Pineapple Express: Someone Is Wrong on the Internet?

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Yeah a lot of folks dont have AC out here.

If I were a heat pump maker, I'd be training a lot of people in the PNW to install them. A much better choice, long-term, than traditional A/C units, if lots of people are starting from scratch.

 

[Bedrockgames]

If I were a heat pump maker, I'd be training a lot of people in the PNW to install them. A much better choice, long-term, than traditional A/C units, if lots of people are starting from scratch.

One of the first warm days today. We have an AC but it is an indoor portable unit (which has the effect of creating negative air pressure and sucking in hot air if neighboring apartments are cooking). I may get a different kind of unit this year (our windows are ancient and not well designed for ACs)

 

[CleverNickName]

If I were a heat pump maker, I'd be training a lot of people in the PNW to install them. A much better choice, long-term, than traditional A/C units, if lots of people are starting from scratch.

A three-zone heat pump is on the To-Do List for next year. (We will get an energy credit for that too, but we decided to wait until next year since we are almost at the tax credit limit.)

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

A three-zone heat pump is on the To-Do List for next year. (We will get an energy credit for that too, but we decided to wait until next year since we are almost at the tax credit limit.)

I am going to live vicariously through you for a bit. We've been talking about moving to the PNW, if jobs allow. (Yes for one of us, no for the other so far.) And future-proofing our next/forever home is a big part of the plan, including the possibility of an ADU for a boomerang kid/home office/grandmother when the time comes.

 

[CleverNickName]

Re: ADUs

One thing I've learned from this long and convoluted process is that if adding an ADU is part of your plan, be sure to mention that to your realtor. Mention it early, and mention it often, because it can (will?) make things difficult.

Not every piece of property is zoned for multiple dwellings, and those that are will be priced at a premium thanks to the huge influx of property developers out here. You'll want to avoid properties that have HOAs, too, because most of these have fine print that forbid ADUs and other additions across the board. (It's best to just avoid HOAs anyway, on principle alone.)

Even if an ADU is possible, you will still want to check with the City about what permits you need and what kinds of repairs/upgrades have to be done before you can add one: building an addition larger than 8x12 will usually require you to get a building permit, and that will require you to upgrade all of the property's wiring and plumbing just to get the building permit approved.

Your best bet will be to buy a house that already has an ADU on it, or a house that already has a spare bedroom or two.

 

[Gradine]

I can't speak for the Oregon/Washington parts of the PNW, but where I live a heat wave is when the temp cracks 80. The only places with AC are the mall and the movie theatres, and even with the latter it's hit or miss depending on the screen.

 

[Ryujin]

I can't speak for the Oregon/Washington parts of the PNW, but where I live a heat wave is when the temp cracks 80. The only places with AC are the mall and the movie theatres, and even with the latter it's hit or miss depending on the screen.

The first time that I visited Seattle was April of 2016. (I thought it was earlier that that!). While I was there it didn't rain until my last day there and, even then, it was a light mist in Point Defiance. The temps were in the upper 80s and lower 90s, Fahrenheit, and everyone was complaining about the heat. The humidity was low enough that it felt like Toronto mid-70s F.

 

[trappedslider]

 

[Autumnal]

When I came from Southern California to Tacoma in 1985, you could. Manage fine without air conditioning and almost everyone did. There’s be one, maybe two miserable weeks in the upper 80s and 90s when you were very glad for fans and wet towels, then to y ended and it was back to life as usual.

Now there’ll be multiple weeks in a row with 90s and 100s, where it doesn’t cool off much at night. And there’ll be air pollution from forest fires. Air conditioning is a necessity for anyone with any condition that temperatures and pollution can intensify, and it’s at least very welcome for anyone else.

 

[Ryujin]

When I came from Southern California to Tacoma in 1985, you could. Manage fine without air conditioning and almost everyone did. There’s be one, maybe two miserable weeks in the upper 80s and 90s when you were very glad for fans and wet towels, then to y ended and it was back to life as usual.

Now there’ll be multiple weeks in a row with 90s and 100s, where it doesn’t cool off much at night. And there’ll be air pollution from forest fires. Air conditioning is a necessity for anyone with any condition that temperatures and pollution can intensify, and it’s at least very welcome for anyone else.

Urban micro climate is a thing. The temps are definitely higher where I am, in Brampton, Ontario, than they were when I first moved in during the early '70s. During that time Toronto's population has grown by roughly 2.5x and this town is almost 40x (not a typo) bigger.