Ever sinceair conditioninggained a bridgehead in the early twentieth century , cool down off movie theaters and occupation before proceed to the home in the 1930s , the great unwashed have fall to depend on it to brave the summer swelter . In major metropolitan areas , upwards of 90 percentage of homes and apartments are fit with some form of cooling .
Unless you live in Seattle . For myriadreasons , the metropolis has hold a communal position about AC : They can do without it . It ’s another regional agreeableness crotchet similar to a trenchant lack ofrefrigeratorsin Los Angeles flat . But why ?
In 2013 , just 31 percent of Seattle ’s house haveoptedfor AC . nationwide , the figure is closer to 91 per centum . New Orleans boasts a 99.4 percent cool off rate . Only San Francisco come near to Seattle ’s Scrooge - esque attitude , with 47 percent of occupier cooling off .
The preference is n’t so surprising For one thing , Seattle has a very moderate climate , with coolheaded line wafting off Puget Sound keeping the worst summer temperature at bay . Through 2020 , the city hadrecordedjust four years of estrus in excess of 100 level in the previous 100 years . In the absence seizure of blister passion , house physician took toDIY relieflike boxwood lover blown over ice bucket or wear lactating apparel as a stopgap beat until things chill off . If the heat was particularly oppressive , there was always the depository library , moving picture theater , or other public spaces .
Resident Oliver Lockwood , who grew up in Seattle , toldThe New York Timesin 2021 that there was a kind of aggregative dismissal of melodic phrase conditioning . “ It was for wuss , for anyone who could n’t deal [ with the heat ] , " he said .
One reader ofThe Seattle Timesalsopointedout a geomorphologic problem : slue windows made it more unmanageable to find room units that fit .
But things appear to be changing , both in terms ofclimateand behavior . Warmer average temperatures around the world have led to Seattle losing its grip on realizable hotness . In recent year , the number of 90 - plus - degree days in the city has doubled ; record temperature hit in summer 2021 , contribute many longtime AC holdouts to take a break from custom . In 2013 , 31 per centum of households had AC . In 2019 , that identification number was 44 percentage . Demand for air units seems to finally be heating up .
[ h / tThe New York Times ]
