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If you don’t already know, I live in Ireland, not exactly a country you’d associate with scorching heat. Because of this, Irish homes have never needed air conditioning, and mine is no different. Air conditioning in an Irish home is still something of a novelty.
The problem is, mother nature is slowly changing the rules. It’s still cloudy and mild more often than sunny and warm, but heat is creeping into our summers, and not the pleasant kind. It’s the humid, muggy variety that really makes itself felt at night, and increasingly we’re getting three or four weeks a year where sleeping becomes genuinely difficult.
So a question has been slowly creeping into my mind, one that would have seemed laughable, borderline ridiculous, even ten years ago: should we install air conditioning? In our Irish home. In Ireland. I felt that was worth repeating.
I’ve even gone as far as getting quotes from two contractors. I should point out they were both genuinely bemused; it was a domestic installation rather than commercial. A split system, outside condenser, wall-mounted units in the upstairs bedrooms where the heat is worst. The downstairs living spaces stay cool enough on their own, so it’s really a problem of nights and bedrooms.
And this is where we hit the problem, $9,995 worth of problems, to be precise. It’s a lot of money to spend solving what is, at its core, a three-week-a-year inconvenience. It’s back on my radar right now because we’ve had nearly a week of muggy, sleepless nights, but I know exactly what will happen. The clouds will roll in off the Atlantic, the temperature will drop, and suddenly $9,995 will seem like a lot of money again.
The urgency fades. But it never quite goes away. Maybe it comes down to where I am in life. I’m retired now, and frugality isn’t just a habit, it’s practically a personality trait at this point.
Every time I run the numbers, the same question stops me: what’s a reasonable amount of money to spend solving a three-week problem? I haven’t found a satisfying answer yet. But then another sticky night rolls around, and I start doing the math all over again.
And if I ever do pull the trigger, I’ll join the rarefied ranks of Irish homes with air conditioning. Maybe that’s reason enough to drop $10,000, the bragging rights would be mighty. But my pondering also has a deeper point. I never considered the cost of climate change adaptation in my retirement spending assumptions.
The question has to be asked: what else have I missed? It’s a reminder to us all that going into retirement with the bare minimum of a safety margin is not for the fainthearted. A deep reserve to offset future surprises is still the best bet for sleeping well at night… unless you happen to have no air conditioning, that is.
I was so worried about Mark overspending on AC, that I totally ignored the larger point about trying to plan for unexpected costs. A shout out to Andrew for pointing this discussion in the proper direction.
Unforeseen expenses are the reason why I am not a ‘die with zero’ advocate. Seems to me like it’s not enough to have emergency money, you also need to have excess cash flow that enables you to refill that bucket if it ever empties.
Leave it up to a Clements to cut to the quip 😁
Having a plan to refill that shock-absorbing emergency fund is definitely a major key to a worry-free retirement. That’s probably why the bucket strategy is so popular—it hands you a ready-made, easy-to-follow set of instructions for doing exactly that.
On the AC front, my heart is gladdened by your concern… in fact, I’m opening my little blue book entitled “People I Like” and entering your name… provisionally, in pencil, mind you. Ink is normally reserved for those who bring me snacks, and I still haven’t figured out how to update the system for this new-fangled internet thingy.
Mark, correct on your view on the bucket strategy, BUT to me even more important is the fact that I know that I can weather a ten year market swoon without touching my equity position. Though of course I never hope to witness that again in my lifetime.
Mark, you have made my day. Remember the movie, The Jerk? I feel a bit like Steve Martin, upon seeing his name in the phone book; “I’m somebody now”! Even if you did use a pencil.
Mark, another thoughtful piece. What struck me wasn’t the question of air conditioning so much as the reminder that retirement planning can never account for every future expense. Twenty years ago, who in Ireland would have budgeted for home A/C? Just as few of us anticipated rising insurance costs, new technologies, or unexpected healthcare expenses, climate adaptation is becoming another line item. It’s a good argument for building flexibility into our plans rather than aiming for mathematical precision. And on a personal note, as someone living in Florida, I’d happily trade you a few weeks of muggy nights for our six months of heat and humidity!
Andrew, I’m glad you caught the main point of the article — unfortunately I buried it too deeply, and it got missed because I harped on about the aircon so much. I’ve a habit of talking around the point instead of getting to it, definitely an Irish problem lol. As for the trade, that’s a hard pass! I’ve mitigated the problem by decamping to our coastal home for the rest of the summer… the north Atlantic breeze shall keep me cool.
It’s a shorter trip to the Moray Coast where it’s been lovely through the heat wave. Windy today but still beautiful – and no problem for an Irishman.
We were just saying the other day that even if we were to settle in a climate like the one here, or yours, that we would at least have AC in the bedroom.
I’m also glad Andrew picked up on your main point; I confess I missed it as well.
As my grandmother aged, she kept her house at about 90 degrees. Maybe your just not old enough to appreciate what you’ve got yet! Also is this the lake house you mentioned? If not… go there for 3 weeks!
That’s spooky — would you believe we’re actually in the middle of packing up to do exactly that right now! We head to the coastal house this Wednesday and we’re planning to stay through to the end of September.
I am traveling and dont have time to cut and paste etc, however, while downloading articles to read on the plane i noticed that The Atlantic has two articles on AC, for those with access.
I’m sure you considered this but what about a dehumidifier and a fan?
Truthfully? I haven’t. I did try an internet tip—positioning a bowl of ice right in front of a fan—but it hasn’t made much of a difference.
Mark, I strongly endorse the suggestions below of window air conditioners. Relatively inexpensive, fairly easy to install if you’re handy, no plumbing, just plug ’em in. (You’ll probably have to replace them every couple of years.)
It does get hotter in Seattle than I expected. My wife, MIL and SIL don’t like our central air… complain they are always cold. I consider sleeping in a cool room to be vital for my health, so I had a small AC installed in the bedroom window for about $400, labor included. Debate over and problem solved.
Mark, for 3 weeks a year, I would simply buy a few window rattlers to cool a bedroom or two, and for more luxury a unit for a living room/family room. We live in an area that until 15 years ago only needed AC a few weeks a year, and even then, generally would cool down at night. The window AC units were a good intermediate solution at a modest cost. We did finally install central AC 8 years ago, and it’s nice to have cool air throughout the house. For us, it wasn’t so much the temps, but the humidity- especially at night.
They make really good window air conditioners these days that are more quieter and efficient than the old ones. I would think that might be the best solution. I grew up in Eugene, Oregon in a home built in the 1950s without air conditioning. You need it there now. When I was young, we would run fans in the house at night. Now I live in the Deep South with the A/C running almost constantly right now. Awful. 🥵
Bill, that’s exactly it — the humidity. Irish summers used to be bearable because the nights cooled down nicely, but apparently warmer air holds more moisture, so as temperatures rise due to climate change, the humidity rises with it. The nights just don’t give you the relief they used to.
There is a train of thought, coming from serious thinkers, that a reason, or one of the reasons, the EU has not kept pace with the US in terms of productivity and economic growth, is the lack of AC in Europe.
Mark, great factoid! I did a bit of googling and found some corroborating evidence: when AC became widespread in the US during the 1950s and 60s, a study found that federal employees’ productivity rose by 24% after moving to air-conditioned offices. At that rate, I might finally get the housework done 😉
We have the opposite problem here in Florida, three weeks a year when we don’t use the AC.
Same. I live inland in Northern California with pretty intense summer heat. A/C here is considered as standard as indoor plumbing.
Indeed! A “cool” winter in Key West delivered those three weeks without the units humming away. Rather a different story right now!
Have you considered a heat pump that would air condition in summer and heat in winter? Depending on your source of winter heat, you might recoup some of the installation costs over time in savings due to greater efficiency. You might also qualify for a rebate, too.
Jo Bo, I’ve looked into both air source and ground source heat pumps and I’m aware of the grants available. My main concern is the capex — it’s probably more expensive than air conditioning upfront. Because heat pumps run at a lower temperature than a traditional wet heating system, you have to rip out all the radiators and replace them with larger ones to compensate for the lower output. That said, it’s an impressive dual-purpose technology that almost seems to conjure heat from thin air — my brother-in-law has it in his new build and is very happy with it.
Apart from cost, one could consider a ceiling mounted heat pump and leave the radiators in place. Having a back-up heating system would seem a plus.
I think you should spend the $10,000. Older people are very susceptible to heat related problems. Plus the misery of hot and humid is awful. We have a summer house on a lake in the mountains of New York State. In the past, we never had a heat problem, but the past few years have been a time when a/c has been necessary . I’ve come to view cooling as essential as heating. The climate isn’t likely to get better. Might as well enjoy the cool sooner than later.
I’ll add to that: (a) sleep is important for good health and (b) cooler temperatures in one’s bedroom are better for good sleep.
Growing up in NH in the 60s I never thought I would have air conditioning. A few weeks of running box fans was sufficient. Two years ago when my 102 year old mother in law moved in we finally decided to have it installed. We had the furnace prepped when we built in order to be halfway to installation. AC is wonderful to someone like me who does not tolerate heat. We will never leave New England because of that.
Marilyn, we’re lucky with our vacation home — being on the coast, even in muggy weather the temperature is always more bearable than at our inland place. And I do agree that air conditioning is just as essential as heating in warm climates. When you think about it, if I lived somewhere tropical that had four weeks of freezing weather a year, I’d have heating sorted pretty sharpish!
A couple of window units would be perfect, but I know most Irish homes have windows that are designed to keep the rain out when open, and are not the US-style sash windows that open vertically.
If you search for “portable ac units Ireland” you’ll see standalone units for under a thousand euros. That’s probably the best option.
David, the windows are designed to keep the rain out — but more fundamentally, the whole house is designed to retain heat, which is now the biggest problem in summer.
Mark, I’d consider going with a portable unit. Something similar to an LG DUALCOOL® 12,000 BTU, ThinQ®
There are even cheaper options that install in a window.
Dan, that’s the type of setup I’m looking at—an outdoor compressor but four internal wall-mounted units instead of one for the cooling. I have to question my own reluctance to spend the money when you consider: my portfolio can swing by more than that in a normal week without costing me a single extra gray hair!
Houses are money pits; we just signed a $5000+ contract for the repair of about 10 feet of a retaining wall at our house in WI. The plumber just left the NY house after getting the order for a new toilet, AND, if we can be worked in, sanding and re-staining two sides of this place should be another $10,000. You now live in a warmer climate. It’s not about 3 weeks a year anymore. The US press is running many articles about the European heat waves. It seems more than likely they will become more frequent and longer. The a/c is becoming necessary for you!
We had an electrician round today. We had a full rewire done 15 years ago and it’s been fine until recently — but over the last six months the switches have been dropping out one by one, so we’ve decided to get them all replaced at once rather than having the spark on speed dial.
Ditto. We lived with window A/C for many years as a child. Correctly placed and with some fans to move air into other further locations. Worked well in humid south until we eventually got a heatpump for the whole house. Only mod we had to do was install a properly sized electrical outlet for the unit. Power bills could be eye watering in heat of summer but it beat sweating while trying to sleep. Well built units should last 4-8 years be sure to winterize. Science says these thermals will continue and escalate.
G Mzz, my thoughts mirror yours. I can’t see the trend toward warmer conditions reversing anytime soon — we seem collectively incapable of changing course on the environment.
I would expect the current environmental warming trends to reverse in 4-5 thousand years. After mankind is gone.
How about a good portable unit for US $500? It should work fine for your case.
Hung, a few friends of mine have gone down the portable AC route. Effective as they are, the consistent complaint is the noise — and as a light sleeper, the constant hum of an internal compressor would be almost as unbearable as the humidity itself.
The noise is thoroughly aggravating, Mark… but worth it when it’s 25 degrees C at 2AM. A small price to pay for not waking up in a pool of sweat. Argh.
Mike, tell me about it! I gave up on sleep at 3am last night, went outside hoping for a breeze, and our wall thermometer was reading 71° — and the bedroom was even warmer. At that point, outside was the better option!