This summer has been hotter than normal for CT. On average, in the Hartford area, there are 18 days a year that are 90 degrees or more. So far this year we’ve had 26 days of 90 degree or warmer weather. And we’re not even half way through August yet. Sheesh.
When buyers are looking for homes, particularly during the warmer months, they often focus on central air. The house they buy should have it. In reality, there are many homes in our area that do not have central air. A quick look at the CT MLS tells us that there are currently 3,885 single family homes for sale in Hartford County. Of those, 1,823 have a central air system. So 47% of the current inventory available has central air. If you look at the breakdown based on construction year, 63% of the homes with central air conditioning were built in 1980 or later. Not really surprising. And not great for people that tend to gravitate towards older homes. They’ll most likely have to do without central air. Or suck it up and put it in themselves.
And this is what brings us to the Great Air Conditioning Debate, which was recently underway at the Bergquist residence (and I’m sure a bunch of other homes in the Hartford area). We live in a big, old house that does not have central air conditioning. Usually we are able to manage the heat with a series of open windows/run window fans/close windows/close curtains procedures that we’ve trialed and errored over the years. But for some reason this year our systems aren’t working that great and the entire house has just been really steamy. Our home office is located on the third floor, the hottest part of the house. After about 11:00am we have to abandon it and move our laptops down to the first floor. Sleeping has also been restless.
In early July we called “Uncle” and brought out the 2 window units that were sitting in the basement. Last year we didn’t even need them. They’re now installed in our bedroom and the home office. The rest of the house remains gross.
All of this discomfort has caused Kyle and I to start discussing the thought of putting in central air. It would be great to have cooler, less humid air. It would contribute to our resale value somewhere down the line. Window units are a hassle and don’t really fit well into our oversized windows. Also, it would be nearly impossible to effectively cool our house with window units.
The main detractors for us seem to be the overall installation cost and the somewhat wasteful nature of the system. Old houses are more expensive to retrofit to central air. It would cost us somewhere between $20,000-$25,000 to put central air into our house. That’s a good piece of change. Additionally, I can’t really wrap my head around the idea of paying that much for something that’s only used about 30 days a year. We’re actually big fans of fresh air, so if temperatures weren’t approaching the 90s, we would prefer to just have our windows open.
Neither of us had central air growing up and we’ve made it this long without it. Do we really need it that much? We’ve decided no. We’ll keep running our systems and that will be good enough. Even if I am a little bit whinier on the hot days. And the overarching reason why we won’t get central air? The curmudgeonly native Vermonter in both of us won’t allow it. Who can’t deal with a little heat? 🙂
If you’re going through this, or went through this at some point, feel free to share the outcome. Until then, stay cool! Whatever your strategy…
So happy seeing this story ended the way it did! New Englanders are, as you say, “Not a bunch of sissies!” Ha.
“In early July we called “Uncle” and brought out the 2 window units that were sitting in the basement. Last year we didn’t even need them. They’re now installed in our bedroom and the home office. The rest of the house remains gross.”
Same here… I dragged our two windows units out from the basement, which rode pine in 2009.
We also find that a frequent dip into the kiddie pool does wonders!
My brother installs HVAC systems for a living and I have this debate with myself knowing that he would not charge me for labor. It seems so wasteful, but then days like today make me want to give in.
How about ductless AC? We have a unit for the 1st floor in the property we’re about to move into – I’m interested to see how it turns out. I haven’t seen them much over here in the continental states, but saw them everywhere in Asia and Puerto Rico – and I was quite happy with them there. I must admit, however, that I would’ve been happy with just about anything after a few hours of the heat in Saigon…
It really depends, as you note, on personal comfort. If only temps over 90 are a problems, then its only a few weeks a year and probably not worth it. For 20k you could check into the Marriott whenever it got over 90 and probably not spend that in 30 years. However, Global warming and air quality deterioration that is expected in the coming decades, along with the increased expectation of central air by younger people will only make it harder and harder to sell an older house without it — at least at certain price points. Overall, for me, having a consistent internal temperature and humidity level can make life a lot easier because there is less to “manage” on a daily basis from May to September. Plus, mosquitos carry West Nile virus and unless window units are very well secured, that’s a risk… though small. Still, I also got sticker shock at the price to do it properly in an older house…..
Good comments from all.
Regarding the ductless AC systems (also known as heat pumps), I’ve seen those in a few homes and they do seem to work well. The main issue is that you then have a large, permanent unit (or more than one in some cases) in the walls, and the same number of compressor units outside. Kyle and I had talked about going that way as an option. Another issue for us is the fact that our house is very close to our neighbor’s (maybe 8 feet away) and potentially we could not put the compressor unit between our two houses. That would only leave the front of the house where we could put it based on our side porch location. That’s kind of unattractive and I don’t know that it would fly with the historic district regulations we have in our neighborhood.
Also, Michael makes a good point about the price points of houses and the understanding that over a certain price, buyers would expect AC. Usually houses in the $500K+ range, buyers are expecting AC. If the house doesn’t have it they will usually ask the agent how much it will cost to put it in because that’s something they would want to do after the closing.
Additionally, consistent air temperature and reduction of humidity is the nice benefit of AC. You don’t necessarily have to set the temperature at a freezing 68 degrees like you’ll sometimes find at work. 73-75 might work just fine, it’s the reduction in the humidity that makes the big difference.
Do window A/C units provide any type of dehumidification, or is it just the nature of the cooler air that reduces the humidity inside? I honestly don’t know anything about the full house systems, having never lived in a home with central air. I do believe that those systems can have some type of dehumidifying element or component to them.
Here’s how central AC works… http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4564450_central-air-conditioning-work.html
I think that the window units do pull some humidity from the air (if they’re on the recycle air option), but not to the extent that a full system would.
We went thru the same evaluation and found the central air non economical. We have an older Victorian and have installed two thru the wall units and 4 window units that do a good job, but are somewhat unsighlty and the window units need to be taken out every fall and I am getting too old for that. I am looking for a young strong person to help- any offers?
Let Amy know and she can contact me.
Thanks
So, I’m frugal, and I too grew up w/o AC and have always just suffered through various phases of summer. This year, however, we bit the bullet and installed central air (with ducts) this summer. It’s by FAR the best home improvement we’ve ever made in terms of our quality of life; I wish we had had the sense to stop being frugal and had done it *much* earlier. Our hard wood furniture doesn’t get tacky, and our linens and other fabrics don’t feel “humid” anymore. We all sleep wonderfully. We don’t have to strategically turn lights on/off in various room to prevent teensy tiny bugs from eventually coming in. Have had a lot of relief on the seasonal allergy front as well. I think our piano likes climate control as well. Our electrical bill for the first month was – amazingly – comparable to the prior month (when we ran one new model window box nearly every night). If we move, AC will definitely be a criteria on my list.