SAN ANTONIO -- Mike Casey, a lawyer and native San Antonian, has lived without central air conditioning for nearly 30 years. By choice.(from KSAT-12. Video here.)
"I'm not uncomfortable, I'm not a martyr," said Casey. "If I were uncomfortable I would put an air conditioner in."
His home in the King William area was built in 1895, long before home cooling systems went beyond a hand fan. When he purchased the home in 1980, he installed ceiling fans in every room, but never thought twice about installing a big system. He almost always has a cool drink in his hand as one way to battle the heat. Monday afternoon, it was 90 degrees inside his home, which relies on mostly natural lighting through large windows during the day. Even in a button-down dress shirt, pants and a bow tie, Casey didn't break a sweat.
"This is Texas. This is the way it's going to be," said Casey.
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His friends almost always introduce him as the guy that doesn't have an air conditioner, a trait he doesn't mind, especially in the summertime. When most people's summer electric bills average at least a few hundred dollars, his just tips the $100 mark. He thinks it'd be even lower if he stopped running the electric pump in his backyard water fountain.
Hey, I grew up in a house without air conditioning. You can survive, but it's not very comfortable in the middle of a South Texas summer, and I have memories of sleeping with just a sheet on and a box fan running in the window. They're not very fond memories, though. I like my A/C just fine.
2 comments:
I'm living without central a/c now, and believe me if I had a choice I wouldn't. The five people (and two cats) in my family spend most of the day camping out in the one room that has a good window unit, but at night I have to sleep in my room with nothing but a fan. I haven't gotten a good night's sleep since May.
When we lived in Italy, there was no A/C in the villa. We didn't live in the cool European part of Italy, but rather in the south with a climate like Texas. I'll never forget coming home from work one day and my wife had all the shutters closed, had just run a cool mop over the tile floors and laid a sheet down. Her and my son were laying down to stay cool. It was 114 degrees outside.
Good times.
Not.
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