood, painted white and uninsulated. The wood somehow "breathed" a little better than the concrete boxes or fiberglass insulated coolers people have now. Tin roofs with big shady overhangs that you didn't want to touch during the day and couldn't hear anything under in a rainstorm. Lots of windows, always double hung, with screens. Screen doors front and back, with the main doors almost always open. Window fans that would suck bugs into the screens for most and ceiling fans in fancier places. Big porches front and back to shade the windows and allow opening during rainstorms. Porch swings front and back so you could sit in the shade and move through the air when the air refused to move around you. Nobody would ever cut down a Live Oak tree without a damn good reason. Houses were elevated on "piers" or "footers" to allow air to flow underneath, and give the dogs and snakes a place to hide from the sun. Men wore straw hats. Felt on Sundays. Churches had little spade-shaped paper hand fans with hymns and verses printed on them, and pictures of a golden-haired Jesus. The Fridgedaire and ice tea were your best friends in August.

Yeah I guess it was sometimes miserable but...no one really knew they were miserable. So how many months do you need A/C? Well, if you've never gone in the Piggly-Wiggly when it's 98 degrees and 100% humidity outside you might not need it at all. Otherwise there might be 10-12 weeks a year you won't miss it.

Great post!

[vigo]

Nice post, Brimstone. Brought back a lot of memories.