It is the humidity in Indiana that kills me. The last few weeks it has been like walking into a sauna outside. The AC at least keeps that down to a reasonable amount. We keep the thermostat at 76 because we are home most of the time. If we need more cooling, we turn on a fan.
I just got my electric bill for July and yikes due to the hot and humid weather!
I'm responding to this again as we have decided central air is the way to go for our comfort and to make the house easy to sell when we need to do it. Mainly, comfort. We've had 5 estimates, 2 from larger companies, 1 from a small company and 2 from individuals- all pretty much in the same ball park except the one big company that was 2x as much as any of the others. We're not putting a furnace on it as we have baseboard heat that I find very useful. Now to choose. I have recommendations for two of them, but not doing the same work, just their work ethic. It's a big expense but that's why we've been frugal. It is very humid here most of the summer.
It's been a hot, dry summer here, with today's temperature predicted to be in the nineties. Even so, nights cool down, and I've only been uncomfortable a couple of times the last few months. I haven't even deployed a fan. I would say that here, in the PNW, you could get along pretty well without AC--but I can absolutely see the necessity in other parts of the country.
I have thought about this since my furnace is over 25 years old. But I probably would not spend that kind of money, even though putting in and taking out the window units, and sealing them to prevent insects from getting in the house, is a real hassle.
107 degrees at 6 pm tonight in phoenix. I'd live here without a furnace but never without AC.
Late to the party here.
we just replaced the entire hvac with a zone system while doing the addition. We now use the ac a lot more, but with the more efficient system, the electric bill is only a couple of dollars more (literally, $6 in July) humidity is an issue here, so often I will close up the house, "cool" to 76 to lower the humidity, and then change it to 78 or even off.
we have had years in the past where we never used ac, or only a couple of weekends when we had our parents visiting (the heat is harder as you get older. Now I am getting olde.)
we are crafting our house to live in - this is our vacation destination. When the kids were young, going to the 75 cent movie theatre for two hours of ac, or the library for an afternoon, or the pool, was no big deal. Now, I want to stay home. Sometimes I get groceries in the afternoon.
also, I HAVE a rusty old pick up truck in the driveway. The plate renewal arrived yesterday.
My kids have two electric cars and a Ford Focus from the early 90s. in part because they know they can use the pick up any time.
I have a hard time justifying the cost of adding AC when it is only really hot in the daytime 2-3 weeks a year. Back in Austin, we would have been miserable without one. Used to be, very few here in CO had AC but either people have gotten used to being the perfect temperature at all times (even in the car) or it really has gotten a lot hotter. I suspect the first is the case. I enjoy hearing birdsong and breezes too much to close up the house.
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