[RonMN]

I've noticed that "getting used to" AC will impair your ability to sweat, thus the body doesn't cool down properly...so YES it is addictive.

I'm on my 3rd summer without AC and what i find most disturbing are the peoples reactions to it. They are completely & utterly dumfounded that i'm not using it. Many people will no longer come over because of it. People look at me like a leppar when they hear i don't use AC...it's actually kind of frightening.

[rwwff]

My family's been down here long before the advent of A/C; but I've never gone without it for more than a few days at a time. Having had a short hot period without A/C last year after Rita (3 days), I came away with a few insights. I think the biggest problem we have is improper furniture. We have to much padded, fabric covered stuff, and not enough bare wood with a seat cushion. We've got inside sofas, instead of front porch wooden swings. Houses are built to air-tight, hard to make them breathe. We're to used to sitting inside during the heat, instead of on the porch or under a tree in the yard. Screendoors are more often the exception, not the rule. To much sticky carpet too.

All of these things are fixed easy enough when the time comes, but for now, office buildings and homes will remain the realm of dry, cool, unsweaty people.

[lateStarter]

Having lived most of my life in the US, I can testify (always wanted to use that word here) that life without AC is 'non-negotiable', most noteably in the SE US. Most people find it unbearable just to walk from their parking space at Walmart to the front door. I can't even imagine how cranky everyone will get when AC is unavailable.

AC is just arriving here in Poland (ok, it has been here for awhile, but nobody felt the need) but it is not really necessary. Very low humidity. Block houses also seem to help. As do trees... It is not really necessary here, but marketing and sales people heave convinced the wealthy upperclass that it is.

I just hope the collapse happens before the western marketing machine totally takes over the rest of the world so we can all continue our lives without the hype.

Hope that makes some sense...

[Heineken]

I didn't realise that they [AC units] were essential anywhere in the USA.

Ho! Live and learn, chum. Many parts of the US are among the hottest, most miserable places in the world. In pre-Revolutionary times, British officers stationed in the Mid-Atlantic area received extra pay because the region was classified as subtropical.

AC is essential to life (as we know it) in vast swaths of the US, especially the Southeast, where it's not just the heat, it's the humidity. When doing heavy labor outdoors in the late spring, summer, and early fall I have to change my shirt two or three times---it gets as wet and dripping as if it was dunked in a bucket of water. (Of course I could just go shirtless, but then the sun fries me and the mosquitoes and deer flies feast on my blood.)

An America without AC would indeed be an America with a smaller population and an entirely different way of life.

[Andy]

It is amazing how people cry like babies in 90+ degree heat. Come on, it is not that bad!!! I will take 90 degree heat anyday over 10 and below cold, especially in an environment where heating fuel may be scarce. In heat, dress in light, cotton clothes, drink water copiuously and simply relax and take it easy. It is not comfortable but it certainly is not the end of the world. For males, if necessary going without a shirt is also an option and quite comfortable. Obviously not a realistic option for females however.

I guess I should remember however that my complexion is of a darker hue and we are probably better adapted naturally for hot conditions. A dripping shirt is not that bad as well. It is only an issue if you are in an office type job or formal atmosphere where being unsweaty is necessary.

[Waterthrush]

I'm on my 3rd summer without AC and what i find most disturbing are the peoples reactions to it. They are completely & utterly dumfounded that i'm not using it. Many people will no longer come over because of it. People look at me like a leppar when they hear i don't use AC...it's actually kind of frightening.

I only use AC for company. I grew up without it - most of us over 50 did - and I don't find it particularly necessary. And believe me, it's hot and humid hear in NJ right now! But it's enjoyable. I hate being cold! Storms are moving in and it's fun to observe them. I dress to keep cool. I am drinking some ice water right now. I like the slower rhythms of summer. I have a wall unit at work, and I try not to use that as well, although it's more difficult, since the wall unit negates the possibility of air circulation from the other window. It's summer, it's hot - but it's Friday night, people, here in the US. Pour yourselves a cool beverage. Go outside in the shade on a comfy chair, if you have access. Do some reading while sipping the beverage.

[rwwff]

Ho! Live and learn, chum. Many parts of the US are among the hottest, most miserable places in the world.
...
AC is essential to life (as we know it) in vast swaths of the US, especially the Southeast, where it's not just the heat, it's the humidity.

One hasn't truly lived until you've spent all summer at 95F+ and 85%+ humidity. Thats when you'll know what your made of.

Those who talk fast, walk fast, and get hyper, die of heat stroke quickly enough. Leaving the rest of us to quietly amble our way along and spend a few moments thinking about the words we might choose to say, if we were motivated enough to say them. I wonder if thats why we like guns more down here; fist fights are to exhausting.

[Pablo2079]

The Seattle area is probably one of the few places in the US (lower 48) where A/C is still not common in homes.

My wife would like it though.... there is probably a handful of days each year where it would be "nice".

[holmes]

Had one once in my college apartment. Got it at a yard sale. it was a beater. My sinuses were getting screwed up and i found out it was from the AC. The thing was killing the environment. so one night i came back after drinking a few drinks and smoked a spliff and pushed it out the 3rd floor window. it sat there for a long time.
Never had one since. dont even use it in my truck. I like heat over cold so I dont mind dripping sweat in my pad. Keeps the joints and breathing healthy. Got dry air out here. even in humid NE I did not use it. Its bad for the health.
But I know what u mean. Even air conditioners have added to the phantom carrying capacity.

[hippiegunlover]

We have a small window unit in the bedroom, with out it I think dh would be handing me divorce papers pretty quick. When it's muggy at night and he has the ac on I sleep on the couch. The kids and I never turn it on for ourselves. I have noticed that the last couple of weeks when it's been hot, we all want to take a nap. Other than that, it's get work done outside early or late, spend more time in the basement (still a chilly 65 down there). I do have ceiling fans on and open and shut the windows and curtains depending where the sun is at. Water guns help too (we even play in the house)

[pup55]

Here is the situation at exactly this moment:

I am in a 2800 square foot house in Suburbia in the SE US. We are air conditioning the full 2800 square feet. Outside temp 96F, inside temp 80F.

My wife and I are occupying two different rooms, totalling 400 square feet, but we are cooling the remaining 2400 square feet regardless. No one else is at home right now.

We do this because we have a big, poorly enginneered central heating/cooling system that was installed by the builder because it was the cheapest possible thing that would work. Furthermore, the house itself as designed is more appropriate for a place about 300 miles north of here, and unlike the homes that were designed for this climate, there is no overhanging roof, no big shady front porch to go out and sit on and rock in our rocking chairs and see the neighbors in the evening when it gets too hot, no big shade trees around (all were bulldozed to build the house). Most stupidly, we are now roasting a chicken in the oven at the same time we are trying to keep the kitchen cool.

Also, stupidly, there is a big area of cool space (the basement) but no easy cheap way to move the air from the basement to the rest of the house, and no cheap good way at the moment to retrofit the ventilation system to take advantage of this abundant free cold air.

I can assusre you that we could do without most of the air conditioning we now use by making the above modifications for this barn of a place, and also, by installing room-sized AC units like the Asians have (over the windows run by remote control as soon as you enter the room) so as to cool down the room you are in. Also, we would participate in the tradition of BBQ to get the cooking done outdoors. Same goes in reverse with heating during the winter.

But we do not do this because it is still pretty cheap to just cool the place off and not worry about it.

Stupidly, these modifications probably could have been done with little or no expense with a couple of simple considerations by the builder when they originally built the house (overhangs, a vent from the basement to the central air, positioning the house so the sun does not hit). But, since this is one of those cookie cutter homes, they were built with complete disregard to any sort of efficient retrofit. Probably the reason for this is that the archetectural schools do not worry about this stuff too much.

But, when the crisis hits, we will deal with it. I think I can scavenge enough materials from the neighbors abandoned houses to build on everything I need. I will not need to worry about building code or homeowners restrictions, so I think I will be fine.

Phoenix, on the other hand, or Vegas, or Florida: this is a completely different matter.









We could probably

[willjones4]

I think Id be OK without it. Living in Louisiana is utterly miserable but can be acclimated to as long as there is some shade and a way to keep the bugs off you. My wife is a different story though. She gets ANGRY when she gets hot. I think she'd give up food before she'd let go of A/C! I think she could adjust, but it would be a real test. She and my son (18 months old) are very fair skinned and get beet red if they are outside more than a few minutes.

[zberry]

I lived in Tokyo for 10 years. Hot humid summers. Extremely brutal in a small cramped apartment with no insulation and no a/c. Japanese cities, especially Tokyo and Osaka, create heat islands, areas that are significantly hotter than the overall temperature, due to all the a/c and machines pumping throughout the city.
To their credit, Japanese use much less electricity and conserve much more than Americans. The office I worked at was stifling in summer to be generous, and we worked side-by-side, no individual cubes or offices. But we survived!

[DesertBear2]

We live Virginia in a well-insulated brick home. Our primary cooling is done by overhead fans in every room. Also, a whole-house fan is used to cool the house in the later evening and early in the morning.

So far we have had no need for AC....except possibly in the small computer room which is used for regular telecommuting work.

[holmes]

Im sorry for all of us. Weve been railroaded into this one way or the highway ponzi scheme. The developement needed to be based on thermal mass. maintians warm in winter. cool in summer. utilizing the constant 58 degrees below humus level (subsoil starts). We did not. The lack of vision and caring for haumanity is appalling. I never want to hear "morals and values" spoken again. Ill scream if I do!

[holmes]

I lived in Tokyo for 10 years. Hot humid summers. Extremely brutal in a small cramped apartment with no insulation and no a/c. Japanese cities, especially Tokyo and Osaka, create heat islands, areas that are significantly hotter than the overall temperature, due to all the a/c and machines pumping throughout the city.
To their credit, Japanese use much less electricity and conserve much more than Americans. The office I worked at was stifling in summer to be generous, and we worked side-by-side, no individual cubes or offices. But we survived!

they have to. we will get there just wait. Japan had their feeding frenzy before the US. No one is "elite" in their consumption. The japs and asians and eastern countries rape the oceans. the US has the best conservation ethics on the planet among nations.

[Peakprepper]

As one of UK brethren posted earlier, we don't really need it here.

Also, I find it blocks up my sinuses or gives me a cold in no time.

I once went to Atlanta for work for a week, and spent the whole week sweating then having the sweat frozen on me when entering a building, then going outside and sweating again... you get the picture.

I was also in India in November last year, and funnily enough, the weather in the South was exactly like Atlanta: hot yes, but mainly incredibly humid. Indians are however really getting used to A/C - it is everywhere: cars, taxis, hotels, houses, offices etc. The A/C hums all day, and the old fashoned ceiling fans stay switched off.

As India grows wealthier, which parts of it are doing at an astounding rate, the demand for A/C will skyrocket.

[Sys1]

I recently bought a small A/C unit for my bedroom, which is next to the roof. Temperature can go as high as 35°C, meaning HELL.
Without A/C, my bedroom would simply be useless during summer.

[0mar]

I'd rather have 100 F temperatures with 5-10% relative humidity than have 80 F temperatures with 90% relative humidity. AC is great because it reduces not only temperature but humidity as well.

In parts of Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, it's absolutely unliveable in a normal lifestyle. There is a very real risk of heat stroke to even healthy individuals without AC. It routinely gets to temperatures of 90+ with relative humidities around 75-90%. And it'll stay that way for months.

In places like Southern California, Phoenix, essentially places where it's desert-like conditions, AC is much less essential.

The best advice I can give to anyone living in the South-east is to put the AC on at around 75-77 degrees. It'll keep things pretty cool but remove humidity at a prodigious rate, which gets rid of that muggy feeling.

[vision-master]

What’s' really sad are modern commercial buildings. They are designed to utilize lot's of A/C and use those damn fluorescent lights during the day too, even when it's sunny outside, mind you.

Lot's of these buildings will overheat when the OA (outside Air) temperatures are above 55 degrees Fahrenheit. You can't even open a fooken window any more (sucks)! Got to run those big air-handling systems whenever the buildings are occupied. Period! The grid goes down and so do modern buildings, uninhabitable they are.