I live in an area that doesn’t require a central air conditioner.
The sunny days don’t last long.
Sometimes, the entire summer is chilly and wet. However, most years we get a couple of months of high heat and excessive humidity. Opening the windows doesn’t help much, simply bringing in pollen, bugs, exhaust fumes and noise pollution. There isn’t enough of a breeze to cool the house down. Window air conditioners and box fans are somewhat beneficial. I wasn’t happy with losing the view from the windows or sacrificing curb appeal. Plus, having one or two rooms perfectly cool while the rest of the house is hot and sticky is a problem. I’d like my family to gather together in the evenings for meals, games or movies. I don’t want everyone retreating to their individual rooms for the sake of cooling off. I finally began looking into options for central cooling. I discovered that with the ductwork already in place for the furnace, the investment was reasonable. I learned that modern air conditioners feature adaptable-speed compressors that allow the equipment to automatically adjust output to the exact needs of the home. These advanced systems are excellent at maintaining consistent indoor temperature, filtering out contaminants and handling excess humidity. There are top-of-the-line air conditioners that provide a 26 SEER, which keeps running costs low. The cost of installing a whole-home cooling system was definitely worth the many benefits. It is such a relief to be able to simply adjust the thermostat and have every room feel comfortable. I wish I would have made the upgrade much sooner.