Why cool air is becoming a luxury many Americans can't afford
Posted by Portalrules123@reddit | collapse | View on Reddit | 88 comments
Posted by Portalrules123@reddit | collapse | View on Reddit | 88 comments
daviddjg0033@reddit
France is playing with fire and not the record wildfires: Zinc roofs were for a different time when the elderly would die of freezing temperatures. The red tape from zoning laws and laws against even putting a window AC on an old building is prohibited. The far right party (Le Pen's father was a nazi) is taking advantage of this, along with migrant migration due to climate change, crop losses and conflicts from the climate. Remember Syria's civil war was not Arab Spring Twitter revolution it was a biblical drought that brought farmers into the cities 12 to an apartment with shotguns. I fear that Europe is not recognizing what our sub does: these are the coolest temperatures we will experience because the next El Nino cycle could add 0.3C of warming. Does not help that UK and others had a failed crop while Ukraine, the breadbasket of Europe, that was invaded by Putin at war, decreasing the 800M prior to the war they fed.
Cultural-Answer-321@reddit
Facts.
daviddjg0033@reddit
I was asked for the source but I remember reading this was on Obama's daily briefing pulled from the CIA as early as 2007 or about four years before the civil war.
Cultural-Answer-321@reddit
You are correct. The drought was the actual cause. Twitter was just organization tool.
daviddjg0033@reddit
Biblical drought. Middle East. Obama sent a special barge to Syria to dispose of chemical weapons: Syria had the largest chemical weapons stockpile and anti-aircraft assets. Al-Assad hiding out in Russia deserves the Hague
onedyedbread@reddit
Of course. Of course they did that.
I think even most people opposed to the regime still don't appreciate enough how this is systemic violence of the highest order. Couple this with the gutting of Social Security, Medicare/Medicaid, SNAP, consumer protection, EPA regulations, FEMA and even NWS - then look at the goons marching through LA, DC and soon Chicago, New York, Seattle, Atlanta, Detroit ... and a very clear picture emerges: if you're poor, if you're brown, if you're anything but well-off and white, they want you to fuck off and die. Literally. And if you dare protest against their campaign of cutting any and all govt services that made life barely bearable, soon they might give the order to shoot you to speed up the process.
bloodykunt@reddit
Well...they don't want you to die immediately. They need you to be slaves for your prime working years, first. Then you can die.
onedyedbread@reddit
Probably true that pauperization is the main goal, although if it was "only" that, they would not mass- deport perfectly precarized labour right now. Racism is a huge component and it's not all explained by top-down class war. It's way too irrational.
It's ethnic cleansing by proxy and they don't give a shit about "collateral damage" among "white trash" either. But yeah, they're obviously expecting poor white kids (literally) to pick up the slack in the fields and slaughterhouses afterwards.
Ne0n_Dystopia@reddit
Luxury? In many places it is a necessity, unless you enjoy heat stroke.
AlexMC69@reddit
Less developed societies have lived in similar conditions with no AC throughout history, it's hardly a necessity.
goda90@reddit
Definitely not a 1 to 1 comparison. Those societies had many adaptations to the heat. They probably wore less clothing. They built their structures to be well ventilated and away from direct sunlight. They'd avoid doing much during the hottest parts of the day, maybe even finding naturally cooler places like caves and near water. Not to mention greater physical fitness and being adapted to the heat their entire lives. Remember that it's much harder in humid climates to keep cool as well, so the adaptations differ based on location.
How many of those things can we easily institute in a short timescale for the majority of our society?
nohopeforhomosapiens@reddit
Why is your entire comment in past-tense?
People around the world often live in more dangerous climates than the majority of the US and without air conditioning, sometimes without electricity at all. They might be miserable but they aren't regularly dying of heat stroke. Many people in parts of India are at far greater risk but still don't have AC.
Ne0n_Dystopia@reddit
You are greatly overestimating human adaptability and underestimating the need for tech at scale to move water and provide cooling. Not to mention a warmer world than at any period in human history.
Sea_Sheepherder_2234@reddit
Every basic is the new luxury
ScientistUnhappy2072@reddit
never remembered a day where a fan wasn't enough nowadays fans arent enough.
redditmodsRrussians@reddit
HVAC systems will only get more and more expensive as the Fanta Menace continues his reign of tariff terrors. Add in houses that are poorly constructed with extremely low R value materials so that it virtually blocks no heat and is unable to hold cool air in. Its not just poor Americans getting fucked as many middle income and retired Americans will probably get turbo fucked by electric bills by running their AC into the ground in those poorly constructed builder grade dogshit $1 Million dollar homes.
ontrack@reddit
Electricity is getting more expensive as well and that trend seems likely to continue
redditmodsRrussians@reddit
Even rich are gonna feel it. The people who own 8-12k sq ft monstrosities are usually still getting dogshit builds and ive seen a lot of them. The power consumption on those homes is hideous. To properly insulate the walls and cover it with good ceramic tiles or stone would cost 1.5-2 times the original purchase price of the homes so I dont think America at large truly appreciates the magnitude of the temperature feedback loop problem.
ontrack@reddit
I think I saw somewhere that average new house square footage has actually declined in the past few years. Wouldn't be surprised if that trend continues because of spiraling costs.
Also, interesting username.
fishboy3339@reddit
My house was built in 91 and oddly one of the features was “energy saving” model built with less windows.
It’s been reasonably efficient.
Added solar when we bought it and it’s produced 67MWh and we have a bank of 19MWh. Also added good thermal curtains.
theCaitiff@reddit
You have 19 MWh of batteries? Jesus fuck my dude you're sitting on a bomb.If one of those cells cooks itself and the heat causes its neighbors to cook, you'll destroy the whole damn block. Stored energy is stored energy, so nineteen megawatt hours of stored energy is equivalent to about sixteen tons of TNT.
Did you perhaps mean kilowatt hours?
fishboy3339@reddit
No, the utility company “banks” the energy I produce that I don’t use myself.
It’s basically a future credit
milkshakeconspiracy@reddit
They meant 19kwh. Mwh is on the scale of utilities and factories. That many batteries would literally take up the entire home volume.
Salt-Analysis1319@reddit
and a lot of those McMansion rich types have absolutely zero foresight about the need for solar / battery storage to give their properties resilience from outages. all that money and no taste or common sense
Salt-Analysis1319@reddit
the rich are building their own mini-grids with wind and solar. the smart ones will have all of their own properties operating completely off-grid with onsite solar and battery storage if they don't already
rematar@reddit
I think your estimate is pretty extreme.
https://homeguide.com/costs/wall-insulation-cost
Building a passive house only adds 4-8% to the cost.
I have never heard of stone or ceramic being used for R-value.
NyriasNeo@reddit
"Even rich are gonna feel it."
Define rich. My house electricity bill is something like $200. If I have $10M (is that rich by your definition), or a "merely" $5M, whether the bill is $200, $500, or $1000 a month would not matter to me at all.
In fact, crunch the math. Even a $1000 electricity bill is only $12k a year. Someone with $5M probably will blow more money on fine dinning a year. A typical return is 7% (that is a mix of the stock markets and safer bonds ... if you only invest in stocks, you get more). 7% of $5M is $350k ... just free money to spend, even not counting any income.
Don't tell me you think those making $100k a year is "rich".
endadaroad@reddit
If you look at federal statistics, $100k is median income, so, no $100k is not rich. But with good credit, they can pretend they are rich.
kelly1mm@reddit
The median household income in the US is 2025 is estimated at $78,171, not '$100k'.
endadaroad@reddit
My bad - thank you.
ApesAPoppin237@reddit
I don't think people making $100k a year are buying 12,000 sq ft houses
Luc-@reddit
More wealth than most
endadaroad@reddit
I live in a high desert area where I can get all the cold air I need by opening windows or turning on a fan at night. I close it up when the sun comes up. I built my house inside of a steel building. I poured a 7" concrete slab on top of 2" of insulation, then insulated the shell to R60+. I built a small house freestanding inside the shell which is further insulated to R20. I can keep the slab between 67F and 72F degrees year around just using the sun in the winter and the night sky during the summer. Winters can drop well below 0F and this summer has been in the high 80s during the day and 40s or 50s at night. I designed my home for comfort and it stays comfortable. During the winter, I can keep the living area in the high 70s just using waste heat from the refrigerator. I look around and see houses going up every day with totally inadequate insulation, but they do have a large electrical connection and a huge propane tank in the yard. The key is to balance thermal mass with insulation.
Barbarake@reddit
But somehow I can't feel too bad for them.
Salt-Analysis1319@reddit
tech giants: this is a great time to invest trillions into power and water hungry data centers! AI is clearly more deserving of these resources than humans
Brendan__Fraser@reddit
The only thing this country is building is data centers. They're being crammed everywhere because it's a money maker for developers. Electricity costs are going to get much, much worse.
KieferSutherland@reddit
And we're cancelling solar.
aznoone@reddit
Isn't it planned to also do away with the rebates for more efficient heating and cooling we also uping your insulation.
dresden_k@reddit
It's going to be really weird to see refugees from within our own countries. Houston, for example, is going to have to clear out of there without AC.
karabeckian@reddit
Residential AC guys are worse than used car dealers now.
And if you can find an honest one, AI data centers are raising the electricity rates nationwide.
Too_Relaxed_To_Care@reddit
Then they should be building those AI centers underground where the temperature is stable
Rich_Tear7479@reddit
Cooling is a minor part of their power reqs, feeding the GPUs is rhe expensive part
Carbonatite@reddit
There's no way I could afford installing central AC in my house. It means that the portable AC unit in my upstairs keeps it to a balmy 80 degrees on hot days, and I can keep it in the mid to high 70s downstairs because of having less windows and thicker walls/more insulation.
Not especially comfortable, but tolerable for my dog and I and it won't cost me as much as a sensible used sedan. My energy bill still skyrockets in the summer though, June-August are over $200/month. In the winter it's like $150/month, in spring and fall it's less than $100.
Impressive_fruit94@reddit
Tired of this dystopia man
karabeckian@reddit
Man, have I got some bad news for you!
Coolenough-to@reddit
I had a $1500 AC repair become $9000 because of new Environmental regulations that made it impossible to simply replace the broken component. I had to put in a whole new system instead.
Those complaining here are the cause of the problem.
J-A-S-08@reddit
LOL, you got scammed. Bet you anything you had an R22 system, or maybe even 410 and the tech told you the refrigerant is illegal/no longer manufactured/ etc and you had to go with a new system using "legal" refrigerant?
Coolenough-to@reddit
You can look up the 2024 cut off and see you are wrong. Im not talking about just the coolant.
J-A-S-08@reddit
What 2024 cutoff?
Coolenough-to@reddit
Google AI: "it is illegal to install a new air conditioning condenser that uses R-22 refrigerant because the United States banned the production and import of R-22 in January 2020. While continuing to use and repair existing R-22 systems is permitted, you cannot install a new unit that relies on this ozone-depleting substance."
You can't just add a condensor that uses the new refrigerant, so you have to add a whole new system.
They still allowed installation of the older units through 2023 for some reason. I needed a new condenser in 2024.
Sumnerr@reddit
You got taken for a ride and (A)I can see why. Try using your brain next time or stop making up stories about fake repairs.
aznoone@reddit
They are allowed to repair and old system. Just manufacturers may have stoped making parts as get more money for a new system. Repairing is ok and they even have some substitute restaurants that can be less. But some installers and manufacturing see dollar signs pushing ne units. R22 is gone but has some substitutes. R410 can still be made for repairs just tapers off over time.
TheDuke100@reddit
It’s rising rates from liberal green energy policies.
thekbob@reddit
Wonder why it's the red states dominated on this list.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/14/trump-tax-bill-energy-republican-states
Note that utility rate are set by local PUC equivalents at the state and/or regional level. And that solar and wind have a lower total $/kWh cost than most forms of fossil energy.
Gregar12@reddit
Underground, below the frost lines, temperatures are stable. There is no need for air conditioning.
Those who figure this out will survive for a while longer than most.
Those who do it AND stay hidden will survive longer.
thekbob@reddit
Basement Dwellers Unite*!
*Some day, in theory, when we're ready to leave the darkness....
Key_Pace_2496@reddit
And yet nearly 90% of American households have an air conditioner of some kind in it.
01000101010110@reddit
People will shit their pants at how much replacing a system costs these days.
Pink_Lotus@reddit
I literally just had to have an AC unit repaired today. One part blew up and burned, shorting out another part. The first part wasn't necessary to overall function and cost $1100 to replace. The second part was necessary and cost $500. I only replaced the second one. When I asked the technician went this happened, he shrugged and pointed out the units have around a fifteen year life span and we were approaching that. Plus, the heat the last few years has been excessive. Given how many people can't come up with $500 on short notice, I'm guessing a lot of units go unrepaired.
Psychological-Sport1@reddit
the warehouse I worked in in 1989 we made tower pc’s here in Vancouver bc in the late 1990’s and the landlord told the company that he was not going to fix it and the company had to come up with $27,000 canadian to fix it, so they did, but these commercial AC units in warehouses and stores are cheaply made these days and the heat exchangers corrode out etc…used to be that in the old days the copper pipes were actual copper pipes but nowadays are just copper sheets pressed (molded) together and probably fail much earlier then equipment made in the 1950’s and 1960’s
J-A-S-08@reddit
Got any more info on what parts you needed to replace were?
I'm an HVAC tech and I can't think of a single thing on an AC that ISN'T necessary for it to operate. Something seems fishy.
Pink_Lotus@reddit
I don't know what it was called, only that is was a long cylinder that had turned black from the fire. He said it helped make the unit more efficient, especially when it kicks on.
J-A-S-08@reddit
Something like this?
Pink_Lotus@reddit
Email receipt has a picture of the part that burned that we didn't replace.
J-A-S-08@reddit
OK. It's THIS. $1100 for that IS A FUCKING RIP OFF!! The $500 for the dual run is not out of the realm of reasonable depending on where in the country you are. But holy shit, that's INSANE for a hard start kit. Broski was trying HARD for that new sale bonus.
Pink_Lotus@reddit
Hahaha! Well now I'm glad I said no. Is it hard to install or worth it?
J-A-S-08@reddit
Well, to me, no it's not hard to install. It's just 2 wires and it hooks to to the C and H terminals on the dual run. HERE'S a youtube vid on it. Just make sure the power is off and when the power is off, use a screw driver to short the terminals on the dual run cap as they can hold a charge after power is off. They can help older compressors get started so it MIGHT be worth it. Can't really tell you for sure though.
Pink_Lotus@reddit
I usually try to repair most of our appliances myself, but the AC unit was a bit intimidating. I could probably do that, but since I'm hoping to be out of here before the heat truly starts, I'll leave it. Thank you for your help. I'm usually leery of jumping straight to the repair guy but I was tired of it being 80 in the house at night. I might ask around about using a different company next time.
Pink_Lotus@reddit
A 355, but yes, exactly. Now I'm slightly pissed.
J-A-S-08@reddit
Not sure where you live but, these days, $500 for a capacitor IS high, but it's not as bad as I've seen. There's a lot of overhead in running a mobile service business. It's not like a car repair place where you bring it to them. I switched from residential to commercial about 6 years ago, but even back then, we were charging $450 for a cap. It WAS a much better cap( made in US, 5 year warranty), but still, not a small chunk of change. This is in Portland, OR.
Pink_Lotus@reddit
Boise. We're moving to your area or further north in part to escape the heat, hence why I didn't bother replacing the second part.
Animster@reddit
I hope you know i read this thread and internally clapped bc youre kind of awesome here
Massive_Ad_7812@reddit
I think air conditioning is ubiquitous these days which I agree with. But they don’t last forever and it’s the fixing of broken air conditioning where people get absolutely owned, as it can be very expensive
TopSloth@reddit
I mean those cheap window acs or tower acs can be bought used for less then 100$ in a ton of places so right now it's not even very expensive
CarmenxXxWaldo@reddit
And they cost 100 a month in electricity.
TopSloth@reddit
Yeah the electric costs are no joke
IGnuGnat@reddit
I spent a fair bit on a Fujitsu mini split; we only used it for AC. (I really like the heat from a hot water radiator system). It came with a seven year warranty.
It failed at seven years and six months. Everyone agreed it was a copper coil that had failed. The quote for the replacement copper coil from Fujitsu came in at $8000 CAD. So, I paid the HVAC techs $1,500 to break down that piece of junk and haul it away, and went back to window ACs. I don't need to pay an HVAC tech to tell me that the window AC is disposable technology, and I don't need to pay an HVAC tech to take it out of the window and haul it to the dump. Yes my AC power bills will be higher
I will never buy one central unit again, the whole house lost AC at the same time
HerefortheTuna@reddit
I’ve never lived in a house with central A/C. The last 6+ years I’ve lived in various apartments and now a house with a few hand me down window units.
In June, July and August I used about $100+ a month over my baseline usage- been running 3 window units nonstop at about ~74 degrees through these heatwaves.
Last summer I ran only 1 A/C and my solar had excess capacity
kowycz@reddit
Dont rule out operating them as the cost of electricity continues to climb.
LastCivStanding@reddit
I have a small house with window ac. I've been creating an office on the north side of my house and I'm adding insulated curtains to reduce area. I find the new ac's work pretty efficiently by cycling on/off over 2-5 minutes if the thermostat is set high enough. if outside temp is less than 96F I set the ac at 82 or 84F. I let the ac blow directly on me so temp is 70f . I found that instead of 500 watt i'm averaging about 200watt. this summer my electric bill has been under 100$ monthly, despite higher electric costs. this fall I'm probably getting a new frig, according to the numbers i'm finding it will pay for itself in about 5years.
sundancer2788@reddit
I have window units and they only go on if it's above 88 and humid, winter the heat is set at 65 and there's blankets.
NyriasNeo@reddit
"That can lead to households having to juggle when to turn on AC, if they have it"
From google, "According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), 88% of U.S. households used air conditioning in 2020, with nearly 90% using some form of AC by 2022"
So about 10% do not have it. If a quarter (25%) are energy insecure, and assume they are also the ones who do not have AC, the 15% have AC but have problems paying to run them.
EpicMichaelFreeman@reddit
Just die already
SmokedUp_Corgi@reddit
I’m so glad I got mini splits put in.
jamesegattis@reddit
I was a kid in the 70's. I only knew a few families that had an AC. We had it at school but they didn't turn it on. ( school was out over summer anyway ) but the only places that had it were stores, theaters etc.. We did have fans but that's it. No AC in our car either. This was in South Georgia so very humid and hot. I can say that construction on apartments and new houses is terrible now. Our house was all brick. Anyway we survived like our ancestors did for 10's of thousands of years.
Solo_Camping_Girl@reddit
Oh yes, airconditioning is that one item I consider as a luxury and a necessity, and I live in a tropical country, we need it nearly all year round. Back then during the early 2000's we would only use the AC during the summer months. Nowadays and in the past 2 years, we began using it nearly all year round, even in periods when we would sleep with our electric fans switched off.
We have a homeless neighbor who was given a shack to live in but would watch over a vacant lot in exchange. Squatters have too much rights in my country and social support systems are defunct. He literally lives without electricity, imagine that in heatwave conditions and in wet bulb events, all while in an uninsulated shanty of a home.
I'm not trying to divert the topic off of the Americans, I'm just trying to put things into perspective. Take care of those electric fans, they're a lifesaver. Go solar. Look up passive cooling techniques and adapt your lifestyle to the situation.
StatementBot@reddit
The following submission statement was provided by /u/Portalrules123:
SS: Related to climate collapse and also a collapse of energy security in the US as that nation’s (already quite strong) class divide is becoming ever more pronounced over the ability to consistently afford air conditioning as heatwaves become stronger and longer with climate change. Over 30 million American households were in at least a partial state of energy insecurity a few years ago, making up around a quarter of the total. This is especially dire for youth and the elderly in southern states who are more at risk from the heat. Extreme heat can be a cause of death both directly and indirectly by worsening other health conditions, and it kills more Americans than any other kind of extreme weather each year. Having such a large portion of your population often having to choose between eating and having a safe temperature in the home is not ideal, and we can expect a lot of less well off people to continue dying as climate chaos accelerates.
Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/collapse/comments/1n1ui18/why_cool_air_is_becoming_a_luxury_many_americans/nb10d8f/
Portalrules123@reddit (OP)
SS: Related to climate collapse and also a collapse of energy security in the US as that nation’s (already quite strong) class divide is becoming ever more pronounced over the ability to consistently afford air conditioning as heatwaves become stronger and longer with climate change. Over 30 million American households were in at least a partial state of energy insecurity a few years ago, making up around a quarter of the total. This is especially dire for youth and the elderly in southern states who are more at risk from the heat. Extreme heat can be a cause of death both directly and indirectly by worsening other health conditions, and it kills more Americans than any other kind of extreme weather each year. Having such a large portion of your population often having to choose between eating and having a safe temperature in the home is not ideal, and we can expect a lot of less well off people to continue dying as climate chaos accelerates.