7 ms·
>Minneapolis seems like an odd place for the first home air conditioner, but, hey, if you've got the cash, who's to stop you? I'm guessing the author hasn't li
by lukeschlather 15y ago
>Minneapolis seems like an odd place for the first home air conditioner, but, hey, if you've got the cash, who's to stop you?
I'm guessing the author hasn't lived in Minnesota. For one thing, the temperature differential is much higher than in Southern States. It may reach 110 degrees F in Phoenix, but it almost never drops below 32 F. In contrast, Minnesota gets temperatures from 0 F to 90 F.
There's also the question of energy use. The Minnesotan winter makes a huge amount of energy (for heating) an absolute need for survival. When you're used to expending all that energy 4-6 months out of the year, using a much smaller amount to stay comfortable when the temperature peaks above 80 F or so is not an incredibly noticeable loss.
When some sort of active climate control is a requirement for life, it's unsurprising that Minnesota did it first - since AC is more a luxury in the Southern states, even though the heat can kill you if you don't have some sort of effective cooling.
- sliverstorm 15y agoThe view of HVAC varies wildly depending on where you live. It's similar to big trucks, guns, and heavy machinery. In suburbia, these things are pure decadence and waste. In the outback they are tools of the trade, no different from the briefcase a businessman carries.
- raldi 15y agoCan you rephrase your last sentence? I've reread it a few times, and I just can't make heads or tails of it. Thanks!
- lukeschlather 15y agoPowered heating is a fundamental human need in Minnesota. You cannot survive without it. Even in antiquity I can't imagine people surviving without fire. Passive cooling, by contrast, is pretty much adequate (though that's not to say the heat can't kill you if you're out in the sun.) But in any case, when you look at the amount of energy expended on heating, the modest amount expended on cooling is a natural expenditure. I think in general that's why a lot of colder countries like Norway are more rich and prosperous than their warmer counterparts. When it costs $30,000/year just to survive, luxuries start to become a lot less costly as a percentage of income.
- mkr-hn 15y agoCan passive cooling remove moisture from the air? That's essential for anything that wants to replace powered cooling in the southern US.
- Wilduck 15y agoCorrection. Minnesota gets temperatures from -20 to 100. Tomorrow has a high of 97. Definitely not an odd place for AC.
- Groxx 15y agoI was just about to call "BS" on that wimpy zero. Zero is brisk compared to some of the lows in and around Minnesota, and pushing near 100 isn't uncommon. Not every year, but many, certainly.
- genieyclo 15y ago0 deg F is a t-shirt jog here in Minnesota during the winter. Cold is -20 to -40 range. And within the last few weeks, we've had several days 90+ and 100+ deg F. There's a reason lots of the old people migrate with the ducks down south for winter.
- yaks_hairbrush 15y agoPretty much... I like to tell people that it's not really cold here until your snot starts freezing the instant you go outside. That tends to happen at 10-15 below zero (Fahrenheit).
- qq66 15y ago97 is not that hot. I've spent months in those temperatures without AC just drinking water. Almost everywhere, AC is truly a luxury.
- StavrosK 15y agoI just Googled 97 degrees, expecting some large temperature, and it's only 36 degrees! For comparison, it's 40 C here today. Stay out of the sun, sweat a little, you'll be fine. Arabs have it much worse.
- fiblye 15y agoHumidity's usually a bigger problem that the actual temperature. 100 degrees in drier parts of the southern US doesn't feel anywhere near as bad as 85 degrees in rainy towns up north.
- mkr-hn 15y agoIt's absolutely not a luxury in the south. You can stand up and walk around with the humidity, but you'll need a steady stream of fresh clothes if you sit to do anything without AC.
- HN_Addict 15y agoThis is why I love living in Michigan. Like Minnesota, we get temps from well below freezing up to 100F. Real winters. Real summers. Crisp frost and gorgeous colors in the fall. Spring is worth celebrating. I won't trade it for Phoenix until I turn 65. But yes, it does make heating, cooling, clothes shopping, and a host of other things a little more difficult than the southern states.
- HN_Addict 15y agoThis is why I love living in Michigan. Like Minnesota, we get temps from well below freezing up to 100F. Real winters. Real summers. Crisp frost and gorgeous colors in the fall. Spring is worth celebrating. I won't trade it for Phoenix until I turn 65. But yes, it does make heating, cooling, clothes shopping, and a host of other things a little more difficult than the southern states.