Tag Archives: hot

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.

Should I Splurge on an Air Conditioner?

The past two summers in my Silicon Valley studio sans air conditioning have been painful. I can’t sleep when it’s hot in my room, and boy did it get hot in my room. But, being frugal as I am, I sucked it up and dealt with the heat, only to be consoled by two fans that just blew more hot air in my face.

Every summer I put off buying an air conditioner until it’s too late — all the stores have sold out of the ones that I’d want.

Reasons I Should Buy An Air Conditioner

– It gets so hot in my apartment that I have trouble sleeping in the spring/summertime.
– In my current apartment, my electricity bill is included in my rent, and I don’t think there is any rule against using an air conditioner (though they can bill you for “excess electricity usage” whatever that means).
– I work from home 2-3 days a week, and it’s difficult to focus when it’s so hot.
– Every summer by the time August rolls around I am desperate for an air
conditioner, but all the good ones are sold out.

Reasons I Shouldn’t Buy An Air Conditioner

– Air conditioners are expensive
– In my current apartment I’d have to get a portable air conditioner since I don’t have the right kind of windows for a window air conditioner, and those are even more expensive
– Next year I might move out of this apartment, and likely the next place I get will not be “utilities included” so my electricity bill will go up greatly in the summer, if I move.
– So many people live without air conditioners, even in hotter climates. Do I really need an air conditioner?
– I have no idea what air conditioner I should get, as there are many options and they all seem to be imperfect. The window air conditioners would be nice as they’re cheaper, but my windows won’t hold them. The portable air conditioners are gigantic and ugly, AND expensive. Like $500 for the cheaper ones.

So… tell me my readers, should I buy an air conditioner for this summer?