LooseSuits

No AC is not an option in Tampa. I can't speak for other parts of the world, but no AC = no work done. But didn't you already answer your own question in the second paragraph?

The humidity and the heat is mind boggling enough that I can't motivate myself enough to do any work on a computer.

Get a desk fan. They're a little cheaper.

In the UK very few people have aircon. I certainly don't. We just open the windows... and use Rich's advice.

Of course the weather in the UK is a little different to the US.

Like Scrivs, AC is not an option here in Atlanta. We're in the middle of a drought with no rain in site and 90+ degree temperatures every day.

Depends on your where you live (temperatures) and how your house is situated. In my house I have window units not central air because it is not needed. The front of the house gets full sun so two rooms on the front (my bedroom and the front room which take up the entire front of the house) burn up. The sides and back of the house are naturally cooler because there are trees to shade the house. The basement is cool because it's under the ground and the attic...no one goes up there often. It wouldn't be cost effective to have central air cooling the entire house. Most people here do not have air conditioning. They use ceiling fans and open their windows.

When I move, air conditioning is standard - that's how necessary it is (Tampa).

From what you describe you're not comfortable. Depending on how hot it is perhaps ceiling fans or wall units could be a better option? In the end price it out - not only the cost of the air conditioning but the hit your electric bill will take. :)

Yeah I don't think I could work without ac with the weather that we've had lately. It's been in the upper 80s/low 90s and it is downright awful. If my job didn't have ac I would take these hot days off and stay home, or request to work from home.

I used to live in the tropics. Which means humidity is reaching 100% with a constant 32-34 degrees celcius. We get along well with high ceilings and huge ceiling fans. We can get work done if the ventilation is enough.

If not, then yeah...there is always the AC.

As people have said, in the UK full AC isn't that common or really necessary. I've worked in buildings without it and, ok, last summer had a few days where it was an absolute nightmare - to the point I got sent home with heatstroke three times - but on the whole it isn't worth it. I'm working in a building now where they are retrofitting it and, to be fair, for all the hassle it just isn't worth it. I'd much rather have the window open and set up some desk fans.

I've lived in New York through one particularly muggy summer in an old brownstone (no real air-con) One very elderly window unit in the kitchen pumped through enough cool air in the evenings to let us get to sleep easily.

Like Kami, I've also spent time in the tropics and the high ceilings and fans did the trick really nicely. Most of the time however I was in the rainforest - no air-con their either! - and you just kinda get used to the heat/humidity.

I guess it really depends on your own tolerances and what you're comfortable with. You've made it quite clear that the NO air-con route left you sitting there in an unattractive puddle of sweat, so it's probably worth investing in at least a chiller unit to take the edge off. You do your best work when you're comfortable after all.

Sorry, can't do without AC. I mean, I work with a computer! AC is vital. No DC, however, is just fine.

/By the way, who do you think would spin in their graves faster, Edison or Tesla?

AC is vital.
It's presently 97 degrees.
The humidity lurks in the air like a big wet tiger.
It's not worth dripping and typing.

A lot of computers will fry themselves without AC.

The humidity isn't exactly good for the metal bits within them either, pair that with any dust/pollen and you have a serious mess on your hand.

A lot of computers won't turn ON without AC.

Unless you have a laptop with a charged battery.

I've got dual-zone AC in my house, really nice. It's been in the low 90s every day the past week so we've had it set consistently around 77-78.

In Oregon I lived without AC for many summers. That's the beauty of living in a place where it doesn't get very hot or very cold. You just throw on a fan and you're all good.

However, Washington, DC is a freaking swamp. The heat index today will be around 100 degrees F and our air quality rating is awful. But at least it is cooler than New Delhi.

I suppose I will simply live on popsicles today.

Tyme - To save energy in the summer and winter we close off the vents and doors to rooms that aren't used often. That way we're not unnecessarily heating or cooling unused space.

I do have to say that if its hot enough for you to be half-naked, then its hot enough for your computer to be reducing its lifetime.

For me, if I'm hot enough that I'm removing clothes - then I'm hot enough that I won't be doing work. I guess its a personal choice more than anything. Mayhaps a window unit would be in order?

... and theoretically your average desktop could be made to work on strictly DC by wiring in the correct voltages in place of the PSU. Many servers actually directly use DC to reduce waste anyway. :)

I live in North Carolina. Currently, Weather.com says it is 91 degrees. It "feels" like 99. Humidity is 50%.

I would die without A/C. It's not even the worst of summer, yet.

That's one of the main things I miss about the States (at least where I came from in Vegas): central air AND heat. Where I am in Germany (and probably most places in Germany) neither one is common. So far this summer, it hasn't been too bad, but there have been years (like the year so many people died over here from the heat) that it was just unbearable, and no, I didn't get any work done whether it was computer related or quilting related. The only thing to do was get in the car and go for a long drive or something so you could sit in the AC in the car, or go to the food store to mooch off of their AC, but you can only buy so much food.

Sorry, but radiators just don't cut it for me either. It's not like they have a thermostat or something that keeps the room at your desired temperature. My optimum comfort level has a zone of about 5 degrees Fahrenheit, so I spend my life either too hot or too cold.

You can't be at your most productive if you are not comfortable environmentally. You could check out a portable electric air conditioner unit that you can move from room to room. They have those here, and maybe that would be more cost effective than a window unit or something else. It would also help the computer situation, since the heat could be adversely affecting that as well. We've never gone there, since you also have to have a place to store the thing when it's not in use, and we just don't.

When the mercury starts to evaporate into the air, I worry.

Thanks all. I will have to try out both. Now that the electricity bill is purely mine, I can monitor the cost.

Scrivs: Even though I can't work on the computer. There are options of working on other projects that involves physical labor. I can always leave the computer work till the god awful winter with -40 degrees.

At least, I know now that people can come home from work and not veg on the couch.

Even though I live in Wisconsin, the heat produced by all the electronics on my desk would be unbearable without it. Add to that the humidity and airborne grasses, pollens, etc., and AC is a must.

I agree with Rich, I use a desk fan whenever things get a little hot. AC is still a luxury product here and fans are less than $10.

I can't live without AC. But you can improvise with a fan, some copper tubing and a bucket of ice. Seriously...

Since the beginning of the summer we have contacted our facilities department on the matter of AC. Seems like it runs overtime and within our office it reaches extreme cold with an actual blowing breeze throughout the office. It has lead to various employees here huddled at their desks with blankets draped on themselves as facilities does not allow for space heaters or anything that draws excessive amounts of power from the outlets, which is crazy when you realize the AC is on around the clock and never shuts down.

During me writing this I noticed a friend of mine sitting at his desk with a winter coat on. A WINTER COAT! It's mid-September. We don't get snow up here for another two-three months, yet here we are. Bundled up like Eskimos and working away in sub-zero conditions.

I've threatened my manager several times that I'm going to record video and take it to the labor board.

AC, yes it's a must in the summer or when there's a heat wave so hot that it melts your brain and you just can't think of anything other than diving into an ice bath. AC around the clock with sub-zero temperatures and fellow employees getting sick; missing work (read: pay) due to colds, bronchitis and throat infections, not too good at all.

If you're looking at this from a cost efficiency of keeping your home cool, you could consider skipping out on carpeting.

The study in my home is typically the warmest room in the house. This past summer we stripped out the carpet and stained the bare concrete foundation. It's amazing how much cooler the room is now -- even on the hottest of Texas afternoons.

fuscom,

That's interesting... got any pictures? Recently my inlaws tried to stain their back porch slab. It didn't take well, has flaked off in spots, and is next to impossible to get an even finish. However, it's not as smooth as a foundation slab, so that might make a difference.

What about dust? Does the stain seal enough so that you're not getting particulates from wear off the concrete?

Some places it just doesn't work, like in Texas, Tampa, or Atlanta. Other places, like the UK I guess, or Northern California, you could probably get by with no AC.

Ozone, sorry I dont have any pics of it online. Maybe I'll do that when I once again get dedicated to Flickr.

There's a lot of prep work that goes into getting the stain to stick. For us, there was about a whole days worth of scraping up paint overspray and vacuuming with an industrial wet / dry vac.

The slab has to be pretreated with an acid that worked to "open the pours" of the concrete, so the stain would adhere. Of course, that all had to be vacuumed up as well.

We were initially discouraged after seeing the construction markings spray painted in black all over the concrete, thinking all that would bleed through the stain -- it didn't though.

We went with a dark gunmetal gray and a rust red. We initially tried spraying it on by using a small pesticide pressure sprayer, but that didn't give a good balanced mixture of colors. Instead we just grabbed some sponges and did a sponge paint type application.

I decided against using any type of sealer, because I like how rustic and worn it came out looking. It scars up a bit rolling chairs and stuff across it, but I think it adds to the character -- besides, it's concrete...another coat of stain and it's like new.

I certainly can not work without alternating current.

I hate AC, and I'd definitely prefer to work without it. Summers here in Victoria are rarely warm enough to need it, and I find that when the odd really hot day does roll around (this summer the temperature hit 36 degrees for a few days), a couple of well-placed desk fans and an open window will cool things off quite nicely.

Then again, I'd much rather be too warm than too cold when I'm working.

I live in Southern California, and I spend most of my time in a library or other office-style building because I don't have AC at home. There are times when it gets too hot to sleep, much less do work.

We have AC, and it was on a lot over the summer. It was on as recently as two weeks ago, which is almost unheard of in Michigan in October!

Yeah Sarah I know what you mean. When the AC get's too cold and starts to make your eyes ich. It sucks.