I'm HOT! (and not in a good way)

I haven't had ac for three years. It makes me sick. I lived in NYC for 43 yeasr, and I always had ac because there's no change in temp at night. All that concrete I think.

Hot is hot, no matter where you live. The only place in the house I allow myself to sweat is in the kitchen, and then only when the oven and/or stove are turned on. Everywhere else is a cool and comfortable seventy-six degrees (F), and worth every penny of energy cost during warmer months.

High School and college had no AC, in the sweltering South! So I just use a big fan (a really big fan) until it tops 97 or so. And I love the multiple showers in the summer. I garden a lot, and my sinuses can't take going back and forth from canned air to the sauna that is the world outside.

I wouldn't mind a little less humidity than we get, though.

Good luck! Remember, a really, really big fan

Silver King said:

Hot is hot, no matter where you live. The only place in the house I allow myself to sweat is in the kitchen, and then only when the oven and/or stove are turned on. Everywhere else is a cool and comfortable seventy-six degrees (F), and worth every penny of energy cost during warmer months.

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SEVENTY-SIX!?! Good gods, man Fish! That's... that's... it's inhumane, I tell you!

My house is a frigid 71F during the day, and at night I must have it not even a nanodegree above 68.

spend more time in coffee shops and bookstores?

sleepsheep said:

But it doesn't get as hot here as it does in Florida. I feel like I should be able to make it without AC.

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The heat index in Florida may seem higher at times, and there's the humidity factor that makes it feel like it's a more oppressive heat. But I've been in NYC during summer months, as well as other places further north; and like I said earlier, hot is hot, no matter where you live. If you can afford a liitle AC, no sense sweltering and being uncomfortable. The peace of mind alone is worth the added expense of not being reminded at every moment of every day how damn hot it is, to me anyway.

And that's why I use AC in the car, too, mostly to avoid road rage on my part.

Ol' Fashioned Girl said:

SEVENTY-SIX!?! Good gods, man Fish! That's... that's... it's inhumane, I tell you!

My house is a frigid 71F during the day, and at night I must have it not even a nanodegree above 68.

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Seventy-six isn't so bad when you consider that just today, it was thirty-two degrees cooler than outdoors. It felt downright chilly in the house.

SS, I can tell you that we put off putting in our air conditioner until June 21, the first day of summer.

I'm trying not to run it too often. Need to save on the electric bill. We have ceiling fans which work pretty well.

What do y'all keep the temp at in the winter? I swing a little odd there, too But I have to get used to it gradually, either way.

SK, I needed a blanket at night in England in August, no kidding

sleepsheep said:

But it doesn't get as hot here as it does in Florida. I feel like I should be able to make it without AC.

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It's not the heat up here today, kid, it's the humidity...

Hey sleepsheep,

Here's a great thing to try. I don't know if you have a basement or not but did you know that you can get up first thing in the morning and turn the furnace on just fan? It brings up the colder air from the basement and recirculates it through the hotter parts of the night.

Other than that, I'm a huge believer in fans. You place them in front of a open window at night on one side of the house that draws air in and another one on the opposite side of the house facing out.

yeah I know...still using energy but not as much as aircon. Oh and drink lots of ice water..cooling your body internally is great.

Modern ACs really don't use tons of power. If the budget is really that tight, I'd sooner cut back on other expenses than AC.

That said, I go without AC quite often by choice, and I've lived in Chicago for the majority of my life--we have some of the nastiest, most humid summers in the northern US. I'm not close enough to the lake to get any of the lake effect cooling. It's just miserably sodden and hot all summer long.

Things that help me survive:

- Loose, thin clothing.
- Sandals.
- Fans. Many fans.
- Drink lots of cold water and other light fluids. Keeps you hydrated, helps reduce your body temp, and gives you fluid to sweat out to help cool yourself.
- Take a warm shower. The heat/humidity isn't as bothersome when you're showering, and once you get out, the air feels cooler because your internal temp is slightly boosted from the shower.
- Go for a walk or do other light exercise. Gives you some fresh(er) air, and as above, the exercise will increase your body temp, making the outside temp feel less oppressive.
- Condition yourself to stand the heat/humidity. If you spend most of your time in an air-conditioned place, then you're going to be doubly miserable when you're forced to go without it. However, if you spend most of your time without AC, you'll gradually acclimate to it and become more tolerant.
- Shift activities toward night, if possible. Works best if you're a student and/or unemployed.

I live in New England, without AC. I have a small portable fan pointed at me if I can help it.

Leah Raeder said:

Modern ACs really don't use tons of power. If the budget is really that tight, I'd sooner cut back on other expenses than AC.

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huh. I guess it's just my house then. AC costs me a minimum of 175 a month in the hotter months here in Utah. But then I have two air conditioning units for a 4300 sq.ft home.

Oh! and SS, you have to close your blinds at 11 am so the sun doesn't heat up the house.

AC? What's that? Seriously.
On this little mountaintop in the middle of Pennsylvania you just don't need it. The house is mostly closed up at night (keeps the bats out) and sometimes I'll run a fan in the window either to draw heat out (late afternoons and upstairs) or pull cool in (early evening plus). It helps (?) that we rarely see a 90 degree day. I did turn the AC on once after I bought my car to see if it worked, it did then, but it's been awhile. Hot showers (hotter than ambient) are the best to feel cool, lots of fluids! You can do this. Mankind made it until when? without it?

Could not survive with AC here.

110F today, 112F tomorrow.

We were without power for 2 days during the AZ monsoon a few years ago. It was, without doubt, the most miserable 2 days of my life.

As for 76...dang! If we had our AC set that low, I'd be breaking out the sweaters and hot chocolate.

If you put a shallow dish with ice in it in front of your fan (like if you're sitting in one spot typing) it helps a lot. And I know people think it's tacky, but foil on your windows blocks light and reflects back some of the heat.

I grew up in Texas, and my first ever by-myself apartment was an efficiency with no air. I resisted the foil at first (making me the only one on my side of the builidng without it), but once I embraced the tack full-on, I was a lot more comfortable.

sleepsheep said:

I'm trying to live this summer without AC.

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Weirdo. Climate control is what separates us from the animals.

quickWit said:

Weirdo. Climate control is what separates us from the animals.

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well that and weaseling out of things....

"weaseling out of things is important to learn. tt's what separates us from the animals... except the weasel."