My MIL used to keep the house so warm and stuffy you could literally die from it. Besides the other issues mentioned, she sincerely believed that “the air condition” caused illness. As evidence, she pointed out that when she went to church they had “the air condition” on, and voila! she got a cold. She could not be convinced that this might have been due to several dozen people in an enclosed space swapping germs & viruses.
My Grandparents, for one, do. However, that’s not quite fair considering my Grandpa still owns a small plumbing and heating company…
Oddly enough, most of my older relatives (Great Aunts and Uncles, aforementioned Grandparents) had them installed by him (otherwise they probably wouldn’t have) and I have to get used to it being cold. It’s probably partially because I’m acclimated to Arizona weather and I visit them in Wisconsin, but it’s still pretty cold for being indoors. So maybe they went to the OTHER extreme?
The references to the Depression seem to characterize this mindset quite well. My grandfather used to turn the TV off if he left the room to go to the bathroom.
My wife’s grandparents view it as an extravagant luxury, and to use it implies some kind of moral failure. Or something.
It think there’s a little ‘builds character’ thing going, too. AC is for pansies. A little overdone, maybe.
That said, I do know one Renfair actor who will not drink chilled water while he’s out in the heat all day. He says that his body adjusts to the heat, unless it’s exposed to actual cold, then he has to go through the misery again while it re-acclimates.
CalOSHA has heat illness rules that warn that it takes two weeks for the body to adjust to working in the heat. So it is possible to adjust, and if you’re keeping yourself in the AC, you’re avoiding the adjustment.
I’m of two minds. I like the idea of adjusting to the envioronment, so that having to go out into it won’t kill you. I also know that heat stroke is nothing to play with, and that heat slows you down. Not to mention the fact that no one revels in the sweat.
I try to close off the house during the day and run minimal AC, then open it up at night. Of course, I also put foil on the side windows during the summer, which is very effective, but which my kids think it tacky.
My late grandparents, Depression-era folks, and their anti-air conditioning stance might seem money related at first glance. However, my grandfather liked it hot, period…in the winter, he’d have the heat cranked up to 82+ degrees. You’d go inside and feel like you’d entered a steam room. It can’t be cheap to make a house that warm when it’s 20 degrees out, so it seems my grandparents’ actions support the “old people are colder” theory.
My FIL, at 92 years old, keeps his overhead fans (I think there are five in his place) running 24/7. He is pretty much opposed to bright light bulbs because they generate heat. He is also a firm believer in heavy draperies and he keeps them closed as much as possible; depending on the actual temperature, he may or may not open the drapes and a few windows at night but that is very unusual. Visiting his place is like visiting a cave; how he reads his newspaper, I don’t know. He is as healthy as a horse and still plays nine holes of golf twice a week so I guess he is doing something right.
Pride + money = not saying that it’s about the money.
I’m 62, and have always been an AC whore. You know, the guy who’s sweating like a pig while everyone else is shivering in sweaters. To me, a comfortable indoor temperature was 60-65F (15.5-18.3C). I craved AC like a pig craves mud. I don’t even own a sweater, and blankets are for my partner and the cats.
But I’ve noticed a change in the last several years. Sometimes I actually feel a chill. My “normal” thermostat setting has gradually increased to about 68. And when I go outside in summer, the heat actually feels nice, until it gets into the 90s. The only time I really crave a cold temperature is when I come in from doing yard work on a hot day. But I guess that’s fairly normal.
So bodily changes are definitely a factor here. I remember my parents, in their later years, wearing an awful lot of sweaters, as opposed to when they were younger.
My mother lived with me for the last 10 years of her life. She never really got the hang of central air. Every morning, before going to work, I would set the thermostat at 75 for her. But if she ever felt chilly, instead of adjusting the thermostat, she would open windows. Some times, out of desperation, she would turn the heat on. And no, she wasn’t demented.
They never needed this stuff when they were growing up, and they sure as hell don’t need it now they’re gettin’ old. Plus being locked into that scrimp-and-save, make-do-and-mend mindset from Depression and War.
I don’t have air conditioning, either, and in fact didn’t have it regularly until I went to college. To me, it is both generally not needed, and actually uncomfortable to go from 100°F exterior to a 72°F interior. I also find the noise of forced central air or blowing air of window units extremely annoying. Of course, the couple of weeks of 100°F in coastal California with a mild sea breeze and <50% humidity is a comfortable paradise compared to months on end of 90°F+ with no wind and 97% humidity of Mid-Western summers. If I had my way I’d live in San Francisco or Seattle where air conditioning is never needed even in the height of summer.
Stranger
These are the same kind of people for whom ‘perfectly good’ means ‘broken crap that wastes more money than it would cost to replace’. Ever notice how nobody calls anything that is actually good ‘perfectly good’?
Because they’re stupid?
27 year old Floridian here.
I grew up in a house where air conditioning was effectively nonexistent, and frankly I’m just used to it. My wife is from Colorado and she keeps it freezing balls in here most of the time, but when she’s not home I turn that thing off. Sure, I’d rather it be cooler, but it’s just not worth the money to me. I suppose most of these old folks feel the same way. It’s nice, just not worth doubling your power bill.
uh… you’re kidding about these ones, right?
I’m not old, but I’ve lived in a very hot place without access to air conditioners for a while, and for the time being I’ve grown to kind of dislike them. I’ll turn mine on for a few minutes after coming home on a hot day, or I’ll turn it on for a while before I try to sleep when it’s very hot. But other than that, I’m not into it.
Why? First off, it really does feel wasteful. To somebody who is used to thinking conservatively about resources, a running AC is like a running water tap. It’s not just about money- most of us would be uncomfortable around a running tap even if it was totally fee. It just feels wasteful. So it’s something you learn to ration- and it’s often just as easy to go without as to ration.
Secondly, it does make the transition into heat worse. This isn’t a big deal if the most you ever do is a few steps from your car to the store. But if you are spending a lot of time outside it can be tough to transition in and out of the AC. You know how usually people get sick when there are drastic changes of climate? For some people, going in and out of air conditioned spaces can just as hard on the body.
Thirdly, it changes a lot about houses. I’m used to hot days being spent with a slight breeze blowing through my windows, hearing the sounds of birds and my fan buzzing, resting in the calm darkness (covered windows work, as do shade trees) and relaxing in my hammock. This is summer for me- not artificially dry air blowing around while I sit in a tightly sealed room.
Which brings me to the last and most important reason. I don’t believe in fighting the heat. You can learn to accept being hot. Your gonna sweat. It’s gonna be unpleasant. But you can learn to function in it without it being the primary thing you think about. But you will never do that as long as you are fighting it. The people who I find the most miserable are the ones who are always looking for cold drinks or frantically fanning themselves. The ones who have set up summer to be this big battle between them and the heat. It’s all they think about and the more it’s on their mind the more miserable the heat makes them. I think it’s a lot easier to adapt to the environment than to change the environment.
FWIW I generally don’t drink chilled water for the same reason. It doesn’t make you feel better for more than a second, and it takes lot more work to deal with.
My wife is from Taiwan, and grew up without air conditioning. She can live with a lot more humidity than I, who grew up in the deserts of Salt Lake, can.
She’ll turn on the AC only if I’m around and won’t sleep with it, so we use fans a lot.
I haven’t seen a reference to Legionellosis, so I’ll mention it. 
My grandfather said that it makes people lazy. In days past with no A/C, you didn’t just sit around the house watching TV during the summer. It was miserable, so you were forced to go outside and do something.
Now, it is too hot outside, so people (especially kids) just want to stay indoors…
What a strange comparison. A running water tap is 100% wasteful and environmentally stupid. An A/C (presumably) can benefit people by reducing the temperature and humidity.
I agree with this, mostly. Maybe more than mostly.
You’re missing one critical point - IIRC, from the last picture I saw of you you are like me very thin, probably an 18-20 BMI. What do you think the average BMI is in the US? Hell, what do you think the average SDMB BMI is for that matter? To judge from the innumerable threads on here, probably close to 27-28. People who have problems with weight are going to need to have air conditioning, and most certainly are not going to have the same ability to cope with the heat.