Air Conditioning

As we are awaiting the start of the first heat wave, my thoughts go to the love-hate affair New Englanders have toward air conditioning.  I'll admit I'm not a native, since I was not born here despite living here for over a third of century.

When we were house hunting in the winter, not necessarily the best time to house hunt, we noticed a lack of central air or large mounted window air conditioners.  We were consistently told air conditioning is not needed, just open the windows and use a fan.  This was in sharp contrast to where we were coming from, the Midwest, where the temperature would go from cold mud rain to hot and humid in less time than it takes to get a large Duncan Doughnuts iced coffee.  We attributed this idea of not needing air conditioning to the stoic, parsimonious Yankee mind set in Chelmsford.

We were wrong.  Air conditioning, especially at night, was needed, albeit not on constantly for weeks at a time.  This resulted in us being aware of the second aspect of the Yankee mindset: if you have air conditioning, how long can you wait before you install the units or turn on the air conditioning.  This is sort of an informal game of chicken, with using air conditioning before Memorial Day (or after Labor Day) a sign of weakness.

During our first summer, back when Obama was an undergraduate, we bought units for two bedrooms and did not care about being labeled different, since we were not natives anyway and could not understand any advantages associated with being stoic on this issue. The worst summer was the summer of 1988, when my youngest was born.  (She is the only 'native' in the family, despite now being an ex-pat in Europe.)  Finding an air conditioner then was the equivalent of finding rock salt to melt ice or a 8.5 hp snow blower after a major storm.  The only available unit was a behemoth that looked like something out of a laboratory in a 1950s B science fiction film.  My wife was limited to living in an air conditioned bedroom with a 'baby no sleep' new born.  My in-laws who lived in New York came to the rescue with an air conditioner for downstairs.

It's pretty obvious I'm in favor of air conditioning and want to be comfortable.  Current air conditioners weigh less, are more energy efficient and widely available at lower costs than in previous years, although the best air conditioning systems were freon based GM cars in the late 60s and early 70s before the environmental controls occurred.  Some new air conditioning units are even portable from room to room. 

Those readers that relish heat and humidity are welcomed to go to Florida or Saint Louis in the summer. The only major issue I see with air conditioners is the battle of what temperature to set the air conditioner especially when sleeping: some like it just comfortable while others love to sleep under two down quilts when the DEW point is over 65. 

I have no financial interest in any air conditioning company as much as an interest in seeing that people are comfortable.  Current air conditioners are not energy hogs, act as a good dehumidifier and help a lot to alleviate air borne allergies and aid a good night's sleep.  Just buy a unit of the right size given the area you want to cool. 

On a more serious note, especially for readers who remember where they were and what they were doing when JFK was assassinated, be careful in hot weather and when the DEW point is high.  Drink non-caffine, nonalcoholic drinks.  (I'm partial to plain water with a little lemon juice.)  It is easy to get dehydrated and not be aware of your dehydration.  And stay cool.  The number of heat related summer deaths greatly exceeds cold related winter deaths.

Finally, give thanks to an unappreciated great mind, John Gorrie, who got the idea of air conditioning about 150 years ago.