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I lived in Seattle for 20 years. A/C in apartments is relatively common these days, but definitely still not the norm for houses - unlike CA.
by throwaway413 8y ago
I lived in Seattle for 20 years. A/C in apartments is relatively common these days, but definitely still not the norm for houses - unlike CA.
- loeg 8y agoI think it's mostly a function of building age. A lot of Seattle housing stock dates to 1920-1940. Apartments tend to be newer; certainly the new large apartment buildings all have it (as well as modern spec insulation).
- throwaway413 8y agoFair enough. However, the home I lived in for 20 years (on the Eastside) was built in 1990 and had no A/C. Such was the case for most homes I visited. When I moved to Phoenix, the home I lived in, built in 1912, had A/C.
- licyeus 8y agoI've been in Seattle the last 5 years, 3 of those in new "luxury" buildings. No apartment building I've lived in or toured has AC in-unit, though newer buildings will have it in common areas only. Further, many places have leases that disallow window-mounted AC units (not that the awning windows would cooperate). It's rough, esp. with windows on only one side for most apartments. I'd imagine developer incentives + LEED certifications are going to maintain the status quo.
- seanmcdirmid 8y agoOnly in luxury or eco buildings. Most of the places I looked at in downtown Bellevue last year either lacked AC, or lacked windows you could open and had very centralized AC (the green buildings). My current place has a ceiling fan because it is on the top floor. It can get really hot up here, but still no AC unless you buy it yourself. It was built in the early 00s. Even the fairly newish building (< 10 years old) we looked at next to City Center lacked AC.