When I was a kid, very few people in the neighborhood had any type of air conditioning for their homes. Living in the far northern part of the country, air conditioning is a luxury rather than a necessity. At that time, there weren’t many options for portable air conditioners and the centralized cooling wasn’t at all energy efficient. Buying, installing and running an air conditioner was a big expense. My family had a window air conditioner that was so big and heavy, it required two people to lift it into the window. To maximize the benefits of the single unit, it was placed in the window of my bedroom. My bedroom was located at the end of the hallway, providing a straight shot for the cool air to reach the rest of the house. Because of this, I was required to leave my bedroom door open at all times. I was also forced to rearrange my furniture to accommodate the air conditioner. The unit only provided a single speed. There was no option to adjust output. It simply blasted at maximum capacity at all times and my bedroom was freezing cold. During the middle of July, I slept in long pants, a sweatshirt and used an electric heated blanket. I kept a bucket positioned under the air conditioner to catch the constant drip of condensate. The operation was so loud, it was nearly impossible to sleep through the noise. I hated that air conditioner. As an adult, I was never interested in any type of air conditioning for my home. I was not overly happy when my husband surprised me with a window air conditioner for Mother’s Day. However, it didn’t take long to change my opinion. Today’s cooling units are wonderfully compact, lightweight and quiet. The system offers all sorts of adjustment possibilities. I can set my preferred room temperature, raise or lower the speed of the fan, set it to automatically turn on and off and even customize the direction of airflow.