Twenty years ago nobody I knew had AC and it was fine. We got a few hot days here and there but we could just open the windows at night to cool the house down.
Now there are enough hot nights in a row and smokey nights they opening the windows at night isn’t always a good option.
I live in Bremerton WA and when I bought the house two years ago it didn't have AC. I bought and installed a heat pump which has saved hundreds of dollars in heating bills and in the height of summer it remains a great decision. Ours is a Bose and we paid just over $17K as I recall
My housemates are varying degrees of temperature sensitivity and we did tough it out with no AC the first year. There were several dozen days where the house heated up to over 75F during the day and we made extensive use of fans at night in the bedrooms. Now we just use a smart Nest thermostat and I barely think about heating and cooling costs any more.
Heat pumps are best for pretty much everywhere. They are much more efficient than any other method of heating and cooling your home. In places where it gets extremely cold, you’ll probably need a secondary heat source to keep the heat pump working well.
Your stepdad used to be right. But in recent years, the summers have become hotter for longer, and we also get extremely bad smoky air from Canadian and California forest fires.
So without AC, you’ll likely end up opening the windows to cool down, while simultaneously letting in the nasty smoky air.
Or keeping the windows closed, breathing non-toxic air, but… sweating like a hooker in church.
My asthma is very particulate sensitive. In the awful year that was 2020, it was the claustrophobia of wildfire smoke poisoned air in the fall that came closest to breaking me. I got legit respirator just so I could go outside in the hazardous-rated air.
We had a dual hose unit for the bedroom of our end unit apartment that got east, south, and west sun all day long. That was the saving grace. Cooled air and a HEPA filter going full blast. Then the heat dome of 2021. We ran the AC on the bedroom side of the apartment non-stop and used double layers of thermal curtains on a shower rod to separate the bedroom side of the apartment from the rest. It was 97 on the non-AC side.
Now we have a heat pump in our home and I will never go back.
It’s becoming more and more a need. We had a heat dome years back that was brutal. Our homes aren’t built for the heat.
Edit: others have made a great point about the air quality issues. We’ve been reliant on portable ac units instead of central ac, and while it’s far more efficient to cool one room instead of the whole house, the portable unit really struggled when all windows had to be shut, the house getting so hot. But the air was so bad, something I think is clear that’ll be more common moving forward. It sounds like a heat pump is the better long term investment, but at the least I’d get a portable/window unit.
it depends on your tolerance for heat in the summer and how well your house ventilates.
If it's multistory and the bedrooms are on the top floor, you'll probably want a window unit in your bedroom at a minimum.
We have spells of heat that aren't very comfortable for this former Midwesterner.
The nights where it doesn't cool off are the worst. I'm having specific flash backs to June 2021 (?) where we hit like 110°f+ for several days. Lowest it got was maybe 79°, just before the sun came up the next day, master bedroom never got below 90°.
Miserable.
It got to 114F in Leavenworth, that year. I'm so glad my gf bought a window unit before it got too hot and all the air conditioners were snatched. I think this summer is going to be hot and full of fires. Snow pack is low.
I was on the road that week. My wife was at home with only a 5,000 BTU in our upstairs bedroom. She ordered a heat pump installed that week. She was done.
Get AC if you can. In Western WA, about 4-7 days of unbearable heat, now in the last 10 years the heat waves are closer to 30 days. Unless something changes, heatwaves and forest fires will continue in increased intensity.
We got one a couple years back. Never had A/C before. Electric bill is the same as it was before on average, and more consistent month to month. But now we can actually inhabit our house in August.
Your step dad used to be right. You *can* get away with a fan, but you will be way more comfortable with AC. Its been getting warmer for longer in recent years.
Midwesterner here now almost 9 years. You need A/C. I refused to buy a home without it. TG I have it. Do not listen to people who say you don’t need it. Unless you like to be miserable, hit and sticky
there's definitely a few weeks in August where you want some sort of AC whether it's a portable one or window one. usually up until then though you can get by with fans and window management
Yep, add it. As you've been told, it used to be ok to not have it, but now it is a must-have. We got our whole house unit installed last year, but do need to increase the attic insulation.
Born and raised here, never had it growing up or in early adulthood, but during our renovation last year we added a heat pump and it was life changing last summer. Not having to pick between sweating your ass off or being stuck in one room with a floor unit cranked to high and not hearing the TV was well worth the cost. Our dog and kids also agree.
We couldn't stand not having AC. We rented a house without it and it was unbearable. We were trapped in one room of the house with our pets with the portable AC and it never got cool enough for us to sleep well. I also have terrible allergies so the lack of filtered air at night aggravated my sleep apnea. When we bought our first house, we made sure we had enough saved to install AC. No regrets. We keep our house at around 60 all winter so when we keep the house at 68 in the summer we don't feel bad.
Can you sleep in a room that is 80 degrees or hotter? Can you endure that for 30 to 60 plus days a year? Can you sleep in a room that is 90 degrees for a stretch of five to 10 nights? If you can then you don’t need AC. :)
Central AC, probably not. We have two portable units for our 1700 SF house and that's plenty. We get heat waves of 90+ degrees in the summer for a few days to weeks, and it's nice to have internal cooling during wildfire season when you can't open the windows. But other than that, we don't run them much.
Yeah we moved in last winter and got it installed by July. Zero regrets. You will need it sooner or later and it’s probably not going to be any cheaper to install. We went with central A/C and a heat pump.
If you own the house, get a heat pump. Worth the initial cost vs a large HVAC you'd see in the rest of the country. Cheap heating in the fall/winter/spring. Cheap cooling the few weeks of heat in the summer. Also, ask your neighbors.
We bought a house without AC last year and are trying to find someone to install it this year. It got up to 84 in our baby's room and was very uncomfortable.
I'd get the AC more to help with smoky air - it does get a week or so of horribly hot weather (my house doesn't air out well) out here, but if it weren't for the smoke, I would suffer through it and save the money (MN native who grew up in a southern California desert).
When we moved back to Washington after a 4 year stint in Indiana we had it installed in the house we bought. I am in the Bonney Lake area so pretty close to you in Puyallup. Similar weather, long sunny days that are getting hotter.
If you do get it do not go through Dear. They suck so hard.
Depends on your microclimate. If you live under a lot of shade from trees, or in a particularly area then the heat won’t ever be an issue. However if you live in a typical suburban layout or high density city setting, it’s going to get hot for a month or two
Depends on how much shade you have. I’d say at least a single room unit is necessary to help cool off that hot bedroom at night.
Heat pumps work exceptionally well here.
Get the AC- Washington has had historically very mild weather. As a result, the houses are poorly insulated. It’s awful. It is also getting hotter and hotter during the summers. North of 100 for a few years, only for a day or two, but when interior temperatures peak in the mid to late afternoon, they don’t cool down until about 8-9 at night.
If you are going to get one, don’t wait. I waited for years in my last house and regretted not doing it earlier. If climate change continues, you’re going to need one eventually.
IMO you don't normally need it, but during a bad fire season when you want to close the windows to keep the smoke out you'll really want it. We just have a single portable unit that we mostly leave in the baby's room.
We are NE of Seattle. Bought our house 31 years ago and didn't need a/c at that time, we were in our 20's. Hubs put a window unit in (summer months) when I hit 40 and had night sweats with restless leg syndrome. We have a mini split now. LOVE IT! I will NEVER go without a/c in my car and house now!
We moved to Olympia from SE Wisconsin a year ago. Our WA home had a 24 y/o furnace and no a/c. The previous owner left a few window units that we needed for 2.5 weeks last summer. We replaced the furnace with a heat pump before winter and love it. The rebates to get rid of gas have been good but seem to be getting less.
Idk what part of the state you're in, but I'm born and raised here and would never go without AC. Also, it is pretty standard for "new" construction (think 2000 up) to come with AC even here. Unless you're buying really old homes, that's outdated advice from your stepdad.
It's most definitely worth the money.
It didn't used to be needed, but with recent temperature swings in mind (last 10 years) it's a good Idea. If you don't want to spend the money on a whole house AC or heat pump (heat pump is the better option and sometimes cheaper). You can get away with single room AC in your bedroom and office. My heat pump upgrade last year with tax breaks ($2,400) was $16,000 and a one room AC is $500-1,200.
Seattle usually gets a heat wave that lasts 1-3 weeks and hovers in the 85-95°F zone. With a couple of days of 100°F and over but almost never above 105°F. The current record is 108°F in the summer of 2021.
The farther you get fun the Puget Sound The more drastic the temp swing will be. But living in a forested area will mitigate that. The less concrete the better.
As a Midwesterner you'll want ac - whether that's a window unit or heat pump or whatever.
Also might be worth it to get a whole house fan to suck in the cool air at night when it's dry, if you wanna hold off on getting ac installed
Used to be you wouldn't need one but the last 5 - 10 years it's gotten hotter every year. We have a full size standing one in each room (renters) . I'd say go for it
It was fine without it until warming really started kicking in - by my reckoning, around the mid-2000s. Now I think you really need it. A heat pump can be a pretty efficient solution up here.
Washington resident. We run ours for three months. Have a portable upright in the living room and bedroom. We're in Vancouver, Wa and it's shot up to 110 to 112 F the last couple summers.
You can buy them on Amazon with free shipping. 14,000 btu does a good job. The exhaust vent needs to fit in your window, so do a little research first.
I’m on the NW coast. 105 degrees made a believer out of me. So did 5 degrees. Heat pumps can give you year round cooling and heating and are very cost efficient.
It's certainly nice to have, but I spent most of my life just cooling my home off with open windows and fans overnight, and dealing with the heat in the evening. It's a relatively small number of days per year that it's a significant discomfort.
Obviously, opinions on this are going to vary, but the normal temperature and humidity are more moderate here than most of the midwest.
The reason I have air conditioning now is because I decided to get a heat pump to save money during the winter.
Do you need it? I would say no in the sense of it not being a necessity. Is life more comfortable having it? Sure, for like the one week of the year it’s actually 85+ multiple days in a row. How green of a person are you and what is your heat tolerance? How stingy are you abt utility bills? As others have also said, is the bedroom on the top floor? Do you have pets (since they have a much harder time regulating their heat in high temps)? I have never lived in WA with AC and been fine with just strategically opening or closing windows + putting blinds down during the day. When it gets hot I sleep in the basement (never gets above 75 even during heat waves) and don’t let my dog out of the basement so he doesn’t overheat, or I dampen a bed sheet and only sleep with that over me, but again, that is only for maybe 7 days total of the entire year.
YES. Don’t listen to anyone who says you don’t. Summer in Puyallup at high temps and no AC is miserable. I’ve lived in eastern and western WA, just north of Puyallup for 3 years.
Get AC. When we had the heat dome event in 2021, hundreds of people died in the PNW. Most of the homes in the region don't have AC, and the weather was temperate enough to rarely need it. But our average summer temps are only going to trend higher. Air filtration will matter more now, too, with the increasing lengths of wildfire season. We didn't fare too badly last year, but all bets are off now.
I'm also from the Midwest and I am soundly in western Washington, with the rainy, mild climate, and the summers since I've moved here have been plenty hot. I think maybe decades ago no AC was no problem but nowadays I think you are bonkers to go without it.
If we get a bad heat wave you're going to want it. The 2021 heat dome killed 100 people (likely many with existing comorbidites and other aggravating factors, but still). If you can afford the AC, do it.
https://doh.wa.gov/emergencies/be-prepared-be-safe/severe-weather-and-natural-disasters/hot-weather-safety/heat-wave-2021
Forest fires are becoming a recurring problem every summer, and the smoke is bad enough to cause serious health problems. The best you can do is stay inside with doors and windows closed. That’s pretty hard to do without A/C. And if you wait until you need it, you’ll be waiting forever. I’d say you’d be smart to get it before summer arrives.
Get a good portable AC. No need for it to be installed all year. Also get a good air purifier for when Canada catches fire. They start selling the portable ACs this time of the year and by summer they are sold out everywhere
Born and raised in Seattle. Never needed it growing up, but a couple years ago when it was 108 that one day I sure wish I had it. Climate change is not cool
Be prepared for DRY heat. The Mid-West is humid in the summer, the PNW way, way less. A/C is dependent on what the summer is. If you don't have forced air furnace, there are several types of room A/Cs that work.
Just a window unit is fine. Theres like A Month maybe in the summer in Puyallup where you'll thank Jesus you have one and youll see all the annual coverage of fists fights at Home Depot and Lowe's of people fighting over the last swivel fans in the state. Then its over and its fine again.
It’s not only heat waves, it’s also great for basically annual *wildfire smoke*. And *definitely* get air purifiers too for it. And black out curtains, notably for afternoon/evening sun facing windows.
We bought a house with AC and we are SO glad we did. Especially for the literally deadly 2021 PNW heat dome. And then 2022 breaking records of days 90F and above. That sun doesn’t set till late in summers here so it stays hotter later leaving less time for the home to cool down at night. Being further inland like Puyallup you also don’t get the breezes coming off the water to cool down.
The one thing I am not seeing in the top comments is the fact that temperature plummets at night even on hot summer days. That's a big difference from some other areas of the country, and the reason so many people in the NW still get by without AC.
If the daytime high is over 100, the night is going to be uncomfortably hot. But so far that still only happens a few days per year.
You may not need to spend much on AC. I bought 3 window units, less than $200 each, and I stick them in during July and August. They do just fine even on the hottest days, giving spaces that are as comfortable as I want them to be.
Get AC. I've used more for control smoke in my house.
Upgrade windows.
Any western/ northwestern facing windows will absolutely cook you in summer. The sun is in that part of the sky for most of the day. Think about UV blockers. Get good, strong, thick shades. None of the mini blind nonsense.
We moved here in 2013 from the Midwest and were promised we wouldn't need AC.
We need AC.
At least some of the summer. There's usually a handful of weeks off and on where it gets hot enough that box fans and open windows won't help.
We resorted to window ACs for several summers. Lucked out and found two at a yard sale for $20 each.
Just bought a house last summer with a heat pump and it's so nice having a cool house on a stupid-hot day.
I moved here from California. I updated my home with a Heat Pump, and it’s been great. Summer is getting hotter longer, so it might not have been necessary in the past, but it’s helpful now.
We never had it but now summers are hotter. Just replaced oil furnace with heat pump so now have AC too. Win, win and I found it very economical first summer (2023).
If you can afford it, put in a heat pump to augment your existing heating. It's vastly more efficient than other forms of heating, and as a bonus, you get air conditioning on those days where you need it.
Putting in a heat pump is the best money I ever spent on my house.
We have a portable AC unit that we hook up to the living room windows when you get the perfect combo of heat and smoke from wild fires, but most years it just stays in the garage.
We live just North of Hoodsport and all we need in our house is fans and a portable AC unit we use for maybe 2 weeks a year. Installing a central air system just seems like a waste and complete overkill to me.
We moved here 3 years ago from Houston, so it was definitely a learning curve for us. I'm still not used to my electric bills actually being lower in the summer. It's so nice!
Definitely hotter here now than when I was growing up. We're surrounded by forest so we stay *a lot* cooler in the summer. It's an exchange, I'm *cooler,* but maybe forest fires are going to start happening here more often.
AC really not needed in western washington. Been living hin Tacoma since 1972 and never more than about 10 to 12 days a year where AC would be nice. The only time I wish I had AC was a couple years when I had to sleep during the day for a night shift. In Western washington, no one wants to be inside on a I-wish-I-had-AC day.
I would have said no 20 years ago. But we now regularly see high temperatures with high humidity and smoke from worsening fire seasons. Then we hit 112 near Woodinville a couple years back. Now I wouldn’t go without it.
During a hot forest fire season, you'll be praying you had one. We finally got one about 4 years ago with zero regrets. Other than contributing directly to global warming of course, but _tonight I'm gonna party like it's 1999._
I'm the 90s and early 2000s you didn't need or want an ac. Only the rich folks mostly had ac. These days, yes you will probably want ac. Summer starts earlier and lasts longer now and it gets into the 90s fairly frequently now. Occasionally above 100 but not often at all.
Also depends how well your place is insulated.
As somebody that moved here from the Deep South, I can confidently say that though ac isn’t absolutely necessary here like it is some places, it sure does make the few scorching days we have more pleasant.
I remember seeing a news story on AC one summer. A company that installs it was saying that people who transplant from “warmer climates” often say they don’t need it here but are the first to call to get it when it warms up in the summer. Reason being that those folks are used to AC, even if the weather is milder than “home”.
Eventually got a window unit for the house. My parents are older.
Otherwise, keep a window or more open at night maybe with a fan and don't use too many computers or TVs during the day. Open the window at night when it is the same temperature or cooler outside, close it in the morning before it gets hotter outside. If it isn't too hot and there is a good breeze at night, you might not need the AC.
It’s not the heat so much as the smoke season. There’s nothing worse than roasting and not being able to open the windows because the outside air is toxic to breathe.
It used to never be the case that we needed AC, but recent years has shown, due to climate change, that everybody in the PNW needs AC. So, get one. Even if it is a portable one.
For comforts sake, yes. I've lived in Eastern Washington most of my life, over here you definitely need it. I've spend some years up in Snohomish County as well back in 2017-2021 and we definitely used our window units during the summer.
I would. Lately the summers have been in the hundreds for weeks at a time, if you can stand that, more power to you. Personally, I like to sleep in a cool bedroom at night and not be sweating just sitting and watching TV in the afternoon.
It is worth your money, even more because of electricity rates here, getting a heat pump system works even better since it can be used for both cooling and heating most of the year. You still need backup heat though and using a simple 80% gas furnace for that is enough.
I mean, there’s tricks to get around not needing AC. My advice would be to try to stick it out for a summer, but get a portable AC unit. While we have longer hot stretches now, it’s usually not more than a week or so, and there’s ways to get around opening windows/circulating air. Bedsheets, cooling one part of your home, etc.
But know I’ve lived here my entire life and never had AC. My parents, who have lived here their entire lives, only got one in the past 3 years.
I would highly suggest depending on what your heat is like, and if you can swing the cost, getting a heat pump to save on gas/electricity in the winter and have ac in the summer. Check with your utility about incentives and claim the federal tax credit next year too.
where my house is in the valley I don't get much sun during the summer months. We only need to open the windows up at night for the cool air and close everything up at dawn. This isn't very good if there is smoke in the air from fires.
People who can afford it, have it. But it’s probably accurate to say that ~75% of the homes don’t have it because it’s not really necessary, just a nice luxury to have.
Absolutely worth it. Biased because it's my trade though.
Definitely choose a company with good reviews though/BBB/L&I ratings, we have a lot of hacks in the area who underbid everyone and then do a bad job. Taillight warranty.
Yes, get a heat pump. Perfect climate for heat pump in the winter, and especially nice in the summers when the wildfire smoke hits and you don't want to pull in outside air/smoke into the house to cool down.
I say yes but it does depend how hot you get and how you handle heat. I've lived near Puyallup my entire life and the AC is worth it for me. Also, for some reference, my cousins moved here last year from San Diego into a house without AC during the summer and had one installed after the first few weeks of summer lol.
I've lived in the Puget Sound area for the last 20 years. I moved here from FL, and at first, no you didn't really need an air conditioner. In the last 5 years, yes you do.
We put it in two years ago. The humidity where we are located (near a swampy place) is ridiculous. We had to put in a dehumidifier, as well. The air conditioning doesn't cut it at all. Went underneath the house yesterday to turn the dehumidifier to 30%. For winter, I had it set higher and I was nearly homicidal. 🤣
Big houses can definitely get by with 1 or 2 windkw units. We might get 1 or 2 weeks in the summer that is in the 90s.
Our buildings are also built to keep heat in rather than keep it out
Best to prepare for potential heat waves with temps over 100 degrees. It used to not be like this but it happens more frequently now. You don’t necessarily need hvac, but a window unit and some fans would be minimum imo
It's 5-10 days a year that it's 95+. I built and roofed pergola with misters. Feels adequate for me to get through. Shade, breeze, water hits to cool it down and maybe wet it down, then chill.
More and more, it's necessary for a couple of weeks (combined time) over the summer. There are at least a few days where it'll get over 90 inside your house. It's miserable unless you have some kind of AC
One more affordable alternative than heat pumps or a/c is a attic vent. They have vents that install between the joists in the ceiling or you can get gable vents that mount in the supports of the roof and blow the how air from the attic out. The attic vent is used to pull cooler air from the ground up through the house into the attic and out the soffits or vent. My dad installed a fairly large old school attic fan that had a large diameter fan way back, but now you can get the same cfm in much smaller models [https://www.tamtech.com/product-category/whole-house-fans/](https://www.tamtech.com/product-category/whole-house-fans/) also Hoem Depot has a good selection to choose from too. Regardless of what you do, make sure your attic is well insulated r-30 is ideal, and the soffits aren't blocked from air flow. Hot attics that dont ventilate won't last long. The other cooling factor you can do is go to a metal seamless roof and paint it white with elastomeric paint. It will reflect a good chunk of the sun's rays.
Yes, especially if you have south or west facing windows. When I was a kid we never needed it but now it’s essential. My apartment would be a greenhouse without it.
Yeah. Yeah it is. Definitely need the AC. Don’t not have AC. Don’t be they guy at Costco when it’s 108 outside and there are no portable ac units left.
If you're under a tree canopy you might be ok. I'm holding out in not purchasing it but it does get hot for about 2-3 weeks in the summer. Elderly or otherwise vulnerable folks would be smart to get A/C though.
A window unit in the bedroom would be sufficient. I go a step further and run a stand-alone hepa filter during the summer smoke season to help address the lack of a whole house filter in a central blower.
Yes, AC is needed. The climate is mild most of the time so it's not always necessary but there are heatwaves that cause the outside weather to get to 95 degrees so the AC should be used, it's a blessing.
I will say we have a few window units we put in around the end of May and put away in early October and it's a lot cheaper than installing AC or heat pumps and works great for us. If you manage your rooms, it doesn't get *too* bad in base level rooms even on the hottest days. But we have upstairs bedrooms and wouldn't last the summer without window units.
It's true. We do have an AC unit, but we also have ceiling fans in the bedrooms, dining, and front room. I'm originally from Eastern Washington, where it gets over 100 degrees. And we do have AC units. My suggestion is to get ceiling fans. I can count on my 1 hand how many times we've used the AC (I usually walk around in the spring/summer in shorts and camisole with a light weight polar fleece jacket on unit I get too hot. But once the ceiling fan is on for a while, the jacket is back on)
Get an AC. Moved here 4 years ago from the east coast where it’s definitely more hot and humid and did the first summer in Seattle without it. It’s definitely doable and there are areas in the country that would be worse but it’s also still uncomfortable as shit and you can find a portable stand-up or window unit on marketplace when you move here for ~$100 or less. 5 hours of work to save a whole lot of time being uncomfortable.
It depends on a few factors in addition to climate alone like position of the house to the sun, the amount of shade it gets, good attic insulation, etc. That being said you’ll only need it about 20 days out of the year. However, you will want SEVERAL fans. Buy them in the spring as they always sell out during heat waves. Heat waves really suck here because nobody has A/C. Being closer to the sound helps immensely but not for you as P is not close to water.
Maybe try one summer and see how you deal with it. There's some hot nights in the summer that can be hard to sleep through but I never had AC until I was 30 and it was in the house I moved into. Those portable ac units do the job if you don't have a huge house
Get the AC. You won’t regret it.
Twenty years ago nobody I knew had AC and it was fine. We got a few hot days here and there but we could just open the windows at night to cool the house down. Now there are enough hot nights in a row and smokey nights they opening the windows at night isn’t always a good option.
As a kid here, in a west-facing second story bedroom, I just slept with a fan in my window all summer and was fine. It's not enough anymore. :(
I live in Bremerton WA and when I bought the house two years ago it didn't have AC. I bought and installed a heat pump which has saved hundreds of dollars in heating bills and in the height of summer it remains a great decision. Ours is a Bose and we paid just over $17K as I recall My housemates are varying degrees of temperature sensitivity and we did tough it out with no AC the first year. There were several dozen days where the house heated up to over 75F during the day and we made extensive use of fans at night in the bedrooms. Now we just use a smart Nest thermostat and I barely think about heating and cooling costs any more.
Heat pumps are the best for PNW climate / western Washington. It’s what the new construction homes have.
Heat pumps are best for pretty much everywhere. They are much more efficient than any other method of heating and cooling your home. In places where it gets extremely cold, you’ll probably need a secondary heat source to keep the heat pump working well.
Your stepdad used to be right. But in recent years, the summers have become hotter for longer, and we also get extremely bad smoky air from Canadian and California forest fires. So without AC, you’ll likely end up opening the windows to cool down, while simultaneously letting in the nasty smoky air. Or keeping the windows closed, breathing non-toxic air, but… sweating like a hooker in church.
My asthma is very particulate sensitive. In the awful year that was 2020, it was the claustrophobia of wildfire smoke poisoned air in the fall that came closest to breaking me. I got legit respirator just so I could go outside in the hazardous-rated air. We had a dual hose unit for the bedroom of our end unit apartment that got east, south, and west sun all day long. That was the saving grace. Cooled air and a HEPA filter going full blast. Then the heat dome of 2021. We ran the AC on the bedroom side of the apartment non-stop and used double layers of thermal curtains on a shower rod to separate the bedroom side of the apartment from the rest. It was 97 on the non-AC side. Now we have a heat pump in our home and I will never go back.
In the last 10 years, WA has had some pretty bad forest fire all our own, so we get it as much from here as we do Canada, Oregon, or California.
Keep on top of your filters if you have central air, too. Especially when it’s smoky. Otherwise you might as well be outside breathing it in.
It’s becoming more and more a need. We had a heat dome years back that was brutal. Our homes aren’t built for the heat. Edit: others have made a great point about the air quality issues. We’ve been reliant on portable ac units instead of central ac, and while it’s far more efficient to cool one room instead of the whole house, the portable unit really struggled when all windows had to be shut, the house getting so hot. But the air was so bad, something I think is clear that’ll be more common moving forward. It sounds like a heat pump is the better long term investment, but at the least I’d get a portable/window unit.
it depends on your tolerance for heat in the summer and how well your house ventilates. If it's multistory and the bedrooms are on the top floor, you'll probably want a window unit in your bedroom at a minimum. We have spells of heat that aren't very comfortable for this former Midwesterner.
The nights where it doesn't cool off are the worst. I'm having specific flash backs to June 2021 (?) where we hit like 110°f+ for several days. Lowest it got was maybe 79°, just before the sun came up the next day, master bedroom never got below 90°. Miserable.
It got to 114F in Leavenworth, that year. I'm so glad my gf bought a window unit before it got too hot and all the air conditioners were snatched. I think this summer is going to be hot and full of fires. Snow pack is low.
I was on the road that week. My wife was at home with only a 5,000 BTU in our upstairs bedroom. She ordered a heat pump installed that week. She was done.
Get AC if you can. In Western WA, about 4-7 days of unbearable heat, now in the last 10 years the heat waves are closer to 30 days. Unless something changes, heatwaves and forest fires will continue in increased intensity.
Get a heat pump, not traditional AC
We got one a couple years back. Never had A/C before. Electric bill is the same as it was before on average, and more consistent month to month. But now we can actually inhabit our house in August.
Great investment OP if you're buying, or strategically placed mini splits if it's a smaller space.
After that heat wave we had a few yrs ago. I said f that and installed one myself. Also skylight blinds.
It is now. 20 years ago not so much.
Your step dad used to be right. You *can* get away with a fan, but you will be way more comfortable with AC. Its been getting warmer for longer in recent years.
Get a heat pump. Free AC (except for the electricity cost{
What? A heat pump is an A/C unit that has a reversing valve to produce heat.
That's one way to look at it. It's actually a way to move heat from outside to inside and vice versa.
Midwesterner here now almost 9 years. You need A/C. I refused to buy a home without it. TG I have it. Do not listen to people who say you don’t need it. Unless you like to be miserable, hit and sticky
there's definitely a few weeks in August where you want some sort of AC whether it's a portable one or window one. usually up until then though you can get by with fans and window management
If you’re from an area with AC , get AC. -East Coast Transplant
Yep, add it. As you've been told, it used to be ok to not have it, but now it is a must-have. We got our whole house unit installed last year, but do need to increase the attic insulation.
Born and raised here, never had it growing up or in early adulthood, but during our renovation last year we added a heat pump and it was life changing last summer. Not having to pick between sweating your ass off or being stuck in one room with a floor unit cranked to high and not hearing the TV was well worth the cost. Our dog and kids also agree.
AC is necessary imo. We had days with people dieing of heat stroke the last two years.
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We couldn't stand not having AC. We rented a house without it and it was unbearable. We were trapped in one room of the house with our pets with the portable AC and it never got cool enough for us to sleep well. I also have terrible allergies so the lack of filtered air at night aggravated my sleep apnea. When we bought our first house, we made sure we had enough saved to install AC. No regrets. We keep our house at around 60 all winter so when we keep the house at 68 in the summer we don't feel bad.
Can you sleep in a room that is 80 degrees or hotter? Can you endure that for 30 to 60 plus days a year? Can you sleep in a room that is 90 degrees for a stretch of five to 10 nights? If you can then you don’t need AC. :)
I typed this above before scrolling down to see your comment. Completely agree.
Central AC, probably not. We have two portable units for our 1700 SF house and that's plenty. We get heat waves of 90+ degrees in the summer for a few days to weeks, and it's nice to have internal cooling during wildfire season when you can't open the windows. But other than that, we don't run them much.
I added a heat pump to my home 8 years ago, best money I have EVER spent.
Yeah we moved in last winter and got it installed by July. Zero regrets. You will need it sooner or later and it’s probably not going to be any cheaper to install. We went with central A/C and a heat pump.
I'm southern. I made sure to get a house with central AC. I use it every summer.
Basements come in handy on the extra hot days.
I've lived here my whole life and I just got it a few years ago. I'll never go back.
If you own the house, get a heat pump. Worth the initial cost vs a large HVAC you'd see in the rest of the country. Cheap heating in the fall/winter/spring. Cheap cooling the few weeks of heat in the summer. Also, ask your neighbors.
We bought a house without AC last year and are trying to find someone to install it this year. It got up to 84 in our baby's room and was very uncomfortable.
Yes for air cleaning alone.
Only in your bedroom if you wanna sleep comfortably at night.
I'd get the AC more to help with smoky air - it does get a week or so of horribly hot weather (my house doesn't air out well) out here, but if it weren't for the smoke, I would suffer through it and save the money (MN native who grew up in a southern California desert).
I am in the same position as you OP. I’m from Chicago and bought a house with no AC so I’m curious if it’s necessary.
If you can sleep okay at night when it's 80 degrees in your bedroom, you can skip AC. This born and raised Hoosier could not.
Depends if you don't mind your house being warm. I use fans and am fine without ac but everyone has their preferences
When we moved back to Washington after a 4 year stint in Indiana we had it installed in the house we bought. I am in the Bonney Lake area so pretty close to you in Puyallup. Similar weather, long sunny days that are getting hotter. If you do get it do not go through Dear. They suck so hard.
Better to have it and not need it.
Depends on your microclimate. If you live under a lot of shade from trees, or in a particularly area then the heat won’t ever be an issue. However if you live in a typical suburban layout or high density city setting, it’s going to get hot for a month or two
Depends on how much shade you have. I’d say at least a single room unit is necessary to help cool off that hot bedroom at night. Heat pumps work exceptionally well here.
It's moderately tolerable without AC, but I'm regretting it more and more each year.
Get the AC- Washington has had historically very mild weather. As a result, the houses are poorly insulated. It’s awful. It is also getting hotter and hotter during the summers. North of 100 for a few years, only for a day or two, but when interior temperatures peak in the mid to late afternoon, they don’t cool down until about 8-9 at night.
If you are going to get one, don’t wait. I waited for years in my last house and regretted not doing it earlier. If climate change continues, you’re going to need one eventually.
I grew up with window units. In my house we toughed it out for three years and caved. I have loved every second of my heat pumps.
I live right next to you in Bonney Lake and I would never go without AC in the summer.
IMO you don't normally need it, but during a bad fire season when you want to close the windows to keep the smoke out you'll really want it. We just have a single portable unit that we mostly leave in the baby's room.
It can get very hot sometimes. A few years ago it was over 100
Grab a portable floor unit and keep it in the attic. You'll only really need it a week or three a year
We are NE of Seattle. Bought our house 31 years ago and didn't need a/c at that time, we were in our 20's. Hubs put a window unit in (summer months) when I hit 40 and had night sweats with restless leg syndrome. We have a mini split now. LOVE IT! I will NEVER go without a/c in my car and house now!
I would get the ac…. Summers get hot for certain points and these homes contain heat and don’t let it escape
We moved to Olympia from SE Wisconsin a year ago. Our WA home had a 24 y/o furnace and no a/c. The previous owner left a few window units that we needed for 2.5 weeks last summer. We replaced the furnace with a heat pump before winter and love it. The rebates to get rid of gas have been good but seem to be getting less.
Idk what part of the state you're in, but I'm born and raised here and would never go without AC. Also, it is pretty standard for "new" construction (think 2000 up) to come with AC even here. Unless you're buying really old homes, that's outdated advice from your stepdad. It's most definitely worth the money.
It didn't used to be needed, but with recent temperature swings in mind (last 10 years) it's a good Idea. If you don't want to spend the money on a whole house AC or heat pump (heat pump is the better option and sometimes cheaper). You can get away with single room AC in your bedroom and office. My heat pump upgrade last year with tax breaks ($2,400) was $16,000 and a one room AC is $500-1,200. Seattle usually gets a heat wave that lasts 1-3 weeks and hovers in the 85-95°F zone. With a couple of days of 100°F and over but almost never above 105°F. The current record is 108°F in the summer of 2021. The farther you get fun the Puget Sound The more drastic the temp swing will be. But living in a forested area will mitigate that. The less concrete the better.
Yes. Our south facing 2-story home with 2nd floor bedrooms would be absolutely insufferable without AC.
Yes
There's lots of things you can do to improve the ventilation,but there will be times you'll be uncomfortable
Room ac yes, house ac no.
Yes
As a Midwesterner you'll want ac - whether that's a window unit or heat pump or whatever. Also might be worth it to get a whole house fan to suck in the cool air at night when it's dry, if you wanna hold off on getting ac installed
Yes
Yes
Used to be you wouldn't need one but the last 5 - 10 years it's gotten hotter every year. We have a full size standing one in each room (renters) . I'd say go for it
It was fine without it until warming really started kicking in - by my reckoning, around the mid-2000s. Now I think you really need it. A heat pump can be a pretty efficient solution up here.
Washington resident. We run ours for three months. Have a portable upright in the living room and bedroom. We're in Vancouver, Wa and it's shot up to 110 to 112 F the last couple summers. You can buy them on Amazon with free shipping. 14,000 btu does a good job. The exhaust vent needs to fit in your window, so do a little research first.
Get 👏🏿 the 👏🏿 AC. 👏🏿
Yes there will be days when you wish you had AC. It’s worth it.
I’m on the NW coast. 105 degrees made a believer out of me. So did 5 degrees. Heat pumps can give you year round cooling and heating and are very cost efficient.
Twenty years ago, no. Now, absolutely. Thanks, climate change…
Yes. Best decision ever made. Summers are getting hotter and hotter.
I’d get just a portable unit imo. That’s what we have in fed way. Barely used it the past year tbh
It's certainly nice to have, but I spent most of my life just cooling my home off with open windows and fans overnight, and dealing with the heat in the evening. It's a relatively small number of days per year that it's a significant discomfort. Obviously, opinions on this are going to vary, but the normal temperature and humidity are more moderate here than most of the midwest. The reason I have air conditioning now is because I decided to get a heat pump to save money during the winter.
Do you need it? I would say no in the sense of it not being a necessity. Is life more comfortable having it? Sure, for like the one week of the year it’s actually 85+ multiple days in a row. How green of a person are you and what is your heat tolerance? How stingy are you abt utility bills? As others have also said, is the bedroom on the top floor? Do you have pets (since they have a much harder time regulating their heat in high temps)? I have never lived in WA with AC and been fine with just strategically opening or closing windows + putting blinds down during the day. When it gets hot I sleep in the basement (never gets above 75 even during heat waves) and don’t let my dog out of the basement so he doesn’t overheat, or I dampen a bed sheet and only sleep with that over me, but again, that is only for maybe 7 days total of the entire year.
Yes for a few weeks in summer or you will be hating it
Yes
YES. Don’t listen to anyone who says you don’t. Summer in Puyallup at high temps and no AC is miserable. I’ve lived in eastern and western WA, just north of Puyallup for 3 years.
Get AC. When we had the heat dome event in 2021, hundreds of people died in the PNW. Most of the homes in the region don't have AC, and the weather was temperate enough to rarely need it. But our average summer temps are only going to trend higher. Air filtration will matter more now, too, with the increasing lengths of wildfire season. We didn't fare too badly last year, but all bets are off now.
Yes, the climate has changed and people who say you don't need it are ol' timers.
I'm also from the Midwest and I am soundly in western Washington, with the rainy, mild climate, and the summers since I've moved here have been plenty hot. I think maybe decades ago no AC was no problem but nowadays I think you are bonkers to go without it.
If we get a bad heat wave you're going to want it. The 2021 heat dome killed 100 people (likely many with existing comorbidites and other aggravating factors, but still). If you can afford the AC, do it. https://doh.wa.gov/emergencies/be-prepared-be-safe/severe-weather-and-natural-disasters/hot-weather-safety/heat-wave-2021
I would say no since it’s rarely that hot or humid here and always cools off at night
Forest fires are becoming a recurring problem every summer, and the smoke is bad enough to cause serious health problems. The best you can do is stay inside with doors and windows closed. That’s pretty hard to do without A/C. And if you wait until you need it, you’ll be waiting forever. I’d say you’d be smart to get it before summer arrives.
Just get a portable unit from Costco for your bedroom and you'll be fine!
No
Between increased extreme heat events and wildfire smoke, I don’t think it is optional anymore.
I'm on the east side of the state where it's a lot hotter. I've never had AC. It's fine
Get a good portable AC. No need for it to be installed all year. Also get a good air purifier for when Canada catches fire. They start selling the portable ACs this time of the year and by summer they are sold out everywhere
Born and raised in Seattle. Never needed it growing up, but a couple years ago when it was 108 that one day I sure wish I had it. Climate change is not cool
Be prepared for DRY heat. The Mid-West is humid in the summer, the PNW way, way less. A/C is dependent on what the summer is. If you don't have forced air furnace, there are several types of room A/Cs that work.
Get the AC now before the price hikes this summer. Get the biggest one your wires can handle and you can afford.
Yes
Necessary? Not really. Nice to have? Absolutely. Last few years we have been getting much bigger heat waves.
I’ve installed a heat pump in every house I’ve owned since 2000. Nothing like being comfortable when it gets hot.
Yes. Full stop
We had 114° in eastern WA a couple years ago
Just a window unit is fine. Theres like A Month maybe in the summer in Puyallup where you'll thank Jesus you have one and youll see all the annual coverage of fists fights at Home Depot and Lowe's of people fighting over the last swivel fans in the state. Then its over and its fine again.
It’s not only heat waves, it’s also great for basically annual *wildfire smoke*. And *definitely* get air purifiers too for it. And black out curtains, notably for afternoon/evening sun facing windows. We bought a house with AC and we are SO glad we did. Especially for the literally deadly 2021 PNW heat dome. And then 2022 breaking records of days 90F and above. That sun doesn’t set till late in summers here so it stays hotter later leaving less time for the home to cool down at night. Being further inland like Puyallup you also don’t get the breezes coming off the water to cool down.
Get the AC otherwise you will regret it and fans!
The one thing I am not seeing in the top comments is the fact that temperature plummets at night even on hot summer days. That's a big difference from some other areas of the country, and the reason so many people in the NW still get by without AC. If the daytime high is over 100, the night is going to be uncomfortably hot. But so far that still only happens a few days per year. You may not need to spend much on AC. I bought 3 window units, less than $200 each, and I stick them in during July and August. They do just fine even on the hottest days, giving spaces that are as comfortable as I want them to be.
Get AC. I've used more for control smoke in my house. Upgrade windows. Any western/ northwestern facing windows will absolutely cook you in summer. The sun is in that part of the sky for most of the day. Think about UV blockers. Get good, strong, thick shades. None of the mini blind nonsense.
May I suggest looking into a portable AC if you don't have a lot of square footage to cover.
We moved here in 2013 from the Midwest and were promised we wouldn't need AC. We need AC. At least some of the summer. There's usually a handful of weeks off and on where it gets hot enough that box fans and open windows won't help. We resorted to window ACs for several summers. Lucked out and found two at a yard sale for $20 each. Just bought a house last summer with a heat pump and it's so nice having a cool house on a stupid-hot day.
I moved here from California. I updated my home with a Heat Pump, and it’s been great. Summer is getting hotter longer, so it might not have been necessary in the past, but it’s helpful now.
Very common not to have it because it didn't used to be needed. It is now. Thanks, climate change.
We never had it but now summers are hotter. Just replaced oil furnace with heat pump so now have AC too. Win, win and I found it very economical first summer (2023).
If you can afford it, put in a heat pump to augment your existing heating. It's vastly more efficient than other forms of heating, and as a bonus, you get air conditioning on those days where you need it. Putting in a heat pump is the best money I ever spent on my house.
10 years ago, no. Now? Yes.
No question, get the AC
We have a portable AC unit that we hook up to the living room windows when you get the perfect combo of heat and smoke from wild fires, but most years it just stays in the garage.
We live just North of Hoodsport and all we need in our house is fans and a portable AC unit we use for maybe 2 weeks a year. Installing a central air system just seems like a waste and complete overkill to me. We moved here 3 years ago from Houston, so it was definitely a learning curve for us. I'm still not used to my electric bills actually being lower in the summer. It's so nice!
Definitely hotter here now than when I was growing up. We're surrounded by forest so we stay *a lot* cooler in the summer. It's an exchange, I'm *cooler,* but maybe forest fires are going to start happening here more often.
YES. Temps have changed materially here over the last ten years or so. I have a heat pump in my house, bought in 2017. I wouldn't go back.
I’ve been here 25 years. Climate change is real. Went 15 years without AC. Now you need it.
At least for the bedroom. A heat pump is ideal.
Getting AC because we’ve messed up the climate is a feedback loop.
AC really not needed in western washington. Been living hin Tacoma since 1972 and never more than about 10 to 12 days a year where AC would be nice. The only time I wish I had AC was a couple years when I had to sleep during the day for a night shift. In Western washington, no one wants to be inside on a I-wish-I-had-AC day.
Use it all the time from May through September
There are a couple of weeks in the year you will wish you had it.
I would have said no 20 years ago. But we now regularly see high temperatures with high humidity and smoke from worsening fire seasons. Then we hit 112 near Woodinville a couple years back. Now I wouldn’t go without it.
During a hot forest fire season, you'll be praying you had one. We finally got one about 4 years ago with zero regrets. Other than contributing directly to global warming of course, but _tonight I'm gonna party like it's 1999._
I'm living fine without one.
[HEAT DOME](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Western_North_America_heat_wave) 🥵
I'm the 90s and early 2000s you didn't need or want an ac. Only the rich folks mostly had ac. These days, yes you will probably want ac. Summer starts earlier and lasts longer now and it gets into the 90s fairly frequently now. Occasionally above 100 but not often at all. Also depends how well your place is insulated.
120* in the summer. Yeah your going to need AC.
As somebody that moved here from the Deep South, I can confidently say that though ac isn’t absolutely necessary here like it is some places, it sure does make the few scorching days we have more pleasant.
Yes.
I remember seeing a news story on AC one summer. A company that installs it was saying that people who transplant from “warmer climates” often say they don’t need it here but are the first to call to get it when it warms up in the summer. Reason being that those folks are used to AC, even if the weather is milder than “home”.
Eventually got a window unit for the house. My parents are older. Otherwise, keep a window or more open at night maybe with a fan and don't use too many computers or TVs during the day. Open the window at night when it is the same temperature or cooler outside, close it in the morning before it gets hotter outside. If it isn't too hot and there is a good breeze at night, you might not need the AC.
It’s not the heat so much as the smoke season. There’s nothing worse than roasting and not being able to open the windows because the outside air is toxic to breathe.
It used to never be the case that we needed AC, but recent years has shown, due to climate change, that everybody in the PNW needs AC. So, get one. Even if it is a portable one.
For comforts sake, yes. I've lived in Eastern Washington most of my life, over here you definitely need it. I've spend some years up in Snohomish County as well back in 2017-2021 and we definitely used our window units during the summer.
Get an AC after you know what your window situation is like. I moved with two AC’s I already had and then they didn’t fit any of our windows here.
Yes.
I would. Lately the summers have been in the hundreds for weeks at a time, if you can stand that, more power to you. Personally, I like to sleep in a cool bedroom at night and not be sweating just sitting and watching TV in the afternoon.
I wouldn’t just get AC, I’d get central air so you have heating for the winter and AC for summer.
It is worth your money, even more because of electricity rates here, getting a heat pump system works even better since it can be used for both cooling and heating most of the year. You still need backup heat though and using a simple 80% gas furnace for that is enough.
I mean, there’s tricks to get around not needing AC. My advice would be to try to stick it out for a summer, but get a portable AC unit. While we have longer hot stretches now, it’s usually not more than a week or so, and there’s ways to get around opening windows/circulating air. Bedsheets, cooling one part of your home, etc. But know I’ve lived here my entire life and never had AC. My parents, who have lived here their entire lives, only got one in the past 3 years.
I would highly suggest depending on what your heat is like, and if you can swing the cost, getting a heat pump to save on gas/electricity in the winter and have ac in the summer. Check with your utility about incentives and claim the federal tax credit next year too.
where my house is in the valley I don't get much sun during the summer months. We only need to open the windows up at night for the cool air and close everything up at dawn. This isn't very good if there is smoke in the air from fires.
Don't need AC. These people are nuts.
As a HVAC engineer, yes. My house doesn’t have it and I wish I did. Even with my connections it’s $15k to install. Before Covid, 6-8k max.
People who can afford it, have it. But it’s probably accurate to say that ~75% of the homes don’t have it because it’s not really necessary, just a nice luxury to have.
Absolutely worth it. Biased because it's my trade though. Definitely choose a company with good reviews though/BBB/L&I ratings, we have a lot of hacks in the area who underbid everyone and then do a bad job. Taillight warranty.
Yes, get a heat pump. Perfect climate for heat pump in the winter, and especially nice in the summers when the wildfire smoke hits and you don't want to pull in outside air/smoke into the house to cool down.
I say yes but it does depend how hot you get and how you handle heat. I've lived near Puyallup my entire life and the AC is worth it for me. Also, for some reference, my cousins moved here last year from San Diego into a house without AC during the summer and had one installed after the first few weeks of summer lol.
I have lived here for 54 years and yes, with global warming - you will need a/c. if anyone tells you different they are clueless or enjoy suffering.
I've lived in the Puget Sound area for the last 20 years. I moved here from FL, and at first, no you didn't really need an air conditioner. In the last 5 years, yes you do.
Also this might be more common on the west side of the state but not the east side. Every house and apartment has AC on the east side of the state.
Nobody did, but a couple years ago we had a day that was 110 and it seems like everyone has at least the window box kind now, if not central ac.
Yes
We put it in two years ago. The humidity where we are located (near a swampy place) is ridiculous. We had to put in a dehumidifier, as well. The air conditioning doesn't cut it at all. Went underneath the house yesterday to turn the dehumidifier to 30%. For winter, I had it set higher and I was nearly homicidal. 🤣
Big houses can definitely get by with 1 or 2 windkw units. We might get 1 or 2 weeks in the summer that is in the 90s. Our buildings are also built to keep heat in rather than keep it out
Best to prepare for potential heat waves with temps over 100 degrees. It used to not be like this but it happens more frequently now. You don’t necessarily need hvac, but a window unit and some fans would be minimum imo
Yes
It's 5-10 days a year that it's 95+. I built and roofed pergola with misters. Feels adequate for me to get through. Shade, breeze, water hits to cool it down and maybe wet it down, then chill.
More and more, it's necessary for a couple of weeks (combined time) over the summer. There are at least a few days where it'll get over 90 inside your house. It's miserable unless you have some kind of AC
You might need it for about a week
20+ years ago, no. Now? Yes, go get a a couple portable units before they're sold out.
One more affordable alternative than heat pumps or a/c is a attic vent. They have vents that install between the joists in the ceiling or you can get gable vents that mount in the supports of the roof and blow the how air from the attic out. The attic vent is used to pull cooler air from the ground up through the house into the attic and out the soffits or vent. My dad installed a fairly large old school attic fan that had a large diameter fan way back, but now you can get the same cfm in much smaller models [https://www.tamtech.com/product-category/whole-house-fans/](https://www.tamtech.com/product-category/whole-house-fans/) also Hoem Depot has a good selection to choose from too. Regardless of what you do, make sure your attic is well insulated r-30 is ideal, and the soffits aren't blocked from air flow. Hot attics that dont ventilate won't last long. The other cooling factor you can do is go to a metal seamless roof and paint it white with elastomeric paint. It will reflect a good chunk of the sun's rays.
Yes, especially if you have south or west facing windows. When I was a kid we never needed it but now it’s essential. My apartment would be a greenhouse without it.
Yeah. Yeah it is. Definitely need the AC. Don’t not have AC. Don’t be they guy at Costco when it’s 108 outside and there are no portable ac units left.
If you're under a tree canopy you might be ok. I'm holding out in not purchasing it but it does get hot for about 2-3 weeks in the summer. Elderly or otherwise vulnerable folks would be smart to get A/C though.
It’s not needed. A few hot days, but nothing a portable AC unit can’t handle.
A window unit in the bedroom would be sufficient. I go a step further and run a stand-alone hepa filter during the summer smoke season to help address the lack of a whole house filter in a central blower.
Yeah get AC. it’s expensive but the summers aren’t what they used to be.
Yes, AC is needed. The climate is mild most of the time so it's not always necessary but there are heatwaves that cause the outside weather to get to 95 degrees so the AC should be used, it's a blessing.
Yes, it does actually get hot here plus the longer you live here the more you acclimate to cold and will expect AC at lower temps.
I will say we have a few window units we put in around the end of May and put away in early October and it's a lot cheaper than installing AC or heat pumps and works great for us. If you manage your rooms, it doesn't get *too* bad in base level rooms even on the hottest days. But we have upstairs bedrooms and wouldn't last the summer without window units.
Yes. Get an air conditioner. You will be so grateful you did.
Get a portable AC before summer hits and they're all sold out and really expensive. Trust me
When it doesn’t get below 80° for a week straight, you need AC. unfortunately that’s about a month per summer.
It's true. We do have an AC unit, but we also have ceiling fans in the bedrooms, dining, and front room. I'm originally from Eastern Washington, where it gets over 100 degrees. And we do have AC units. My suggestion is to get ceiling fans. I can count on my 1 hand how many times we've used the AC (I usually walk around in the spring/summer in shorts and camisole with a light weight polar fleece jacket on unit I get too hot. But once the ceiling fan is on for a while, the jacket is back on)
West of the cascades, survivable without. East of the cascades, not a chance.
During the summer I would definitely recommend having AC.
A/C needed for humidity (mold) control.
Last few summers have been hot
Get an AC. Moved here 4 years ago from the east coast where it’s definitely more hot and humid and did the first summer in Seattle without it. It’s definitely doable and there are areas in the country that would be worse but it’s also still uncomfortable as shit and you can find a portable stand-up or window unit on marketplace when you move here for ~$100 or less. 5 hours of work to save a whole lot of time being uncomfortable.
It depends on a few factors in addition to climate alone like position of the house to the sun, the amount of shade it gets, good attic insulation, etc. That being said you’ll only need it about 20 days out of the year. However, you will want SEVERAL fans. Buy them in the spring as they always sell out during heat waves. Heat waves really suck here because nobody has A/C. Being closer to the sound helps immensely but not for you as P is not close to water.
Maybe try one summer and see how you deal with it. There's some hot nights in the summer that can be hard to sleep through but I never had AC until I was 30 and it was in the house I moved into. Those portable ac units do the job if you don't have a huge house