When I was a kid, legitimately few people in the town had any type of a/c for their homes, then living in the far northern part of the country, a/c is a luxury rather than a necessity.
At that time, there weren’t many possibilities for portable a/cs and the centralized cooling wasn’t at all energy efficient.
Buying, installing and running an a/c was a big expense. My family had a window a/c 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 dining room. My dining room 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 dining room door open at all times. I was also forced to rearrange my furniture to accommodate the a/c. The equipment only provided a single speed. There was no choice to adjust output. It simply blasted at maximum capacity at all times and my dining room was chilly cold, however during the middle of June, I slept in long pants, a sweatshirt and used an electric heated blanket. I kept a basket positioned under the a/c to catch the constant drip of condensate. The operation was so loud, it was nearly impossible to sleep through the noise. I hated that a/c. As an adult, I was never interested in any type of a/c for my home. I was not overly thrilled when my hubby surprised me with a window a/c for Mother’s Day. However, it didn’t take long to change my opinion. This week’s cooling units are appealingly compact, lightweight and quiet. The system offers all sorts of adjustment possibilities. I can set my number one 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.