Central air conditioner is a luxury and not a necessity in my local area.
We deal with snow and cold for the majority of the year.
We depend heavily on the furnace and spend a great deal of money on our heating bills. For a very brief summer, we can get by without a whole-home cooling system. We just need something to cool down our bedrooms at night. It’s impossible to sleep in overheated and sticky conditions. For a while, we tried to manage with open windows, ceiling fans and box fans. The fans couldn’t keep up on especially hot and humid nights. The open windows allowed in dust, dander, pollen and bugs. They presented a security risk and exposed us to exterior noise pollution. We’d get woken up far too early by chirping birds, barding dogs, traffic sounds and road construction vehicles. I finally started watching for sales on window air conditioners. I managed to pick up enough cooling units to install one in each bedroom for a reasonable investment. The installation process was not overly difficult. Although the air conditioners are lightweight and compact, they are quite powerful. We start up the air conditioners a few minutes before retiring for the night, and the bedrooms are perfectly cool for sleeping. Plus, the systems circulate the air, keeping it fresher. They help to filter out dust and other contaminants. They don’t cost all that much to operate. The best feature is the handy remote. Not only can each family member customize room temperature to their preference, we are able to make adjustments without even getting out of bed.