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Yes and we walked to school in the snow and it was uphill both ways. Well that was then, this is now. Does one still wash their clothes by hand and hang them outside? Come on folks, move into the 21st century.
Walked half a mile to the school bus. No hills. Don't wash clothes by hand but do hang them outside when the weather is amenable. Living in the 21st. century - have cable, internet, cell phone, etc.
If I lived where it was 105 in the shade with no shade, I'd certainly want to have a/c. I stated in my previous post that we here in NEPA don't normally have sustained heat for more than a couple of days here and there throughout the Summer. With my methods of coping with those few days, I see no reason for putting-in and taking-out the a/c.
There are people, you know, who live different lives than what you experience.
I think some of us just lack tolerance for heat and/or humidity. I live in a fairly dry climate but when it gets too warm I start feeling like I can't breathe.
Yes and we walked to school in the snow and it was uphill both ways. Well that was then, this is now. Does one still wash their clothes by hand and hang them outside? Come on folks, move into the 21st century.
yes, actually I don't have a dryer and I do hang my laundry on a clothesline, and I wouldn't have it any other way. The sun dries the clothes for free, and I am conserving energy for the planet and most of all my electric bill......
But a/c at night is a must, especially to drowned out city noises as my bedroom is in the front of the building.....so I suck that up on my electric bill
Usually around 6PM is the max temp. of 107-109 Fahrenheit outside. Being outside in the heat is not a problem: find some shade and there's usually a breeze. Not too bad. Inside my non-AC place it gets stifling. I just turn on one big box fan on and point it at me (especially face). It's comfortable for sitting watching a game on TV. By midnight, the temp is down and into the 70s overnight. I leave a big fan running inside the window screen to draw in the cool night air into the bedroom.
why are people suffering in heat? Window a/c units run about a hundred bucks
It's really just a matter of air circulation. When I lived in Arkansas, which gets VERY hot and humid at night, I was fortunate to have a house that had wonderful cross ventilation. I just opened the front and back doors to the screen doors and the side windows to screens, and always had a great breeze circulating in the house. The house did have a central a/c unit but I rarely used it.
And back when I was a child and visited my grandparents in south Louisiana, they didn't have a/c at all. Everyone slept out on the "sleeping porches" which were a part of early houses - upper floor open porches and lower floor screened porches.
On the the other hand, the past 2 summers I lived in Iowa, and it got VERY hot and muggy in the summers. I lived in a nasty building built in the 1960s. Some of the windows didn't even open. If I hadn't had air conditioning I think I would have gone berzerk.
That's why, now that I'm looking to buy a house again, I would never ever ever EVER buy a house built after 1965. GOT to have that natural air circulation! I can't stand a closed up house.
I did spend one summer in NYC, and remember just sweltering at night in our 5th floor walk-up. One more reason not to live in a high-crime urban area - I need to be able to leave my windows and doors open at night.
I live in an area of the USA that gets summer temperatures around 105-109 Fahrenheit for numerous days in a row, but it's dry heat not humid. Most people in my area use AC. They will say it's not possible to be comfortable without AC, but I do it. I have lived without AC forever. All it takes to be comfortable in 109F is a large box electric fan aimed directly on me using a low setting. Also, the night temperature drops, so a constant fan breeze with an open window makes sleeping through the night easy for me.
I've never been in The Southern USA in the summer or experienced summer humid temperatures. Do some people in very humid areas get-by just fine without any home AC in the summer? If so, how do they do it?
I didn't use my a/c here in Houston for the first 3 summers...
My house was in a wooded area/entirely shaded.
I was basically only home during daylight hours on Sundays and I spend most Sundays outside doing chores anyway.
It always seemed to dip into the 70s with a slight breeze most nights and I would open a window.
Had ceiling fans but never used them...had a small desk fan for the windowsill instead.
My average electric bill was about $27.00 per month. That was a somewhat large house. Running the a/c would have cost me around $450 a month going by what neighbors reported paying.
I don't mind the heat but guests seldom feel the same way.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PippySkiddles
why are people suffering in heat? Window a/c units run about a hundred bucks
Exactly, we have 3 of them, and we are in the Seattle area where it gets only to about 85, and only for a few weeks in August. I can't stand over about 75 in the house, 68 is best. I have spent time in the south on vacations and wouldn't move to a place like new Orleans with heat and humidity for $250,000 year salary.
Exactly, we have 3 of them, and we are in the Seattle area where it gets only to about 85, and only for a few weeks in August. I can't stand over about 75 in the house, 68 is best. I have spent time in the south on vacations and wouldn't move to a place like new Orleans with heat and humidity for $250,000 year salary.
me either.
any of those southern states sound like a horror to me. Florida, Georgia, blech !!
humidity puts me in such a bad mood. i simply cannot stand it.
I'm in the southeast. We made it to June before turning on the AC which is nice. If I had my way, it would still be off, but wife and kids... We do have rules for it though. If the high is under 88, AC stays off, and we keep it 79/80 when it's on.
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