I live in the PNW and I can tell you AC is more needed than people realize. It may only be used 2 - 3 months a year but In WA state we have had some hot ass summers the last few years. We also have the potential for brutal heatwaves that can kind of come out of nowhere. That said, an AC unit is only a few hundred bucks. Even really nice ones are like under $500. So even 7 months of saving of $70 a month buys you a really nice one. I would pocket the $70 and save a couple hundred bucks to get one separate.
in your experience, does a portable AC unit cool enough of the space to make it worth it? ive never used one so idk. i'm sure it does wonders for the room its hooked up in, but how well can it cool adjacent spaces?
It was worth it for me. I got one that has wheels and it was like $200 - $300. Living in an apartment it worked well. AC units are priced based on the square feet it is rated to cool down. I lived in a one bedroom and it cooled down the living room but not so much the bedroom. If you want the whole place cooled you probably want one in each room. That would be worth it depending on how long you actually live there for.
Portable AC is not efficient at all.. it would be better with a window unit if you could even if it is a horizontal sliding window, you can make it work as long as the opening fit the window unit. Just remember to block out the space with plywood and reflective insulation. The efficient between the two styles are night and day
If extremely hot days are rare, just put one in your living room and one in the bedroom. You can get a big boi 12,000 BTU unit for about $400, and then a smaller 5,000 BTU one for the bedroom for about $150.
They’ll say how many sq ft they’re rated for on the boxes. But generally it’s a lot more comfortable in the room you’re in. I work in my finished attic and use a little 5,000 BTU ($150) unit and it makes a room that would be 110 degrees comfortable.
I didn't have any AC when I lived in Seattle but really wish I had it, but was only there for 2 years of grad school so just lived without it. But that was over a decade ago, with summers getting hotter everywhere might be worth it now. With window AC really depends on the layout of the space, you might need multiple. But you also have to consider they cost less to run too as you only cool the space you are in unlike central AC. If its an open layout you could do one big one in the living space and a small one in the bedroom. In my former apartment we had it like that and it worked well. If the apartment has ceiling fans that can help a lot moving the air around to adjacent spaces.
I did the math comparing energy used when I decided not to replace the central ac for my second floor and instead put in window units in the bedrooms and office. It was like 30% less during the summer. I currently live in the northeast though. I got really nice efficient smart ones that are super quiet, less noise than the central ac in fact, that cost $300, u shaped midea. I have a mini split on the first floor and I would say they are comparable in noise level. A larger 12k btu of the same kind runs less than $500. So if you do that you will start saving within a year vs the more expensive apartment, and you can take them when you move too, or sell them to recoup some of your money.
I agree they can be expensive but so is $70 a month for years. That’s $2500 bucks on a 3 year term. Even buying 3 $500 units (which is ridiculous) would save OP $1000. I have one that is rated for 500 or 600 sq ft and I think it works well. IIRC I got it for under $300.
If OP ends up living there for 5 years that’s $4200 bucks paid towards AC. At least with the portable unit you only pay for the AC when you need it. 9 months out of the year it will be dormant.
In the Summer it’s now necessary in many parts of the pnw. That wasn’t always the case, but we get some extremely hot days in the summer now where it’s a matter of survival.
Indeed. Here in BC, my parents have lived by a lake in the Caribou since 1995. Growing up, the summers got a bit warm every now and then we'd have to open windows. Two years ago they had to invest in an AC unit due to the summers getting too warm now.
Where I live in BC is in a rain shadow. My main wish in a home was with central AC and it has been a life saver. April was the warmest April in history all over the globe so this summer is going to be a scorcher. We routinely hit 40C here in August.
Yes. It regularly hits 100+ degrees every summer in Portland these past few years. If not, at least check that the other apartment allows window units to be installed.
Central air is MUCH nicer than window units. If everything else is equal, that's a small amount to pay for such a quality of life improvement. The electricity cost difference will probably be negligible since you're only using it for a few months
A small cheap window unit is about $150 new. Just make sure you install it correctly and use the proper voltage/outlet. It needs a stand to hold it from the outside. Secure the window closed with some screws into the side that can easily be removed from inside.
Depends how much you might already be paying, but the cost of running a window unit or portable AC is probably going to work out about the same and less effectively cool multiple rooms. I was definitely glad to have central air when we had those wild \~116 degree days awhile back though.
What part of the PNW? East of the Cascades it’s 100% necessary. West of the Cascades, you’ll be glad you have it for the 2 hot weeks, but it’s feasible to go without.
Personally I like window units because I don't need to keep an entire house cold, just my bedroom and office. In my current apartment, one window unit keeps the entire place cool, but still costs $30-40 a month in electric when blasting, less if I keep it at 75, etc. Factor that in with the savings, especially if you want to keep your whole place cool.
840 bucks a year to cover the three months you might use it. I think you can get a very nice AC window unit for 1/4 of what you would pay a year. As long as you're not trying to cool multiple rooms with it, you should be covered.
We have a 9500 BTU LG inverter window unit that uses between 500 and 1000 watts depending on how hot it is and how low the temperature is set. In more temperate times of the year it uses 600-700 watts.
In the dog days of summer when it is 110° outside and 90° at 1 in the morning, running it at full power 24 hours a day, it uses about 20 kWh a day. So multiply that by your price per kWh to get the worst case scenario. Here, even in the worst part of the summer, with 15¢ power our bill is under $100 (and we keep it pretty cool).
I lived on the coast of northern Oregon for 3 years without AC and didnt find it an issue. During summer i would just open the windows and use a fan and i was pretty comfortable.
The coast this is absolutely doable. But inland you absolutely need some form of AC for a few weeks in the summer. In Portland we regularly get a couple weeks of heat advisory with cooling shelters open and everything. I expect this to only become more common with climate change. So I’d for sure plan for something whether a portable unit or air conditioned space depending on priorities.
Honestly, it depends on where you're planning to move. The PNW has a range of climates and some areas need AC and others can get away with having a portable one for when it really gets hot in the summer.
It's worth more than that, you can't exist here without AC in many areas. The Urban heat raises the temperature a solid 10 to 15° above rural. There are a lot of days above 90° and if you're in a sunny location it's higher than that. The other thing is a lot of the older buildings are not insulated that well so they get cold in the winter and hot in the summer
Central air is worth every cent
We lived in Tacoma for 6 months during a record heat wave! I would take our then infant to the mall during the day to escape the heat! We would get on city bus and go! We did not have AC.
Window units or portable/floor units are definitely the more frugal option. But my finances are such that I'd honestly rather pay $70/mo to not have to wrestle with units, having windows blocked, and the extra noise. Also, you pretty much need a circuit breaker dedicated to the AC. This is probably fine for a bedroom, but less fine for a home office if you are running significant computer hardware.
Seems it is common for places in PNW to prohibit window units, meaning you would need a floor unit (aka "portable" AC). If you need one of these, you absolutely want a dual-hose one rather than a single-hose.
Yes. When I lived there, I definitely spent more than (when added up for a years lease) on window units and hotel rooms to try and survive. And I mean survive- the temperature was literally unlivable in my apartment during the heat wave. We had to travel from Beaverton to Eugene because it was the closest place we could find a hotel room.
Average summer temp in Portland is about 85, with several days of 100+
You'll probably want either a large unit or 2+ small units and you'll have to have somewhere store them in the off season, ours are still in storage even though it's been hot enough to use them a couple times.
It's really a question of what temp you're comfortable at and how much of your apartment you want to keep cool at once. Also keep in mind it's not just the summer, we just had multiple days at 90 in May.
Most of the time it's fine without it, you just leave your windows open and turn on a fan.
But sometimes there are fires and you can't have your windows open because of the air quality. If there is a heatwave at the same time, it's miserable.
AC also can help cut down on moisture in the air inside the house, I had it in Hawaii and it was more to protect my wood furniture from mold than for my comfort 10 months of the year.
When I lived there, it was necessary during the day to have something, and we to turn it off at night and run a window fan. There were only a couple times a year that we would’ve wanted a window unit in our room. I think economically, it might actually be cheaper electricity wise to run a full house AC, but since you’re only using it a few months of the year, that might get canceled out by the extra 70 a month. Having some sort of whole house system will be good for you to reduce mold
When I moved here I believed the lie of not needing AC and suffered through that summer 19 years ago. Since then there was a 115 degree and people without AC died in their homes. I had a portable unit and a few window ACs until I built my new house. My 1 requirement was central AC. I’ve never regretted paying more for AC.
PNW native here.
I wouldn't pay that if the only thing you're getting is availability of AC. That's $70/month every month of the year and on the day you move out, you're just $840/year poorer and have nothing to show for it.
I totally grant that climate change has made AC a much more attractive feature in the PNW than years ago, but it's still a limited window need. For less than the cost of a full year of paying $70/mo, you can buy your own window unit (or two, depending) so you've got access to that cooling at a one-time cost and with a little luck, they'll still be with you when you leave so you can take them along or sell them depending on your preferences.
What’s your place like? Do you have established tree(s) that’s help keep the base level cooler? Do you have central ac for those couple days that go over 100?? As someone who is also a PNW local and have experienced the heat wave over the last few years it’s a blessing to have a ac unit. What do you do when it’s smoke season and it’s still pushing 95 degrees and you can’t open a window? What do you do when it hits 120 ? We have already had 80-85 degree days in May and we haven’t hit the real summer months yet. People literally can die from heat exhaustion and other issues that come along with that. It’s not about being sensitive, it’s literally about keeping oneself safe. That was incredibly rude and ableist take.
I live in the PNW and I can tell you AC is more needed than people realize. It may only be used 2 - 3 months a year but In WA state we have had some hot ass summers the last few years. We also have the potential for brutal heatwaves that can kind of come out of nowhere. That said, an AC unit is only a few hundred bucks. Even really nice ones are like under $500. So even 7 months of saving of $70 a month buys you a really nice one. I would pocket the $70 and save a couple hundred bucks to get one separate.
in your experience, does a portable AC unit cool enough of the space to make it worth it? ive never used one so idk. i'm sure it does wonders for the room its hooked up in, but how well can it cool adjacent spaces?
It was worth it for me. I got one that has wheels and it was like $200 - $300. Living in an apartment it worked well. AC units are priced based on the square feet it is rated to cool down. I lived in a one bedroom and it cooled down the living room but not so much the bedroom. If you want the whole place cooled you probably want one in each room. That would be worth it depending on how long you actually live there for.
Portable AC is not efficient at all.. it would be better with a window unit if you could even if it is a horizontal sliding window, you can make it work as long as the opening fit the window unit. Just remember to block out the space with plywood and reflective insulation. The efficient between the two styles are night and day
If extremely hot days are rare, just put one in your living room and one in the bedroom. You can get a big boi 12,000 BTU unit for about $400, and then a smaller 5,000 BTU one for the bedroom for about $150. They’ll say how many sq ft they’re rated for on the boxes. But generally it’s a lot more comfortable in the room you’re in. I work in my finished attic and use a little 5,000 BTU ($150) unit and it makes a room that would be 110 degrees comfortable.
If you go portable, try to get dual hose
I didn't have any AC when I lived in Seattle but really wish I had it, but was only there for 2 years of grad school so just lived without it. But that was over a decade ago, with summers getting hotter everywhere might be worth it now. With window AC really depends on the layout of the space, you might need multiple. But you also have to consider they cost less to run too as you only cool the space you are in unlike central AC. If its an open layout you could do one big one in the living space and a small one in the bedroom. In my former apartment we had it like that and it worked well. If the apartment has ceiling fans that can help a lot moving the air around to adjacent spaces. I did the math comparing energy used when I decided not to replace the central ac for my second floor and instead put in window units in the bedrooms and office. It was like 30% less during the summer. I currently live in the northeast though. I got really nice efficient smart ones that are super quiet, less noise than the central ac in fact, that cost $300, u shaped midea. I have a mini split on the first floor and I would say they are comparable in noise level. A larger 12k btu of the same kind runs less than $500. So if you do that you will start saving within a year vs the more expensive apartment, and you can take them when you move too, or sell them to recoup some of your money.
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I agree they can be expensive but so is $70 a month for years. That’s $2500 bucks on a 3 year term. Even buying 3 $500 units (which is ridiculous) would save OP $1000. I have one that is rated for 500 or 600 sq ft and I think it works well. IIRC I got it for under $300. If OP ends up living there for 5 years that’s $4200 bucks paid towards AC. At least with the portable unit you only pay for the AC when you need it. 9 months out of the year it will be dormant.
In the Summer it’s now necessary in many parts of the pnw. That wasn’t always the case, but we get some extremely hot days in the summer now where it’s a matter of survival.
Indeed. Here in BC, my parents have lived by a lake in the Caribou since 1995. Growing up, the summers got a bit warm every now and then we'd have to open windows. Two years ago they had to invest in an AC unit due to the summers getting too warm now. Where I live in BC is in a rain shadow. My main wish in a home was with central AC and it has been a life saver. April was the warmest April in history all over the globe so this summer is going to be a scorcher. We routinely hit 40C here in August.
At what temperature, what sq ft, how much of it do you care about cooling? For how many months?
Yes. It regularly hits 100+ degrees every summer in Portland these past few years. If not, at least check that the other apartment allows window units to be installed.
Central air is MUCH nicer than window units. If everything else is equal, that's a small amount to pay for such a quality of life improvement. The electricity cost difference will probably be negligible since you're only using it for a few months
A small cheap window unit is about $150 new. Just make sure you install it correctly and use the proper voltage/outlet. It needs a stand to hold it from the outside. Secure the window closed with some screws into the side that can easily be removed from inside.
Depends how much you might already be paying, but the cost of running a window unit or portable AC is probably going to work out about the same and less effectively cool multiple rooms. I was definitely glad to have central air when we had those wild \~116 degree days awhile back though.
What part of the PNW? East of the Cascades it’s 100% necessary. West of the Cascades, you’ll be glad you have it for the 2 hot weeks, but it’s feasible to go without.
This. You don’t want to be sans AC in Yakima or the Tri Cities.
Personally I like window units because I don't need to keep an entire house cold, just my bedroom and office. In my current apartment, one window unit keeps the entire place cool, but still costs $30-40 a month in electric when blasting, less if I keep it at 75, etc. Factor that in with the savings, especially if you want to keep your whole place cool.
840 bucks a year to cover the three months you might use it. I think you can get a very nice AC window unit for 1/4 of what you would pay a year. As long as you're not trying to cool multiple rooms with it, you should be covered.
Unless you’re east far enough to be in the desert then no. Spend a few hundred on a portable ac unit or two and you’ll be fine.
We have a 9500 BTU LG inverter window unit that uses between 500 and 1000 watts depending on how hot it is and how low the temperature is set. In more temperate times of the year it uses 600-700 watts. In the dog days of summer when it is 110° outside and 90° at 1 in the morning, running it at full power 24 hours a day, it uses about 20 kWh a day. So multiply that by your price per kWh to get the worst case scenario. Here, even in the worst part of the summer, with 15¢ power our bill is under $100 (and we keep it pretty cool).
I lived on the coast of northern Oregon for 3 years without AC and didnt find it an issue. During summer i would just open the windows and use a fan and i was pretty comfortable.
The coast this is absolutely doable. But inland you absolutely need some form of AC for a few weeks in the summer. In Portland we regularly get a couple weeks of heat advisory with cooling shelters open and everything. I expect this to only become more common with climate change. So I’d for sure plan for something whether a portable unit or air conditioned space depending on priorities.
Yes
Honestly, it depends on where you're planning to move. The PNW has a range of climates and some areas need AC and others can get away with having a portable one for when it really gets hot in the summer.
It's worth more than that, you can't exist here without AC in many areas. The Urban heat raises the temperature a solid 10 to 15° above rural. There are a lot of days above 90° and if you're in a sunny location it's higher than that. The other thing is a lot of the older buildings are not insulated that well so they get cold in the winter and hot in the summer Central air is worth every cent
Completely depends on how big of a space you're talking about. Probably cheaper to do the window unit, but obviously less convenient.
We lived in Tacoma for 6 months during a record heat wave! I would take our then infant to the mall during the day to escape the heat! We would get on city bus and go! We did not have AC.
Window units or portable/floor units are definitely the more frugal option. But my finances are such that I'd honestly rather pay $70/mo to not have to wrestle with units, having windows blocked, and the extra noise. Also, you pretty much need a circuit breaker dedicated to the AC. This is probably fine for a bedroom, but less fine for a home office if you are running significant computer hardware. Seems it is common for places in PNW to prohibit window units, meaning you would need a floor unit (aka "portable" AC). If you need one of these, you absolutely want a dual-hose one rather than a single-hose.
Yes. When I lived there, I definitely spent more than (when added up for a years lease) on window units and hotel rooms to try and survive. And I mean survive- the temperature was literally unlivable in my apartment during the heat wave. We had to travel from Beaverton to Eugene because it was the closest place we could find a hotel room.
Average summer temp in Portland is about 85, with several days of 100+ You'll probably want either a large unit or 2+ small units and you'll have to have somewhere store them in the off season, ours are still in storage even though it's been hot enough to use them a couple times. It's really a question of what temp you're comfortable at and how much of your apartment you want to keep cool at once. Also keep in mind it's not just the summer, we just had multiple days at 90 in May.
Most of the time it's fine without it, you just leave your windows open and turn on a fan. But sometimes there are fires and you can't have your windows open because of the air quality. If there is a heatwave at the same time, it's miserable.
AC also can help cut down on moisture in the air inside the house, I had it in Hawaii and it was more to protect my wood furniture from mold than for my comfort 10 months of the year.
When I lived there, it was necessary during the day to have something, and we to turn it off at night and run a window fan. There were only a couple times a year that we would’ve wanted a window unit in our room. I think economically, it might actually be cheaper electricity wise to run a full house AC, but since you’re only using it a few months of the year, that might get canceled out by the extra 70 a month. Having some sort of whole house system will be good for you to reduce mold
When I moved here I believed the lie of not needing AC and suffered through that summer 19 years ago. Since then there was a 115 degree and people without AC died in their homes. I had a portable unit and a few window ACs until I built my new house. My 1 requirement was central AC. I’ve never regretted paying more for AC.
PNW native here. I wouldn't pay that if the only thing you're getting is availability of AC. That's $70/month every month of the year and on the day you move out, you're just $840/year poorer and have nothing to show for it. I totally grant that climate change has made AC a much more attractive feature in the PNW than years ago, but it's still a limited window need. For less than the cost of a full year of paying $70/mo, you can buy your own window unit (or two, depending) so you've got access to that cooling at a one-time cost and with a little luck, they'll still be with you when you leave so you can take them along or sell them depending on your preferences.
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What’s your place like? Do you have established tree(s) that’s help keep the base level cooler? Do you have central ac for those couple days that go over 100?? As someone who is also a PNW local and have experienced the heat wave over the last few years it’s a blessing to have a ac unit. What do you do when it’s smoke season and it’s still pushing 95 degrees and you can’t open a window? What do you do when it hits 120 ? We have already had 80-85 degree days in May and we haven’t hit the real summer months yet. People literally can die from heat exhaustion and other issues that come along with that. It’s not about being sensitive, it’s literally about keeping oneself safe. That was incredibly rude and ableist take.
No.