Is air-conditioning common in most Boston/New England households/apts?

Question

I understand the summer humidity can be murderous. True? o.k., that's two questions... :)

Answer 1

I think you will find that newer/more modern apartment buildings or homes have built in AC's, but the majority don't and use window units. If you are asking if most folks up here have AC in their homes, I'd say the majority do.

Compared to many other parts of the country, I don't find the humidity to be "murderous," BUT at least a few times a summer you can count on hot streaks and/or enough humidity that one would melt without AC. And there are enough hot and humid days where you would definately be uncomfortable without it, unless you like it hot.

So unless one is fortunate enough to live directly on the ocean, where they can count on a sea breeze, I can't imagine living here without at least one AC unit in the bedroom. They are so reasonably priced now, why would anyone choose to be so uncomfortable when needed? BTW away from the water I would expect summer temps in the 80's not the 70's for the majority of the summer, and when it dips to that it's high 70's. (Didn't want you to get the wrong idea from another post...it can be cooler by the shore or in the mountains, but not generally in the metro areas).

As for fans, I agree with the person who said they do a great job of blowing hot air around lol. BUT that said I must say I found out that a ceiling fan does a significantly more efficent job in providing some relief than other type fans. I've managed to hold off putting an AC in my home office because of this. Well that and the fact that I just take my laptop into an air conditioned room when it gets really hot now :)

Answer 2

I've lived almost all my life in Connecticut and Massachusetts, except for the 3 years I lived in Florida. Very few houses or apartments in New England have central air, and those that do don't usually have very good systems - they are usually too weak to deal with the hottest weather.

Most public buildings and stores have central air, but it doesn't usually work that well. When I moved back to Massachusetts from Florida (June of 2000) my apartment did have central air, but it used the heating ducts that were at the bottom of the walls! And it was pretty wimpy, to boot. So on one of the hottest days during the summer, I decided to go to the local mall to enjoy their air conditioning. It was a big modern building, but it wasn't much better! They just don't know how to do air conditioning here in the north like they do down south!

Of course, the summers aren't nearly as brutal in New England as they are down south. We'll get a couple heat waves a year, where a heat wave is defined as 3 or more days of 90 degrees or higher. Then we'll get a thunderstorm and the highs will go down to the 70s. Contrast that to Florida where the high is 90 degrees (and much higher humidity) all summer long! So a lot of it depends on what you're used to.

These days most everyone at least has window air conditioners in their houses. I grew up in Connecticut without air conditioning of any kind (I'm only 33, by the way), just window fans, and it was fine. The weather just doesn't stay that hot for very long here.

Answer 3

When I lived in Boston, my apartments did not have air conditioning and none of my friends had it either (other than a window unit maybe). I'm sure there are fancy apt's that have central air, but no one I knew in college had A/C in their apt's. In New England in general , it's a little different. I live in Connecticut now (basically the same climate as Boston) and most apt buildings have air conditioning. For houses, I'd say maybe a quarter to a third have central air. Most people buy air conditioners for their windows if they don't have central air though. The heat and humidity can get pretty bad in the summer. On the contrast, when I lived in northern New England (Vermont), there was no A/C anywhere - not ever at where I worked. It didn't get as hot there, but when it did, it was just plain awful because there was no relief anywhere.

Answer 4

Air Conditioning Boston

Answer 5

The humidity can be crazy. I think air conditioning is pretty common, but it is not something you should assume is everyone- like in Florida! A lot of apartments do not have AC, especially central air. A lot of people I know in apartments, just have a small air conditioning unit in the window, because the apartments are so old they don't have anything else. Also, at Cape Cod a lot of the smaller cottages do not offer AC, but it's not as bad there with a nice breeze by the sea.

Answer 6

Most older apartments and houses don't have central air, and a lot of the housing stock is older. Most new houses are built with central air (obviously it's easier to install central air in a new house than to put it in an existing house). The humidity can be bad here, but generally only a few days of it instead of 3 or 4 months of it like some parts of the country. You can always get room air conditioning units - I have those in my bedrooms for the summer and that's plenty.

Answer 7

Well, like all of the parts of the eastern third of the country (and adjoining parts of Canada) that receives Gulf of Mexico moisture flows - which roughly delineated is the area east and southeast of a line from mid Texas to Kansas City to Sheboygan to Ottawa to Chicoutimi, QC to the mouth of the St. Lawrence River - the tropical humidity can be terrible, and in conjunction with hot days absolutely oppressive. But the further to the north and northeast one lives the less days there are like that. SE Texas and Florida suffer through almost 4 months straight of it. Washington, DC and Memphis usually about 45 days of it. In Boston there is on average only about 12 to 15 days, less than Chicago or Montreal; the number reduced not only by Canadian cool fronts but by "back door" sea breezes from the east off the Atlantic ocean that smash the torpor on some days that can remain only 15 miles inland. Still, you will see almost all homes and appts with air conditioners.

Answer 8

I don't think it's built into most houses, actually. I just moved here from the south a year and a half ago, and I've noticed a lot of things about the houses up here.

A LOT of them are REALLY old. Like hundreds of years. Pre-A/C for sure.

A lot of these old ones are built with stone or brick and have thick walls so they may not even need A/C

A lot of houses (old and new) are multi-family homes since cost of living up here is so high, so you're not going to find a lot of central air units. Window or wall units if anything.

I think summers have gotten hotter up here in recent years, so you see LOTS of window A/Cs.

I have lived in two apartments since I moved up here and just used fans in both and I was fine. Then again, I grew up in the South...

Answer 9

It's a small percentage of homes w/ central air, but most will have room units. It can get pretty humid around here for a few days each year.

Answer 10

Really depends...most of the apartments in the city don't have central air.....many people have the window ac unit.....Yes it does get humid...but you also have to know that we do get a sea breeze bc of the harbor....it's not too bad....I would really only say that maybe two weeks out of the summer is semi miserable....definitely do able tho!