The Economics of Air Conditioning

Posted on June 10, 2008
Filed Under Uncategorized |

It’s been 101 and 102 degrees here in Central Virginia for the last week. It really makes me wonder whether I need to buy a window air conditioner. I survived last year with very little discomfort and I really dislike air conditioning. It makes it impossible to go outside without dying of the heat when it is this hot. However, right now I am dying of the heat inside.

I actually checked into central air last year. The estimates started at $6,000 which is just out of the question for me. I love old houses but they do come complete with their own set of issues. I could put a large window a/c unit in downstairs and that would help but it would also run up my electric bill.

The short term solution is to use window fans at night and keep the house pretty much closed up during the day. All the shades are drawn and the insulated curtains on the west side of the house. This keeps the brutal afternoon sun from turning the house into a solar oven and works until about 5 pm when the temperatures really start to rise.

After sunset, I open the blinds and curtains and turn on the fans. The most powerful fan is in the upstairs hall window to pull the hottest air up the stairwell and out the window. It’s actually pretty effective and between it and the two window fans blowing in downstairs, the temperature drops about 10 degrees in 30 minutes downstairs.

I am praying that the heat wave will break tomorrow as predicted and temperatures will get back to the lower 90s. That 10-12 degree drop makes a heck of a difference and will make the house a lot more tolerable.

My electric bill during the summer runs approximately $50 a month with no air conditioning. My guestimate is that it would go up approximately $100- 150 a month if I put in a unit that was big enough to cool the downstairs. That’s a really big bite out of my budget for the two or three hours that my house is really not tolerable.

I think I am going to hold out as long as possible without the a/c and pray that temperatures will stay more moderate for the majority of the summer. And I will bet that air conditioning rates right up there with TV for being something that most people would not live without. What do you think? Could you live without A/C?

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Comments

11 Responses to “The Economics of Air Conditioning”

Jake Stichler (1 comments.) on June 10th, 2008 11:35 pm

I tried it for a few days during this little heat wave, no dice. Can’t sleep sweating like a pig. That, and I have cats and rats in the apartment that may not be able to bear with it as much as me. So, AC in the window - and let me tell you, the damn thing only cools my bedroom, and that’s it. The rest of the place is still hot as balls, which makes me wonder what exactly is going on.
Jennifer (4 comments.) on June 11th, 2008 7:29 am

I would love to go without the air conditioning to save money but my apartment is on the second floor, and they do nothing to cool the hallways/stairways so it just gets too uncomfortably warm too easily. I left it off as long as I could, but as soon as I started having trouble sleeping because it was too warm, I turned that a/c on immediately!
Bouncing Betty (7 comments.) on June 11th, 2008 9:45 am

I bought an AC last year after not having one for 6 years. Pretty much it was a 5 day heat wave with high humidity and serious sleep deprivation that pushed me over the edge. I don’t use it all the time, just on the days it’s going to be brutal, like the past four days here in NE. The dogs appreciate the coolness and I like the fact I can get a decent nights sleep. The heat wave broke here last night and I turned off the air con and turned on the fans.

My rule of thumb is that the Air Con is a luxury and only to be used sparingly.
Becky@FamilyandFinances (1 comments.) on June 11th, 2008 9:59 am

I live in Wisconsin, so it usually only gets really hot and humid a few times each summer. Our house has central air, but we only run it when it gets unbearably warm and only at night for sleeping comfort.

I grew up in a home without central air and we had window air conditioners for the bedrooms that we only used at night.
Grace (3 comments.) on June 11th, 2008 12:00 pm

I, too, own an old (1929) two-story house. I have one air-conditioner, a small one, in my bedroom. During the hottest days of summer, the kids put mattresses on the floor and sleep in my room. I was surprised to find that my electric bill really didn’t increase all that much. But having a comfortable room in which to sleep at night is definitely priceless.
Becky (1 comments.) on June 11th, 2008 2:25 pm

I could do without TV in a heartbeat, but I don’t do well in the heat. It makes me really cranky. Especially in the car during traffic congestion.
I suppose this is because I grew up in mild climate of Western Washington State, and transplanted to the Southwestern U.S.

To save money, we turn on our central air only when the heat gets unbearable indoors (usually when it’s 95 or above outside) and only to cool things down during the heat of the day. We utilize fans and the evening breeze to cool things off after about 6 or 7 in the evening.

My mother-in-law doesn’t use her central air at all, because it’s just her and she hates to cool off the whole house. Instead, she bought a swamp cooler, which she uses only to cool off the house in the heat of the day. She has found it to be far less expensive than A.C., and actually does a better job of cooling things off faster.
Stacy H on June 11th, 2008 3:54 pm

http://energyconservationinfo.org/noacok.htm
Try reading these tips on how to live in a warm climate (Oklahoma…90-115 May-September, they really helped our family.Some things are long term projects, but other things can be done very easily. Also, sometimes whem it is soooo hot, we will turn on the ac for about 2 hours to cool our bedroom, then turn it off and sleep with a fan on. Where I live, we can’t leave the windows open at night!
marci on June 11th, 2008 5:22 pm

I live without TV - no problem! I can live without A/C, but then I live in the cool Pacific NW - so that doesn’t count!

I have an A/C window unit that I only use when it is really warm and muggy here - and it is in my bedroom. As I get physically sick if I get too hot, it’s kind of a necessity. That being said, I become a hermit in that one room with the window a/c. The little unit is really not much at all for using electric - the most it has ever run up my bill was about $10 for one month. If there’s anyway you can live in one room for the hottest part of the day, I would really suggest it. Add a fan if you need to cool two adjoining rooms - and keep the doors shut
Mrs. Accountability (1 comments.) on June 11th, 2008 5:31 pm

I don’t watch television but I can’t stand being too hot, plus my oldest son has Down Syndrome and can’t tolerate the heat either. We are trying this summer to keep the thermostat at 81°F during the day and then a few degrees lower at night. I’m on a plan where my electricity is cheaper after a certain time at night and higher during the day. We can’t use an evaporative cooler because we haul our own water, and evap coolers use a lot of water. We’ve had the electricity go off at night during the summer and it is impossible for me to sleep for the heat. I think the unit for your window sounds like a good idea.
Mrs. Micah (19 comments.) on June 11th, 2008 9:35 pm

Depends on the day. Right now it’s been mild enough that we’re in some really light clothes with the fan on and sweaty but ok. Last few days we needed the a/c. We’ll turn it back on if it gets hotter again.
cindys on June 12th, 2008 6:10 am

I must admit that there is a huge difference between living in the city or suburbs in a newer house and living in the country in an old house. Older houses were made to stay cooler. The upstairs and the attic gets hot, hot, hot but that keeps the downstairs fairly cool. This house has a sleeping porch that has been closed in but the windows still catch the breezes. A sleeping porch was an upstairs screen porch where everyone could bed down on a torpid summer night.

Now that the temperature has dropped into the low 90s the house is pretty comfortable except for an hour or two in the afternoon.