Why no central AC in most Puerto Rico homes? (apartment, condos)

[Pink Jazz]

I was wondering, is there any particular reason why most Puerto Rico homes do not have central AC? Considering the heat and humidity, if I ever lived there, central AC would be one of the things I would really want.

Most Puerto Rico homes have window AC units, however, in recent years, ductless split systems have started to gain popularity due to their efficiency advantages over window units. However, central AC remains rare in Puerto Rico.

[unPescador]

It's because of the high cost of electricity. The roof/wall mounted air conditioners are efficient and make sleeping pretty comfortable when you keep the rooms closed off. Running them only at night keeps the cost down. Over near the coast if your place is situated right (and your high enough up from ground level) you can leave your windows open for the ocean breeze and not need AC at all.

[theunbrainwashed]

Originally Posted by Andros 1337

I was wondering, is there any particular reason why most Puerto Rico homes do not have central AC? Considering the heat and humidity, if I ever lived there, central AC would be one of the things I would really want.

Most Puerto Rico homes have window AC units, however, in recent years, ductless split systems have started to gain popularity due to their efficiency advantages over window units. However, central AC remains rare in Puerto Rico.

I would definitely read unPesacdor's post, but I don't think you would want to pay for the cost of a central A/C unit when residential electricity costs, minimum, $0.25/kWh. Central AC systems would easily make your electric bill skyrocket. Also, you get used to the humidity and heat after a while. Give yourself a couple months to adjust to only using fans during the day. It's far cheaper to deal with the heat than to combat it.

Also, houses in Puerto Rico are built to be uninsulated and have carpet-less floors in every room. The hot air from outside easily infiltrates the house, keeping the A/C running longer, further running your bill up.

Lastly, my personal opinion is, if you want to live in a centrally air conditioned house all day and night and have a warm winter climate, I highly recommend staying in Arizona or living in Florida. Your wallet will thank you, and it just makes sense.

[La Boricua Rosa]

Some homes do have central AC.

[theunbrainwashed]

Originally Posted by La Boricua Rosa

Some homes do have central AC.

Very few do, and most likely limited to condos and upper scale homes and possibly new builds. Vast majority of housing in PR has no central A/C

[travelinhobo]

I've never seen central heating/A-C outside of N. America. Europe doesn't have it, Turkey doesn't have it (and it gets stinking hot there in the summer), SE Asia doesn't have it. Same thing with the carpeting - really rare to find people outside the states who have this. (I was told in Spain by a roommate that they don't use wall to wall carpet because the Spaniards consider it to be dirty -which it is.) Several reasons for the former: a house with central AC/heating is going to cost more to buy (most societies buy, not rent); costs more to run and they don't have the money or the wishes to spend the money on it; the material which houses are constructed of outside the states and the manner in which they're constructed is vastly different from the states. Gets pretty hot in Mexico too, but you're not going to find central AC unless the person is rich I suppose. The bldgs are made of bricks and cement, not wood. Both stay cooler which is good or bad depending upon the season. In Viet Nam, only hotels have ACs (and these are the wall units which don't exist in the U.S., but is used in various countries). Nobody's wealthy enough to even think about central AC. So instead, they rely on floor fans. Makes sense - AC only makes you lazy and gets you sick. It's interesting to travel and see the differences in house culture.

[JetAgeHobo]

Lived there for 10 months in a temp apartment, only had a window AC in the bedroom for sleeping. Otherwise fans worked fine, didn't need AC.

[jamesd1967]

I lived in Condado for years. I had just one windown unit in the bedroom.

[AuburnAL]

Ductless split systems are cheaper. In the mainland US they are being used more and more often.

[ExBmWeX]

It all comes down to the cost of electric..they could be giving the ductless split systems away for free and i still would just use fans. Im lucky enough to live right by the beach and i get a great breeze for most of the day.