Need A/C in Mar-April-May up here. Unbearably hot in the summer.

Helps for an hour at night during the rainy season Jun-Oct, but not absolutely necessary, a fan is fine.

Nov-Feb A/C is not needed, a fan is fine.

Also depends where you are.

Hat Yai i would imagine needing A/C 12 months of the year.

Many smaller units are hotter than outside in no time as refrigerators, tv's, routers and whatever else heat it up in no time. I feel if most of these condo spaces were empty of all that it would be quite doable on the shady side.

I normally put the ac on in the bedroom for 10-15 mins before bed, just to reduce the temp. and humidity. Then switch it off and have a fan blowing across the bed throughout the night.  It works most of the time. Occasionally I wake up hot, and just put the ac on again.

 

Now we are getting into the hot season, I will probably be having the AC on a lot longer, but the problem is, it dries the air out too much.

3 hours ago, stevenl said:

I wouldn't want it otherwise.

 

Same with me.

I do not have aircon, don't really feel the need.

Have lots of fans though.

 

Am lucky, I live klong-side always a breeze along the klong

and with some fans, I am quite comfortable.

 

(electricity bill, between 1000 and 1200 / month)

 

 

 

 

Aircon at night, helps muffle the traffic noise that never stops.

1 hour ago, melvinmelvin said:

 

Same with me.

I do not have aircon, don't really feel the need.

Have lots of fans though.

 

Am lucky, I live klong-side always a breeze along the klong

and with some fans, I am quite comfortable.

 

(electricity bill, between 1000 and 1200 / month)

 

 

 

 

What would it be on average if you ran the Air Con everyday ?

Sure.  You will eventually get used to the climate here.  People from moderate to cold countries obviously suffer more with the extreme change - red faced, miserable, soaked through with perspiration, leaving wet skid marks where they sit. 

 

Compared to well adjusted expats, lounging in a hammock under a shade tree on a hot day, wives/GFs dust them with talcum powder and feed them seedless grapes whilst fanning them with palm fronds.  Livin' the Dream.  You'll get there one day. ????

I couldn't live in Thailand most of the year without aircon. This time of year is no problem without it, but that's only for about two months. One thing I have learned to do, is not keep my house too cold when using the aircon, it only makes it seem hotter when you do go out. I often use the aircon and a fan at the same time, and set the temp to between 28-30 most of the time.

Have never ,ever used an A/c in our house, fans only,

plenty trees and water around the house to keep it

cool,sleep with windows open,maybe only 5-7 days

a year does it get a bit hot,but still not getting A/c

don't like them,have several in our rental properties,

and they can be a problem ,servicing,repairs,replacements.

regards worgeordie

12 minutes ago, georgegeorgia said:

What would it be on average if you ran the Air Con everyday ?

sorry,

haven't a clue, don't have aircon installed

 

this is a pretty old wooden Thai house, on stilts in a klong,

 

it has far more windows than what is common, quite airy actually

 

I am quite comfortable without aircon

Have 2 aircon, one in the bedroom however I rarely use it and installed a ceiling fan directly over my bed instead of the middle of the room and it's cool even on low setting

I use the TV room aircon around 16 hours a day for around 120 baht per day, the cost of a Pint.
I didnt work all my life to suffer the bangkok heat without ac when I need it but I do no know expats that never use AC but it's always always about the money and yes the "but I don't like AC" is a convenient excuse and I don't believe it for a single minute [emoji16]

1 minute ago, madmen said:

Have 2 aircon, one in the bedroom however I rarely use it and installed a ceiling fan directly over my bed instead of the middle of the room and it's cool even on low setting

I use the TV room aircon around 16 hours a day for around 120 baht per day, the cost of a Pint.
I didnt work all my life to suffer the bangkok heat without ac when I need it but I do no know expats that never use AC but it's always always about the money and yes the "but I don't like AC" is a convenient excuse and I don't believe it for a single minute

You might not believe it.. and like you i love my aircon but my brother was here on a holiday and they never used the aircon that was available in their rooms for free. They got sick from it did not like it. So there are truly people who don't like the aircon. I don't believe its always an excuse. 

You might not believe it.. and like you i love my aircon but my brother was here on a holiday and they never used the aircon that was available in their rooms for free. They got sick from it did not like it. So there are truly people who don't like the aircon. I don't believe its always an excuse. 

It was a bit tongue in cheek. Yes some people can't cope with the dry air at all but they would be a small percentage and of course those with a sea breeze don't need it

Couldn't survive without air conditioner. Mine are set at 24°c which is cool enough and also saves money, since the compressor isn't always working.

I did it last year in a guesthouse soi3 jomtien.I wanted to see if I could handle it,the room was big with a large a very large fan on the floor but being on the top floor #5 it got the full sun on it and it was really hot sometimes especially coming back from the market with a couple of bags and then climbing to the fifth floor I could have done with airco.The other disadvantage of the cheap guesthouses is the quality of the Mattress and bedding,a plastic covered mattress and cheap artificial fabric bedding does not make for a cool relaxed night's sleep,also only having a mini fridge that turned off every time you left the room was a frustration.

I could have done it if the room was out of the direct sunlight a decent bed and bedding and a big fridge that stayed on.I am back in Jomtien soi6 the Inn place with the airco set at 25c, 900baht a night.

Bought my current condo choosing on purpose a location with as little direct sunlight exposition as possible.

 

With a fan, temperature is bearable but not comfortable.

I can't open windows and doors though because of too much dust coming in from outside.

When I need some air, I set the temp at 26, 25 in the office and 24 in the bedroom.

 

Some years ago, I owned a house. The bedroom was upstairs and exposed to sunlight the whole day and often there was no wind. One correctly sized aircon unit wasn't enough to cool the room in the heat, the walls continued radiating heat until next morning.

That was one of several design issues that caused me to sell the house.

6 hours ago, RotBenz8888 said:

I tried to stay in fan rooms, but my sleep gets ruined. A good night sleep is a no1 priority. I love to keep it cool during night time, 20-21c, my wife and kid have gotten used to it, they can't stand fan rooms either????.

 

WOW - i didnt even know my A/C went that low -  I'd have to wear sweatpants and a hoodie to bed and dont have either of those types of clothing anymore - 555

6 hours ago, thaiguzzi said:

Need A/C in Mar-April-May up here. Unbearably hot in the summer.

Helps for an hour at night during the rainy season Jun-Oct, but not absolutely necessary, a fan is fine.

Nov-Feb A/C is not needed, a fan is fine.

Also depends where you are.

Hat Yai i would imagine needing A/C 12 months of the year.

When we lived in a townhouse in BKK, we used A/C at night during the hot season and sometimes at other sunny days too. Now we live outside of Hat Yai (..), no other houses, no streets, only trees around, i use neither A/C nor a fan. My wife uses several fans in the other rooms though.

I'm in a rental 3br 2 level townhouse in Nonthaburi which has one aircond in one smaller bedr. The master br is 3x larger and prefer using a large evaporative water air cooler instead. A large 30L Hatari, cost 4900thb and cools the temp by 3-4 deg with a 14in fan inbuilt, and keep the screened windows open at night for circulation.

 

In the living room a smaller water air cooler and an 18in floor fan keeps the room comfortable. Both air coolers have frozen water bricks to keep the water quite cool. The only disadvantage is having to fill them daily with water and clean the water tray monthly. 

 

We could move into the smaller br if we wanted, but don't need to. 

If we are away travelling in Thailand or SE Asia, most rooms have aircond, and the first thing I check is the filter. So many are black with fifth, cleaned maybe once yearly. So I pull the filter out, and if dirty a 2 min wash under the shower head or bum gun, let it dry out for an hour and refit it. And advise reception on checkout if was disgustingly filthy. I usually take a before and after photo to show them. 

 

Four years ago I was staying in a boutique hotel off Sukhumvit in BKK, with very stuffy aircond. Two weeks later when back home in Oz developed Pneumonia and Legionnaires Disease, in ICU for 10 days and was off work for 3 mths. Later found out from my doctor that I was extremely lucky to survive. 85% don't he said.. So I am now extremely cautious about aircond cleanliness. The airborne spores of mould and bacteria can be far more lethai than PM2.5.. 

20 years, fan only, even that is too cold these nights. Cannot stand air con, dries everything up and makes me fall asleep, when you wake up it is like having a serious head cold.

What is your BMI? "Traditionally built" people are better insulated than skinnies, so cannot easily shed excess heat. 

One of the most exciting posts I have seen for years. It almost beats watching paint dry. 

AC is good to have even if it is only for a few hours during the pick. 

 

11 hours ago, CGW said:

Sure, you can get by without AC, the facts are different though, air quality in a properly maintained AC environment is a lot healthier:-

It improves comfort levels, It improves performance.

It can result in increased physical and intellectual activity.

A lower temperature reduces the presence of insects and parasites.

Lower temperatures mean less sweating, reducing the risk of dehydration.

A clean air conditioning system helps exclude external allergens such as pollens.

If the air conditioning installation is good, and if it is well maintained, it renews and improves air quality.

This is precisely why I like fan rooms. That, and I just don't like going back and forth from frigid temps to ambient.

I stay at a lot of hotels. I assume they all change/clean the filters on the AC units somewhere around the 12th of never.

Blasting air through filthy filters can't be good for your health. Constantly sucking in outside air all day and night long, in areas with poor air quality sounds pretty counter-intuitive.

Unless you own the AC unit, you've no clue how well maintained they are.

Probably not so much here in Thailand.

 

Switching my body temp back and forth doesn't feel natural or healthy to me.

Acclimating to my environment does.

I find it easier to stay hydrated when I am tuned into the local climate and not stressing my body with hot/cold fluctuations all day.

 

I've also noticed that rooms with AC often don't have serviceable windows or proper bug screens, thus no option other than the AC. Yuk.

 

Do I get joy when I notice how much I save long-term? Heck ya!

But it isn't the primary motivator, the savings is a welcome side effect.

 

To each his own.

 

 

 

3 hours ago, Formaleins said:

20 years, fan only, even that is too cold these nights. Cannot stand air con, dries everything up and makes me fall asleep, when you wake up it is like having a serious head cold.

Agreed. I'm strictly fan only. 

 

Aircon is unhealthy.

 

have aircon but rarely use, it can't beat an open window (mozzie net for the evening/night), through flow of air and a fan.

My Mrs won't turn the aircon off but to solve it being cold she'll sleep with big duvet covering herself head to toe. 

I lived for about 2 years in Loei and one in BKK without aircon.  The house in Loei had wood shutters.  No glass or window screens to impede the flow of air or critters.  Aircon wasn't common 42 years ago.

 

Our current house in Loei has a couple air conditioners.  But the electric supply is bad.  When it gets really hot, there isn't sufficient voltage to run the units.  My wife has petitioned the electric company.  They will do an upgrade some day. 

 

I once spent some time in a hotel in Maha Sarakham in April.  The top floor got terribly hot.  We resorted to dumping buckets of water on the floor and covering ourselves with a damp pakama.

6 hours ago, manarak said:

Bought my current condo choosing on purpose a location with as little direct sunlight exposition as possible.

 

With a fan, temperature is bearable but not comfortable.

I can't open windows and doors though because of too much dust coming in from outside.

When I need some air, I set the temp at 26, 25 in the office and 24 in the bedroom.

 

Some years ago, I owned a house. The bedroom was upstairs and exposed to sunlight the whole day and often there was no wind. One correctly sized aircon unit wasn't enough to cool the room in the heat, the walls continued radiating heat until next morning.

That was one of several design issues that caused me to sell the house.

Standard Thai construction standards (brick&mortar) here suck for heat mitigation.  They're all like that unless you do a new design/build, specify materials and/or retrofit aftermarket and add shading/insulation features.   

I would've kept my aircon on 28 all the time, except with the AC running that little, I started having mold issues.  It sucked having to freeze in my own home to try to keep my stuff from being ruined, but I wasn't there long enough to justify spending a few hundred bucks for dehumidifiers instead.  Humidity was the only thing I didn't like about Thailand-- living in it, no problem, but its effect on my stuff sucked (mold on anything wood or leather and sometimes other stuff, anything faux-leather disintegrating, moldy-sweat smell from shoes).

 

Don't know if I could've managed with windows open, though (maybe that would've helped mitigate the humidity issue, maybe it just got trapped in my apartment-- I never thought of that until later).  I was never sure about BKK air pollution, plus I lived near a construction site (who in Bangkok doesn't...) and I don't know if that was why my floors were constantly filthy-- no, of course I didn't wear my shoes inside-- but if they were always that dirty with windows closed, I can't imagine if I left windows open...