AC people, how come the vast majority of homes didn't have AC in the 1950's-early '60's?

[raccoon]

In fact, I didn't know of any home that had it in those days.

Theaters and drugstores did. :shrug:

[Richardo]

1. I'm going to go out on a limb and say expense.

Also, maybe they had to be huge to be efficient, therefore the only application would be large public rooms.

Just a guess, though.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

2. Air conditioners in those days were huge, expensive, and not very powerful

My grandparents got one in the late 1950s and put it in their dining room window. You had to be sitting in the dining room or at the edge of the living room close to the dining room to feel much effect.

[Maine-ah]

3. I have an airconditioner that my parents bought in 1968

it still works. The thing is a beast though. We finally replaced it with a more energy efficient, smaller ac.

[MicaelS]

4. A/C was too expensive to buy and operate back then

People had "water coolers" (that what my grandparents called it) AKA "swamp coolers" or evaporative coolers. IIRC, my grandparents did not get A/C (window units) until the early 1970s.

[Tikki]

29. Yeah, we had a swamp cooler...late 50's on....

...it pushed the hot, dry air around right near the cooler unit...
and if you stood underneath it...water dripped on your head.

Tikki

[LisaM]

5. Because people weren't such big babies

They did things like hang out their laundry, wash dishes by hand, mow the lawn without a gas mower, etc. Strangely, obesity rates weren't as high either.

Don't get me started!

[tigereye]

8. and sweated with that one fan in the attic window (my dad's way in the 60s)

:wtf:


My son starts to complain when the AC in the car isn't on, for god's sake! :rofl:



It's better to be comfortable than miserable and sweaty, say I.

[LisaM]

9. It doesn't help that people all want to live in the hottest parts of the country

The only time I use AC in the car is if my dogs are hot. I don't use it for me. Air conditioning is an energy wasting luxury that, IMO, is contributing to global warming.

[raccoon]

11. Some of us were born in the hottest parts of the country.

A South Carolina summer without AC ain't fun. BTDT.

[Midlodemocrat]

18. Or had to move here due to a job.

There is no way I would go without A/C in the summer. No way in Hell.

[billyskank]

27. But at least recognise that the last 50 years is actually a short period of time

and that before that, air conditioning was a luxury you only found in public spaces, and shortly before that it didn't exist at all. Yet humanity has existed for millenia without it.

I just wish people would distinguish between desires and necessities. Nobody needs air conditioning. Lots of people want it. Once we get real and accept the difference, we can start making intelligent choices.

I'll start. I don't need a fast powerful car. I have one because I wanted it. I'm not going to flagellate myself for that, but at least I will recognise that it was a desire rather than a need. I have been researching the alternatives, and lately have been taking public transport for a lot of journeys. I am slowly beginning to teach myself what are necessities and what are luxuries.

[tigereye]

14. I try not to use it - I much prefer fans and fresh air

I think the AC units made now are more enviro-friendly, but it would certainly help if we quit ripping down all the trees that produce shade.

[LisaM]

19. That is an excellent point!

If a house is shaded and ventilated, then you wouldn't need to use the AC every day. At what temperature do people put it on? About 85? 90?

I used to live in an apartment (in Michigan) that had AC, but I rarely, if ever used it. But as you've pointed out, the sun didn't beat in. There was a tree in the back, and the front had was shaded.

Awnings are good too.

[Midlodemocrat]

16. A/C use in the car doesn't contribute to additional global warming.

Use in the house, does, but not the car. You're already running the car.

[billyskank]

28. It depends.

It takes a few more horsepower to drive the car with A/C turned on than with it turned off. This means you will burn somewhat more gas. So yes, it does contribute to global warming.

But the picture is slightly complicated. If you are driving slow, say 30mph, you will get better mileage to drive with the A/C off and the windows open. However, if you are driving fast, say 60mph, the drag from the windows will have a bigger effect on your mileage than closing them and using the A/C.

[MrCoffee]

31. Tell it to the ozone layer, Freon Frannie

[Sequoia]

21. We'd put a pan of ice so the big fan could blow across it.

I hang out my laundry and let Mr. Sun do the drying. I mow my tiny lawn with my hands, just clutch the grass and yank it out.

[LSK]

6. theres AC people?

:shrug:

[Bake]

23. Not to be confused with the DC people.

I guess some people are AC/DC ...

:rofl:

Bake

[JCMach1]

7. ACs and power were relatively more expensive

It wasn't because we didn't want it in Florida...

[IndianaJones]

10. the ice had to be carried down from the mountains. nt.

[Blue Diadem]

12. In our first house we bought in '76, there was an old window unit

in the master bedroom. It was cool(no pun intended), I wish we'd pulled it out and kept it. Anyway, it had a beautiful wooden case on the front...absolutely huge thing and it was a beautiful shade of walnut.

It worked wonderful and we were still using it when we sold the house in the late 80's.

To answer your question, I think air conditioning was too expensive back then, especially for central air. Window units were just beginning to be mass produced sometime in the late 40's but I bet they were pretty expensive too. Combine cost with many people looking at it as a luxury where now we tend to think of it as a necessity.

[1gobluedem]

13. Maybe this book has the answer

A friend of mine wrote it: http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-2771847/Marsha-E-Ackermann-Cool-Comfort.html

[Midlodemocrat]

15. Probably for the same reason people didn't have color televisions.

new technology = expensive technology.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

17. My dad refused to get it in our house our of principle.

Up through the late 1990s, when my mom finally twisted his arm and he broke down and got it. He didn't like feeling "closed in."

But before that, it was all open windows, fans, and a big attic exhaust fan.

I think that is probably the reason why heat and humidity do not bother me in the least, even living in Florida.

[LeftinOH]

20. For many people long after that era, AC was considered a costly extravagance..n/t

[billyskank]

25. Maybe in the near future it will again.

[lost-in-nj]

22. We didn't have central air

until 1992....

Our house had radiators, so when we redid it we put in forced air so we could have gas heat and AC.

We did use a window unit bu not very efficient in this old house.....


lost

[LSdemocrat]

24. How come homes didn't have electricity before the 20th century?

Every technology has positives and negatives.

[SmokingJacket]

26. You can get addicted to AC.

Your body gets so where it has a lot of trouble cooling off at higher temperatures, if you get too used to it.

I know people who have to turn on the AC as soon as it gets above 75 or so.

[billyskank]

30. Alternating current all the way.

Direct current can fuck off!

[Rabrrrrrr]

32. God didn't create the world until 1975, you evolutionist Jesus-hater.

Stop spreading your lies!!!

[Zuiderelle]

33. We sure did have them in Texas.

(at least in the 60s)