The weather in my local area is cold and snowy for the majority of the year.
We typically start up the furnace sometime in September.
We keep the heater running until at least April. It’s not unusual for us to have a snowstorm on Easter Sunday. I’ve already needed to shovel snow out of the driveway on Mother’s Day. We can even experience a hard frost in June. We wait a very long time for warm, sunny weather. When it finally arrives, I’m anxious to shut off the furnace and avoid huge energy bills for a little while. I can’t wait to open all the windows and air out the house. The fresh breeze helps to eliminate the dust, odors and other allergens that have been trapped inside for months and months. My whole family spends as much time outside as possible. There is no reason for me to invest in a central air conditioner. The summer season is very short and the temperature is unpredictable. Some years, we get a steady supply of chilly temperatures and rain. However, there are those summers when the heat and humidity are unbearable. For our purposes, window air conditioners and box fans suffice. By taking advantage of sales and rebates, I was able to get a great price on good quality window cooling units. The air conditioners are compact, lightweight and very easily installed. I store them in the attic during fall and winter months. As the outside conditions start to heat up, I simply place the air conditioners into the brackets installed within the window frame and plug them in. They are powerful enough to maintain a very comfortable temperature in a larger room. The air conditioners operate quietly, require very little upkeep and work to filter our air contaminants.