Frugalista Friday: Turning Off the Air Conditioner

  Fru-ga-LEE-sta. noun.  “A person who lives a frugal lifestyle but stays fashionable and healthy by swapping clothes, buying secondhand, growing own produce, etc.”

The NY Times had a neat story yesterday about people choosing to live without air conditioning in the summer.  Some were even southerners who deliberately decided to lead "the unchilled life."  And it's not just about saving money.  It's about living with the seasons and resetting the human thermostat.

Admittedly this has not been as brutal a summer as others, or maybe, going into my 7th year in Atlanta, I'm getting used to the heat.  Whatever.  But I find that if I turn the AC on when I get home and run it for a few hours until bedtime and shut it down, I'm really quite comfortable.  The ceiling fan above the bed is a big part of my cool down strategy, and so is the water cooler in the kitchen. Hydration is crucial in the heat.  I also think that living in a small bungalow with plaster walls and a big tree shading half the house helps alot.

My BFF's ex husband, a cardiac surgeon, liked his house as cold as an ER.  My ex, a major shvitzer, also insisted on continual coolth at home. As for me, even in my post-meno years, I find myself getting cold wherever I go, from the office to the supermarket. I keep a cashmere shawl in the office and wrap myself when it gets too chily.

I really don't know how much money I'm saving by shutting down the AC, but as I said, that's not the point.  Listen to what this Nashville family said about shutting down the AC:

“We spent an entire summer getting to know our kids by sitting outside trying to keep our electricity bill down,” said Ms. Holmes, who estimated that the family saved $2,100 last summer; they are repeating the experience this year. “It was very therapeutic and we got closer. We also got thinner — all of our diets changed because we were eating a lot of grilled food. And by the time fall came around, with the change in the economy, we had learned to live off less. So when everyone started talking about how hard things are, we felt like we had already experienced the worst of the worst. It prepared us for the whole year.”  

Comments

[Maureen at IslandRoar]

Interesting. Up here, I barely need fans, but in NJ I did use air conditioning a lot. I guess we can get used to anything, right?
Good for you!

[Nancy McDonnell]

I'm trying to go without the air, or even fans this summer. It's worked so far...but today almost broke me.

I'm not sure if I'll make it. But I'm sure going to try!
Thanks for the link. (and post)That was interesting!

:-)

[Mary McGuire]

Good article. Tried going without A/C in Houston but it didn't work. !00F out; 98F in and humid. Cross-ventilation just let in hotter breezes. So, have just resigned myself to using A/C to keep it to 82 - 85F inside at home. The office buildings here are kept at what feels like 68F; most people carry jackets or sweaters for work. Figure it out! :-)

[air conditioning charlotte north carolina]

Well, I agree with you there, It is really hard to live without air condition in summer, that's why my mom keep on saving my money to buy new air condition. Anyway, I enjoyed reading your post. Thanks for sharing!

-pia-