Central Air houses in this area (Seattle, Tacoma: apartments, HOA, mortgage) - Washington (WA) -Seattle and King County Suburbs - City-Data Forum

ElektroDragon · 04-20-2009, 07:09 PM

I know the summers around here are not that bad. But, last summer I was just dying in my apartment in Kirkland and had buy a portable AC unit and move it from room to room. Therefore, I was wondering why in all my house hunting I only found TWO houses that had central air built in?

In my new house purchase deal, I am adding $6000 to the purchase price to get central AC put in. I work from home and like to use lots of electronics to boot. Was I smart, or just wasting money?

tobester · 04-20-2009, 07:31 PM

IMHO wasting money ... less than 10 days a year would something like that be needed. I work from home. Have many computers, electronics .... no problem at all. That's why you don't find houses with AC in the first place ... not needed.

MaikeerinWA · 04-20-2009, 08:29 PM

There have been other threads on this topic, and a lot of people without AC will tell you that it's not necessary. To each his or her own, and our comfort levels are all different. But I think we paid about $5,000 a few years ago with our new home and we certainly have never regretted it. Not sure how many days we used it last summer, but it was definitely more than 10.

If you decide that you want AC, financing it as part of a long-term mortgage is actually not a bad deal, compared to coming up with a cash outlay.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ElektroDragon

I know the summers around here are not that bad. But, last summer I was just dying in my apartment in Kirkland and had buy a portable AC unit and move it from room to room. Therefore, I was wondering why in all my house hunting I only found TWO houses that had central air built in?

In my new house purchase deal, I am adding $6000 to the purchase price to get central AC put in. I work from home and like to use lots of electronics to boot. Was I smart, or just wasting money?

Redline · 04-20-2009, 10:39 PM

If you can afford I would just get it. Otherwise you'll just curse yourself for not getting one on those days where you are boiling in your house. I would get one in a heartbeat if it wasn't for our idiotic HOA.

ElektroDragon · 04-20-2009, 10:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Redline

If you can afford I would just get it. Otherwise you'll just curse yourself for not getting one on those days where you are boiling in your house. I would get one in a heartbeat if it wasn't for our idiotic HOA.

And the HOA is another reason to get it now. If the homebuilder puts it in the bloody HOA can't say no to it later complaining about looks, noise, or whatever rubbish HOAs come up with. I've never had an HOA before now. My old house lacked one back East. NOT looking forward to the experience, but almost impossible to avoid around here. I'm probably going to vote at every meeting to dissolve the darned thing.

jenlion · 04-20-2009, 11:07 PM

I'm happy with ours. To replace our furnace and add the outdoor heat pump (electric heat / AC) it was around $7k. I'm in allergy hell at the moment -- living the "your second year someplace is worst for allergies" saying -- and keeping the windows open isn't a good idea. It was up to 76 in my house the past couple days, so I bumped it back down to 72. yay! Stuffy 76 isn't a big deal, but it's a teensy prelude to what happens during the summer.

And, it seems not unreasonable to believe that it might become warmer, on average, in future years. Might as well just put the thing in and enjoy it now. :-)

I didn't realize HOAs were so prevelent up here. If there's one in my neighborhood, I don't know about it, didn't see references in the housing paperwork. Nobody's griped about the outdoor unit, but I do cringe when it runs. Even though we got a model that was supposed to be quieter than the cheapest ones, it still seems VERY loud. Even with windows shut. Ugh.

eskercurve · 04-21-2009, 12:35 AM

I have a powerful fan which is called the King of Fans. It is quite that, at the lowest setting it cools down my apartment quite well!

For a house in the Pac NW, I'd be tempted to say you're wasting your money. However if you have severe allergies I'd recommend getting a central fan unit with a HEPA filter instead of a central AC.

On a related note, I tell my out of town friends and relatives that I don't have AC in my place and very few places do and they give me a blank stare or an incredulous "How do people LIVE up there???" Novelty hasn't worn off yet, lol.

Heiwos · 04-21-2009, 01:36 AM

Whether AC is warranted depends in large part on the house. My last house was on the side of a forested hill, such that cool air flowed down the hill--just leave windows open. Houses in lots of shade (more common on the Eastside) probably don't need A/C. If the house has a basement, it's a pretty constant 60 degrees there in the summer. I have a basement now, so when I get home I open windows upstairs and hang out downstairs until the upstairs has cooled, about half an hour. I would think for most Seattle area houses, a better choice than AC would be a whole-house fan, that simply blows out the hot air. These come in solar-powered versions, so when there's enough sun to make the house uncomfortable, there's enough sunlight to power the fan.

sofia76 · 04-21-2009, 06:53 AM

A lot of people say A/C is unnecessary in the house here in the PNW. I would agree it isn't necessary, but most of these people are probably spending most of their daylight hours in air conditioned workplaces.

I became a stay at home mom last year and had NO IDEA how warm it really was in the summers here. I live in a tall house that has southern exposure and no large shade trees, so keep in mind - as someone else mentioned - the location of the house. My husband works from home and he starts to melt at 76 degrees ... our room A/C unit in the office saved our lives last year, esp. when i was pregnant.

If you work from home, and keeping cool is important to you, the A/C will not be wasted. I do hate the sound of the condensers ... our neighbors have central air and I can hear it humming all night long when it's not even hot (ugh)! But they probably hear my baby screaming in the middle of the night. Welcome to life on earth!

dpgtfc · 04-21-2009, 07:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jenlion

It was up to 76 in my house the past couple days, so I bumped it back down to 72. yay! Stuffy 76 isn't a big deal, but it's a teensy prelude to what happens during the summer.

75 is perfect for me if I'm not moving around a lot, but around here we are told to set our AC at 76 or 78 for savings. Anything above 80 and I prefer AC. The apartments around Tacoma look like they don't have AC at all, at least it isn't listed as an Amenity.