I’ve been asked by Kicukalah why I don’t use A/C and is it unhealthy? So I thought I’d address that in a post instead of in a comment.
First off let me say that I don’t condemn anyone who uses A/C. That would be indicative of the saying “get the stone out of your own eye before teasing someone else about their stone”. Y’all, I used to have the A/C turned up in my house so high you could literally hang meat up in there and it would not go bad. Yeah, no joke.
Getting to this point of not using A/C has been a long process taking place over several years. About 7 or so as I’m going into the 3rd summer of not using A/C. The initial reason and generally always the first consideration for most choices I make are monetary. Monetary in considering the on going costs vs the value I’m getting. The other is that I hate being dependent on something that I have to earn money for especially when you factor in the income taxes, gas taxes, sales taxes and all the other taxes that have to paid. That’s only the beginning. To have $200 you’ve got to earn $250(an estimate)so that you actually have $200. If anyone doubts that just take a look at the gross amount on your pay stub, then take a look at the net amount. Big difference huh?! Then you gotta to pay your bills and buy all the stuff you need so that you can get to work to earn that x amount of money you need to pay for whatever. ***stepping down of the soapbox**** When I began what was to originally in be a reduction in A/C use that led to no A/C use experiment was that in 2001 when I started getting serious about getting debt free, I began looking for every which way to Sunday, up and down all around in which I could save money to apply toward my debts.
Here’s some background on how I got to no A/C use. This house is in an older neighborhood with many established trees. That helps greatly in reducing how hot the house gets. Also there are lots of windows for such a small house so I can take advantage of cross-ventilation when there is a breeze. After a while, I was finding while sitting down I was getting chilly with the A/C set on 78 degrees so I would turn it up to 79 or 80. Then gradually each summer I would turn the thermostat up till the summer where I was up to 86 degrees. There was a 1.5 year break when my mother was living with us. But when I got to that point I thought to myself, since you got the temp up this high lets try going without for a few days. Well that turned into 90% of the summer of 2007 which ended up being the hottest and driest summer on record for us and all of the summer of 2008.
As far as A/C being unhealthy, my take on it is this. A/C is a relatively recent thing available and affordable to the general public as in 1970s for some late 1980s for others. I fall in the later category. Most people could not afford to have central A/C in their homes. A/C is one of the largest users of electricity. The more watts an appliance uses the more it’s gonna cost you each month. I refuse to have a $300-700 electric bill in the summer. Yeah, there are people here in this area who pay that much on their electric bills in the summer. I ain’t one of ’em. It goes back to what I talked about in the third paragraph. I like being efficient with my time and money with time being much more valuable than money. That saying time is money is BS! You gotta have time in order to make money but time does not need money. Time goes on despite how much you have or don’t have and each person is only given so much of it, regardless of how monetarily wealthy you are or not. I personally don’t know of anyone who was on their death bed saying “I wish I spent more time at the office”. If I’ve got to spend more time at a job or multiple jobs that I hate because my expenses are high, then yes it’s unhealthy for me. I firmly believe stress is the #1 cause of weight gain, and all these dis-eases that are unheard of in cultures that have not been “civilized”. ***Ok, now I’m really stepping off the soapbox***
I’ve also found that my appetite has regulated itself back to where it was when I was younger, before having A/C. Back then in the summer my appetite would slow down because I’m just not as hungry when it’s hot. I’ve been able to maintain a 40 now 50lb weight loss and I know this is one of the contributing factors. And yes I’m in an area of the country where it’s hot and humid in the summer. I’m now much more adaptable to the heat. Being constantly under A/C makes your body much less tolerable of the heat. I only wish I would have done this when I bought the house. Would have saved myself thousands of dollars that I can really use right now.
So those are my reasons for not using A/C anymore. See what get when you ask me a question? lol
CeraIsis 
that is an awesome way of thinking & great logic. i live in a townhome & don't have central air. however, i do have a unit in my room, which i rarely use because, like u, i get tooo cold. i think a/c's are overrated…LOLOL
I appreciate you taking the time to explain. This makes plenty of sense to me. Had I not asked I would have never thought about what you explained about saving money. I respect what you have to say as well because I don't know personally 1 soul who is debt-free.
I appreciate you taking the time to explain. This makes plenty of sense to me. Had I not asked I would have never thought about what you explained about saving money. I respect what you have to say as well because I don't know personally 1 soul who is debt-free.
My central air unit needs freon but I have decided to do an experiment to see how long I can go without the AC. So far, I have been able to do just fine with out it. Of course, I won't invite anyone over because it may be uncomfortable for them but for just me the fans are just fine!
I hear ya Sis! I do the same thing…not invite folks over except for those who go with AC too, which are VERY few. lol
So far, I have not used my AC this summer and it's been hot in NC. I did bite the bullet and purchase a window unit but never opened the box. So I am taking it back to the store for my money back. My electric bill hasn't been over $25.00 since May, even with the use of two fans.
This is year three of not turning on the air conditioner. I did have to break down and get a window a/c last year because I was so hot (and drenched in sweat) at night (even with the fan) that I was waking up in the middle of the night. But because I am only cooling one room, it doesn’t take long for the room to cool so the window a/c is not on long. My electric bill is still low ($30).
Awesome!!
Nothing wrong with using a window a/c. You sound like me in that it’s hard to sleep when you’re hot. And you’re using the same principle that you use in the winter…concentrating climate control in the room you are in, which is much cheaper than doing the whole house.
Next month will begin year 5 of not using central air. I still have the window ac unit and will use it as needed at night.
Awesome! Does seem like it’s been that long to you?
I can’t believe it is year 7 of me not turning on the central AC in the house!!!!! Wow. This year I have no window AC as it stopped working last summer but I am surviving. I purchased a twin fan for the window from Aldi this Summer. Where there is a will, there is a way!!!!!!
It’s year eight of no central AC. I do have a window AC for my upstairs bedroom. I have a twin window fan that is in the kitchen (I use as needed). I use 3 fans (one ceiling fan, 2 tall oscillating fans).
Hi ElleX! Oh my goodness, I have no idea how I missed this comment!
Awesome, that you have still stuck with the no central A/C! I’m still going strong with it too and like you just using fans. I’ve been thinking about getting one of those twin fan for awhile now. Do you mean the ones that sit inside the window with two small fans? If so are you able to reverse the flow on one of the fans?
I am just seeing this…oh dear. Yes, my fan sits in the window. No, I am not able to reverse the flow on one of the fans. I got it from Aldi..
lol Don’t worry about that. I know you’ll see my comment eventually. 😄 thanks.
So this is year nine of using no central a/c. Would you believe that the window air conditioner that I bought last year stopped blowing out cool air? I wasn’t able to use it the whole summer! LOL…no worries. I got by just fine.
Yep I believe it Sis. Unfortunately stuff does not last as long as it used to. At the same time, it is an amazing feeling to realize the things we thought we absolutely had to have, we really can adjust and manage without it.
Loved reading this!
Well, I’m back here to report that this is YEAR 10 without using central air conditioning. There are no window air conditioner, only fans this year. I am very pleased with my savings progress and my electric bill. Under $40!!!
Thank you so much for the report, ElleX!!! Under $40??!! That is freaking amazing!
Year 2021 is in the books!!!! No AC!
11 years!!!!
Go head on witcho bad self girlfriend! Awesome!
Yay!!
Year 12 of no central air…I did speak with a contractor friend about replacing my condenser (the unit outside) and getting mini splits inside. This will allow guests some comfort (lol)..also, it would help with resale.
Awesome! Still going with no central air here as well. I’ve heard a little about those mini splits as many of the tiny house folks use them. Yeah, you are probably right in terms of a resale.
Are they expensive?