this is not compatible with life in texas

Air conditioning is out again and in a horrific turn of events, I suddenly feel nostalgic for the glory and the dream that was sleeping in baggage claim #6. It was nice. There was air conditioning.

This has been a message written in the throes of incipient insanity.

I wonder if I could fix an air conditioner?

Comments

[mecurtin]

Jenn can fix anything! By the time you're done with it, it'll have its own IP address and web page.

[seperis]

...this seems a reasonable upgrade to me.

[amireal]

It's possible I can manage my AC from my iphone. *KOFF*

[ratcreature]

But what did Texans do before the invention of the heat pump? Did you migrate somewhere cooler in the summer? Built your houses differently?

[seperis]

(This explanation is my understanding of how architecture has changed in college; do not take this as expertise.)

Most (not all) houses built to (some interpretations of) green standards and most houses since the invention of centralized cooling are built to lower the electricity burden using heat/electricity and therefore are relatively sealed spaces and not necessarily built for open flow of air through the house to cool it. Its one of the reasons that my grandmother's hundred year old Victorian house was hot but not horrific in summer; the layout of the house itself encouraged a breezeway through the center of the house and there were not only a lot of windows, there were a lot of strategically placed windows.

Second (and probably the primary reason), most people at this point aren't adapted to living in high temperatures anymore. It's not just that we're not used to sitting around in 100 degrees because we're that lazy; society and businesses and work that is in some kind of building is almost invariable air conditioned down to below seventy degrees; my building maintains seventy (and sometimes feels like it's colder than that). Even if individuals wanted to opt into a natural state of living in the weather, they'd be screwed walking into Wal-Mart, much less if they worked in an office.

For practical purposes, businesses have to be kept pretty cold when there are massive servers involved that have to be kept cold, but also because even a hundred years ago, teh elderly, the disabled, the ill, the very young, and the pregnant could and would die from the heat (granted, they wore more layers of clothes).

The house we're living in now is--well, not good for picking up crosswinds or distributing air when the central air conditioner and/or heater are out. I checked the entire house with all the windows open, and you might pick up a cool breeze near the window, but the airflow isn't working well enough for all of them to combine to offset the fact this house was built to keep an internal temperature equilibrium based on internal vents than one that can distribute from outside. I hope I said that right.

[lilacsigil]

I can answer this for Australia - houses were built to withstand high temperatures, with huge shaded verandahs and careful airflow. On really hot days, people didn't work. The houses still got moderately hot, and babies and sick people died, but not as many people lived in the very hot areas then as now. Aboriginal people sensibly wore few clothes, stayed close to (or in) water, and didn't move around in the daytime.

I grew up in a non-air-conditioned, modern brick house built with the traditional huge verandahs, and it could survive 3-4 days of 35 C or higher heat before it really got warm in the house. (The downside, of course, is that it took almost as long to cool off, and by then it got hot again!) My grandparents lived in a horrible concrete house that was often hotter inside than outside, but they lived near the ocean and often caught an evening breeze to cool everything down to sleep.

[chalcopyrite]

You may well already know this, but while you're turning the AC unit into a semi-sentient robotic entity, try setting up a fan facing *out* a window. Open the windows at the furthest points from that fan. Creates airflow much better than the fan pointing in.

[/random unsolicited advice]

[jesse_the_k]

Our municipality has set up cooling centers where ppl can stay over night (& free bus rides to get there). Anything like that in your town?

[fyrdrakken]

If you don't fix the AC yourself, Mom and I learned last summer that if you A) lie in the breeze from a box fan sitting in an open window B) wearing as little as possible (and with plentiful drinks on hand) and ideally C) with a ceiling fan going as well, you can get by tolerably well. I wound up evacuating the bunnies to the local rabbit rescue for boarding until the AC could be fixed, but Mom and I and the cats just lay around like lizards. (And even with it working, Mom tends to set it for 80F to save electricity and my car's AC has a freon leak and is iffy about whether to work or not. We're better adapted to the heat than some.)

[winterlive.livejournal.com]

just get in the shower and forget about trying to electrocute yourself. things are not that dire.

[seperis.livejournal.com]

Your lack of faith hurts, yo.

[winterlive.livejournal.com]

i actually suspect you might not fare too badly with air conditioner repair? but i suspect your desperation for relief from creeping madness might handicap you. slightly.

[seperis.livejournal.com]

I'm watching Teen Wolf right now in your honor.

[flaming-muse.livejournal.com]

Ugh. You don't need this kind of drama. :(

[seperis.livejournal.com]

I like you like a lot right now. SYMPATHY IS AWESOME.

[druidspell.livejournal.com]

If my house was cleaner, I'd volunteer my apartment for you guys to stay until they can get out and fix your AC. No one deserves Austin in July without climate control :/

[seperis.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the thought! *hugs*

IT's getting cooler, so hopefully that'll be enough for sleep tonight.

[druidspell.livejournal.com]

Seriously, though, if it's not fixed by tomorrow, y'all are welcome at my 1 bedroom apartment if need be; shinetheway can vouch that I'm not a serial killer, and tomorrow us my day of cleaning anyway.

[cat-77.livejournal.com]

So sorry! Not that it helps much, but I feel your pain. New/old house came with no AC. Growing up here, we only ever needed the ceiling fans. Flash forward to the current heat wave where it reached 107 in MN of all places, with bonus humidity, and we shelled out the cash for a "portable AC" unit that sits on wheels with an exhaust port you feed through a window because the window units don't fit the new windows.

Fucking worth it. Blew budget for CONvergence and part of our upcoming trip, but still fucking worth it. We can breathe, animals can breath, and we will be needing it nonstop next week with something called a "heat storm" about to hit. Awesome.

[bramble-rose.livejournal.com]

We gave up on central a/c and use window units (I'm too cheap to replace it.) They are more economical for us since we can turn off the ones in the boys' rooms when they aren't here.

[mockingbirdq.livejournal.com]

Typical. Why does the air conditioning always break in mid-July in Texas? And always right before a weekend :(

[leld.livejournal.com]

According to Community, if you can fix your own AC the secret society of AC Repairmen Illuminati will come for you. So, I say give it try.