I mean, if you live in Maine… you probably don’t need AC.
If you live in phoenix… you probably do. (I would argue phoenix should probably be depopulated to the point where its groundwater resources can actually support the city, and the remaining population given heat-adapted housing instead of just the same stick-frame houses and double wides as the rest of the US, but whatever)
The heat-adapted housing thing is a real factor though. recently-built houses rely hugely on modern insulation technologies, and forego simple, effective adaptations like awnings, porches, blinds, etc. Still, at the high end, they are at least usually well insulated.
Apartment buildings can be a real mess though. I’ve lived in an apartment that was 100+ years old and brick and stayed comfortable with basically just fans, and I’ve lived in a 60s/70s building that is just hot in the summer no matter what I do. (poorly insulated ceiling/roof I think?). A cousin of mine worked maintenance in a luxury high rise and it was somehow even worse, since the windows don’t open above a certain story and the heat (and maybe AC?) was centralized and non-zonal, the south side would be a furnace while the north side was cold.
It’d still be 100% feasible to live without AC here but I’m not in the south.
We should be decreasing reliance on AC not increasing it, in terms of building design, but individual consumers… tougher nut to crack
I mean, if you live in Maine… you probably don’t need AC.
If you live in phoenix… you probably do. (I would argue phoenix should probably be depopulated to the point where its groundwater resources can actually support the city, and the remaining population given heat-adapted housing instead of just the same stick-frame houses and double wides as the rest of the US, but whatever)
The heat-adapted housing thing is a real factor though. recently-built houses rely hugely on modern insulation technologies, and forego simple, effective adaptations like awnings, porches, blinds, etc. Still, at the high end, they are at least usually well insulated.
Apartment buildings can be a real mess though. I’ve lived in an apartment that was 100+ years old and brick and stayed comfortable with basically just fans, and I’ve lived in a 60s/70s building that is just hot in the summer no matter what I do. (poorly insulated ceiling/roof I think?). A cousin of mine worked maintenance in a luxury high rise and it was somehow even worse, since the windows don’t open above a certain story and the heat (and maybe AC?) was centralized and non-zonal, the south side would be a furnace while the north side was cold.
It’d still be 100% feasible to live without AC here but I’m not in the south.
We should be decreasing reliance on AC not increasing it, in terms of building design, but individual consumers…
tougher nut to crack