YOU try 110º heat in a fur suit.
This summer, we held out as long as we could. We tried to avoid using air conditioning for two reasons. One, we are cheap. And two, there are many environmental disadvantages, including the release of chloro-fluoro-carbons (CFC’s) into the air, which are suspected of causing damage to the ozone layer. But this past Saturday, it was about 110º outside, and our house had no air conditioning. Ted and I sat around the house, trying to get our work done, but around midafternoon we realized that resistance was futile.
I learned something about my husband that day. It’s true that when it’s really, really hot, I turn into a grumpy bastard. This isn’t really shocking, since between my hormones and my overbooked schedule, a pie chart of my mood swings would have about 30% dedicated to “huge jerk”. But what I found surprising is how Ted responds to extreme heat. When heat over 100ºF is coupled with humidity, my otherwise perfectly stable husband just shuts down. I tried giving him cold drinks, aiming a fan at his head, everything. But he just stared into the distance, dome glistening with sweat, unable to speak in full sentences.
So, we caved. We went out in search of a window-style air conditioner, and came back with one of the last ones in town. After a complicated installation, we sat directly in front of the Happy Box of Coldness with our iced tea, nearly weeping with joy.
Since that day, we’ve realized that we probably could have held out. However, we both work from home at the moment, and with our computers and all of our other equipemt running in the house, the internal temperature of the gear rises to a level that could damage it. Ted’s office is easily the hottest room in the house, and he said that one of his computers reached 140º inside, so he had to shut it down. When our work became compromised, that’s when we made our decision.
However, using your AC can probably avoided. You can read about alternatives to using air conditioning at Planet Friendly, and be sure to check out the disadvantages of using it.
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