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Back in the day, a co-worker relocated from Florida to new construction in southern New Hampshire. His house had a whole house fan. Moving in in July, he automatically put the thermostats on 90 and wondered why his house was blazing hot and he blew through a tank of oil in a couple of weeks.
Not entirely the same but I saw something like that when I went to my parents once. They opened up the windows in the middle of summer and the temperature dropped enough to kick on the heat.
We have the A/C on usually from sometime in April until November. A/C is a must -- almost more than heat. It would not even have occurred to me that the house in the first post did not have A/C, and I don't even see where it says that it doesn't. Even if it doesn't, though, it was built in 1999. This makes me think of my in-law's house when I met my husband. That house, in NJ, was built in 1982. It had all of the ducts and a closet to house the A/C unit, but for some inexplicable and bizarre reason, my in-laws did not want to pay for the actual A/C unit, so the house had no A/C. But it would have been extremely easy to put in the central a/c unit because the house was built to have one. So I'm thinking a house like that, built as late as 1999, might have a similar situation.
As far as anyone saying we don't need a/c in MA, I point to last summer as Exhibit A. And Exhibits B-Z. We had multiple days of 100 degrees, and the whole damn summer was hot and humid and frequently poured rain.
Not entirely the same but I saw something like that when I went to my parents once. They opened up the windows in the middle of summer and the temperature dropped enough to kick on the heat.
I grew up in South Jersey, which is hotter than here for sure. Our house had central A/C, but my Dad was too cheap to run it normally. His sister and brother-in-law, who were living in Rio at the time, came up for a summer visit, and my Dad put on the A/C for the visiting dignitaries - maybe he ran it at 75F - definitely no lower. Anyway, they were so used to hot weather that they thought it was freezing at 75F and kept throwing open the windows! LOL - and I was so glad to finally get the A/C on, and our VIPs were spoiling it - crushing!
I moved to MA from TX and didnt have AC in the apartment. Didnt miss it at all. But then my heat tolerance probably waned and I got a portable AC. I now live in a house w Central AC. Only gets used 1 month out if the year but I'd not want to be without it since it gets humid enough that opening windows doesn't help on some days. However, there are plenty of options ... portable or window units to mini splits, etc. depending on how much you want to spend.
We have the A/C on usually from sometime in April until November. A/C is a must -- almost more than heat. It would not even have occurred to me that the house in the first post did not have A/C, and I don't even see where it says that it doesn't. Even if it doesn't, though, it was built in 1999. This makes me think of my in-law's house when I met my husband. That house, in NJ, was built in 1982. It had all of the ducts and a closet to house the A/C unit, but for some inexplicable and bizarre reason, my in-laws did not want to pay for the actual A/C unit, so the house had no A/C. But it would have been extremely easy to put in the central a/c unit because the house was built to have one. So I'm thinking a house like that, built as late as 1999, might have a similar situation.
As far as anyone saying we don't need a/c in MA, I point to last summer as Exhibit A. And Exhibits B-Z. We had multiple days of 100 degrees, and the whole damn summer was hot and humid and frequently poured rain.
You're right, last Summer was pretty miserable overall.
I'm looking to relocate to Massachusetts North Shore area from out of state (Virginia).
I have some home searches set up on real estate websites to send me push email notifications when a home goes on the market that meets my criteria.
Friends and family keep sending us listings, for nice looking homes too - but they're excluded from our own push notifications setup because we have Air Conditioning as a requirement. The nice homes our friends and family send us don't have air conditioning.
It surprises me because otherwise the homes are very well kept, relatively new (1990s)...but no air conditioning. Example in Merrimac
Am I foolish for being firm on air conditioning?
You are, but you definitely need it. I grew up in RI with no AC and it was a nightmare, lots of hot, wet summer nights. Yuck!!! Frankly, I am amazed that anyone in NE in 2022 would suggest to you that AC is optional. It is every bit as much mandatory in June - September in MA (or RI) as it is in VA. I would suggest that you simply install it in any way that you see fit in any house without it. BTW, I am amazed that a house in Merrimac in 1999 was built without AC. You need it for cooling, for sure, but also for pollen alleviation.
It is no joke how much large shade trees can make a difference.
So true. My house in Easthampton was in the middle of the woods--huge oak and maple trees with pine and tall poplar all around the edges. I got by with one window a/c in the downstairs room that we hung out in and the coolness extended into the kitchen-dining area. Upstairs a fan was almost enough--we suffered a few nights out of the summer with just fans. Also, the parts of the house that we used in summer faced NORTH--bedroom windows and the room we hung out in. Don't get a house with big windows that face SOUTH in you want stay cool. In the olden days, they took advantage of the sun's warmth when deciding which way to face a house. (And they were more concerned about warmth in winter, I think.)
We have the A/C on usually from sometime in April until November. A/C is a must -- almost more than heat. It would not even have occurred to me that the house in the first post did not have A/C, and I don't even see where it says that it doesn't. Even if it doesn't, though, it was built in 1999. This makes me think of my in-law's house when I met my husband. That house, in NJ, was built in 1982. It had all of the ducts and a closet to house the A/C unit, but for some inexplicable and bizarre reason, my in-laws did not want to pay for the actual A/C unit, so the house had no A/C. But it would have been extremely easy to put in the central a/c unit because the house was built to have one. So I'm thinking a house like that, built as late as 1999, might have a similar situation.
As far as anyone saying we don't need a/c in MA, I point to last summer as Exhibit A. And Exhibits B-Z. We had multiple days of 100 degrees, and the whole damn summer was hot and humid and frequently poured rain.
the warmest day in November this year was a high of 70 and a low of 52 in Boston.. Warmest in October was a high of 77 low of 60.. Warmest in April was high of 75 low of 51. There were a couple warm days in September where I coul see using the AC, but I can't imagine needing it in Boston in November or April.. How cold do you set it?
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