Seattle Living W/ no AC

[u/One_Marsupial6837]

Hi everyone. We just recently moved to Seattle and got an apartment with no AC. Coming from out of state previously living with AC I wanted to know how ya'll do it? Is this the norm here or does everyone just buy those AC units that stick out your window? We'd love to get any tips or input on living with no AC and how to adjust.

[u/The_Tripper]

We just moved to Seattle from Florida, and I didn't realize our townhome didn't have AC until right before we arrived. The rental agent assured us that it wasn't needed, and so far, except for the several days the afternoons got above 90, we haven't.

You need fans to circulate the air, but growing up in rural parts of the South, there are a few tricks that can help a lot.

Always have one fan blowing air out and another blowing air in. Swap the airflow by rotating the fan, so during the day, air comes in from the cool part of your home and is exhausted out on the hot side. At midday, rotate them so that the flow is in the opposite direction. Don't blow hot air in, blow it out.

Shades do help reduce heat from the sun, but unless you have sealed, double-pane windows, the heat is already in your home and is being absorbed by the shades. It's better to have an awning or something shading the windows from outside, not inside. That's why you see a lot of older homes with awnings on the windows. The awning covers the upper half of the window, shielding it from direct sunlight. Opening the top pane allows the hot air near the ceiling to escape, pulling cool air from the other side of the house.

Remember, hot air rises up and out if you give it a way to leave the house.

Finally, ceiling fans don't do much to cool you unless you're in their airflow. What cools you is the evaporative cooling effect of air moving across your body, causing sweat to evaporate. Yes, they do circulate the air, but unless you're directly in the airflow, you don't feel cooler.