Heat Wave
These are the days when I really wish that I could stop being so frugal and purchase an air conditioner. Unlike back on the east coast, out here in Cali, few people think to buy an air conditioner. The weather doesn't get that hot, usually, but right now the heat wave is... well.... really hot.
Even sitting in the shade with the lights off, the heat is like a thick fog which doesn't move. Outside, there is sometimes a nice breeze, but my apartment seems to absorb heat and not let it go until winter comes along.
I'm looking forward to going home in a few weeks, back east, where air conditioning is plentiful. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to justify air conditioning a home, especially a large home, given that it's such a huge expense and many people in the world just learn to live without.
Meanwhile, I'm looking forward to a good summer thunderstorm back east. I hope I get to see one. Growing up in Jersey, I hated those violent thunder storms. But now I feel like I'm dealing with passive aggressive weather. It never comes out and hits you with something, it just burns for days. The east coast weather made more sense. It was hot and humid and eventually it had to storm, and so it went. We don't get thunder storms out here. I miss the angry sky.
7 comments:
I really hate air conditioning! :) Moving to the south means that I'm going to have to get used to using it more and more!
Oddly enough, I can't think of one person around here who doesn't want a/c, especially during the summer. I can't stand running mine for the cost, but sometimes I have to because it's just so gross.
Growing up, I use to hate the A/C living in the midwest. I hated the cold, long, snowy winters so much that I wanted 95 degree days with high humidity. But when those days came, everyone stayed inside with the A/C on. My family has since moved south and we experienced one of the hottest summers ever last year. We just moved into a new 3,300 sq. ft. home, so I am terrified about turning the A/C on when the time comes. I hope to just keep it on enough to get the humidity out of the air.
I must admit that I have considered buying a small portable air conditioning unit for those really hot and sticky days. I just cannot justify the cost especially as here in the UK we probably only get these hot temperatures for a few weeks a year - it just feels like forever. I do have a desk fan which I use but the noise really annoys me!
there is this thing called a fan.. works really well...
Anonymous: Yea, I have one of those. It seems to just blow the hot air around. It provides some relief, but not much.
I think that people underestimate how useful air conditioning really is in a region where it is humid during the summer as well as hot.
Humidity means a higher mold count. A higher mold count means more health problems and more property damage. Air conditioning alleviates this problem by removing moisture from indoor air. It's practically mandatory in certain areas of the country that are near swampland or marsh, if you want to live in First World conditions and not watch your books and natural-fiber fabrics rot.
So... how frugal it really is depends greatly on where you wind up living when you purchase your condo. If you typically have dry heat then it may not be as much of an issue--in fact, your idea of "air conditioning" may involve humidifying rather than dehumidifying!
I think it's a shame solar energy has not caught on more than it has, by the way, because summertime with air conditioning going is the perfect time for it--it cuts way down on electricity bills and prevents a lot of the smog from coal-fired plants.
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