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> There's a common meme in the northern latitudes that people "down south" consume unreasonable amounts of energy on AC, but Depending on where "down south" yo

> There's a common meme in the northern latitudes that people "down south" consume unreasonable amounts of energy on AC, but Depending on where "down south" you are, the AC could well be on eleven months of the year. I'm in Florida now, and you can usually turn it off for parts of November - February but never every day. I'd average it at 10 months of ac usage in a year When I was in NYC, the ac would be used for about 1.5 months and the heat for ~ 3. By being temperate in spring, early summer and fall, little or no external energy needed.

BizarroLand 5y ago
I live in the PNW and heat dome notwithstanding very few homes have AC because it almost never gets above 90ish degrees in the summer. A good cross breeze is more than sufficient to keep cool in that case. Winters, though, need a lot of heating to keep the place comfortable and most homes due to lack of said AC use the highly inefficient baseboard heaters to warm their entire house 6 months or more out of the year.
- rootusrootus 5y ago
  > very few homes have AC That's actually not correct, though I would have figured the same thing myself before the recent heat wave made it a discussion point. Seattle is among the lowest in the nation, but it's still just under half of all homes. Portland is about three quarters.
- nkozyra 5y ago
  I just spent awhile in Oregon (yes even during the heat wave) and will agree evenings with a breeze were totally fine even on the hottest days. The 110°+ felt a lot like Florida when it's 92 and humid
- Supermancho 5y ago
  > I live in the PNW and heat dome notwithstanding very few homes have AC because it almost never gets above 90ish degrees in the summer. I lived in the greater Seattle area in the last 4 years. Let's look at the top temps for the last couple years in Seattle - the bounds of the city, which is literally bordering the bay. 98 August 16, 2020 95 June 12, 2019 94 August 08, 2018 96 June 25, 2017 95 August 19, 2016 95 July 19, 2015 Not counting EXACTLY in Seattle you routinely break 100F in the greater Seattle Area and Washington State. Let's look at Spokane 102 July 31, 2020 98 August 07, 2019 103 August 09, 2018 99 July 07, 2017 These are hottest days, not the only days of over 90. Remember the forest fires of the last couple years, it generated the WA memes about deciding if you want to cool your house by opening a window or avoid the billowing smoke that comes in.

BizarroLand 5y ago

I live in the PNW and heat dome notwithstanding very few homes have AC because it almost never gets above 90ish degrees in the summer. A good cross breeze is more than sufficient to keep cool in that case. Winters, though, need a lot of heating to keep the place comfortable and most homes due to lack of said AC use the highly inefficient baseboard heaters to warm their entire house 6 months or more out of the year.

rootusrootus 5y ago
> very few homes have AC That's actually not correct, though I would have figured the same thing myself before the recent heat wave made it a discussion point. Seattle is among the lowest in the nation, but it's still just under half of all homes. Portland is about three quarters.
nkozyra 5y ago
I just spent awhile in Oregon (yes even during the heat wave) and will agree evenings with a breeze were totally fine even on the hottest days. The 110°+ felt a lot like Florida when it's 92 and humid
Supermancho 5y ago
> I live in the PNW and heat dome notwithstanding very few homes have AC because it almost never gets above 90ish degrees in the summer. I lived in the greater Seattle area in the last 4 years. Let's look at the top temps for the last couple years in Seattle - the bounds of the city, which is literally bordering the bay. 98 August 16, 2020 95 June 12, 2019 94 August 08, 2018 96 June 25, 2017 95 August 19, 2016 95 July 19, 2015 Not counting EXACTLY in Seattle you routinely break 100F in the greater Seattle Area and Washington State. Let's look at Spokane 102 July 31, 2020 98 August 07, 2019 103 August 09, 2018 99 July 07, 2017 These are hottest days, not the only days of over 90. Remember the forest fires of the last couple years, it generated the WA memes about deciding if you want to cool your house by opening a window or avoid the billowing smoke that comes in.