Air-Con Security

[treebeardy.livejournal.com]

Long time reader/first time poster.
Summer's coming and we're debating whether or not to get an A/C unit. We live on the first floor so we're hesitant because of the security issue. We can't decide if it's a good or a bad thing that we're living on a well-lit busy street (highland ave).
It's our first summer in Somerville so we're not sure if we can handle the heat. Surely being on the first floor is an advantage for the natural heat flow of the house.

Any good advice out there?
cheers

Comments

[mattdm.livejournal.com]

In my experience living here the last decade or so, there's generally one or two weeks a year when it's miserably hot at night. An air conditioner is a nice luxury, but I don't think it's really worth the expense or environmental cost for that 2%-3%. We sold ours last year after having not used it at all the year before.

Ceiling fans are really the way to go if you have the option.

And what is the expense and environmental cost

[nvidia99999.livejournal.com]

for that 2%-3%? The unit itself can be around $100, and you keep it more than one year. Electricity? Not sure, perhaps $50/year. You can use all the fans all you want, but recirculating hot air won't do much. If you don't sleep well for 2 weeks, due to extreme heat, that may not be acceptable, depending on what job you do. I sure hope our MBTA drivers, surgeons and mission critical personnel buy whatever they need to sleep well at night.