Getting rid of air con

[celso]

Does anyone have any tips for not using air con?

My doc says I am probably allergic - either to the chemicals in it, or the dust it brings into the apartment - and I should avoid using it. Well I was considering that anyway, because during December when it was cold, I stopped using it and my electricity bill was only 500 baht!

I bought a couple of big fans, I'm not sure where to place them - facing towards the windows, facing away from the windows?

[RandomSand]

I find it helps to have air-flow running through the building. Leaving doors open will aid circulation in any room. Fans bringing in fresh air from open window should help. Draw the curtains on any windows that are exposed to direct sunlight. The curtains should be lined with a silver reflective nylon.

Also; A TV or computer will add heat to a room. Think about trying to blow the hot air into corridors where it can dissipate. A fridge / electric ice box also generates heat externally and can be switched off whenever possible.

Keeping your living areas clean and tidy will bring down the temperature as many objects can act as heat-stores/radiators.

In the bathroom; get used to taking your shower at a lower heat setting. That will cool your blood down.

[celso]

Thanks. I only have a small place, a 1 bedroom 40 sq ft apartment, so no corridors.

How about 1 big fan under an open window to draw air in, and another fan blowing into my bathroom where I can have the extractor running. It should make a decent air-flow?

[RandomSand]

Thanks. I only have a small place, a 1 bedroom 40 sq ft apartment, so no corridors. How about 1 big fan under an open window to draw air in, and another fan blowing into my bathroom where I can have the extractor running. It should make a decent air-flow?

Yeah It will help.

Leaving the door *and* window open will have a bigger effect. Nearly all Thai people in rooms/studios/small condos leave their doors open if the hall has any airflow at all so don't worry too much about people walking in by mistake.

[nicton]

An airconditioner cannot blow dust in a room, because there is no connection to the outside. Why should there be chemicals in the air? Impossible, at least if the airconditioner is working, means cooling.

I hope your doctor understand more about medicin than airconditioning. 5555.

[wym]

Definitely a good idea, both for health and finances to kick the A/C habit.

If you have screened windows or other ventilation open them up.

Get a decent rotating fan for each room.

Your body will adjust within a few months, yes you will suffer in the meantime, particularly if you spend time in A/C elsewhere.

Best if possible to move to a place designed with cross-breeze ventilation.

I'm now much more comfortable without it than with, and if I had to aircon my current house (five floors) it would cost an arm and a leg, both up-front and every month.

[celso]

 

An airconditioner cannot blow dust in a room, because there is no connection to the outside. Why should there be chemicals in the air? Impossible, at least if the airconditioner is working, means cooling.

I hope your doctor understand more about medicin than airconditioning. 5555.

Hmm... so where is all the dust coming from?!

[simon43]

I stopped using air-con years ago....

And after living in Yangon with no electricty at night, I stopped using a fan!

My electricty bills are quite low now

Simon

[KittenKong]

Having air-con usually means less dust in a room, not more. And there should be no chemical discharge unless it is faulty.

What the doctor probably meant to say was that you are allergic to the mould/spores that tend to develop on the radiator, filters and fan parts of the internal unit. Many people are. The solution to this is regular cleaning. When was your air-con last cleaned properly?

[celso]

Last cleaned about a year ago. Perhaps it is also the dryness? I never have aircon running in my bedroom, I wake up with a terrible throat. Usually I run it in the living room and leave the bedroom door open.

I have the fans running tonight and it is nice and cool. Not sure how it is going to affect dust build-up. Using aircon my home gets so much dust, i have to dust the entire apartment once a week.

[chrisinth]

It depends where you live with reference to the dust problem. In the city, it will come from the concrete structures, in the rural areas it will come from the fields.

Thailand is a 'dusty' country mainly because of the heat taking the moisture out of everything letting the natural or manmade airflow make it airborne.

Short of living in a complete clinical/laboratory condition, I'm afraid you will be spending a lot of time cleaning or get used to it.

[KittenKong]

I think the point about the dust is that if you keep your windows closed (as you would when running aircon) then not much extra dust can be arriving from outside. If you have your windows and doors open then extra dust and particulates will be coming into your room from outside all the time. Of course closing the windows wont prevent dust from dead skin etc from building up inside the room.

[wym]

The money you save from not using aircon will pay for a maid many times over, in my case for multiple GFs, let them keep the place spotless.

[KittenKong]

Last cleaned about a year ago. Perhaps it is also the dryness? I never have aircon running in my bedroom, I wake up with a terrible throat. Usually I run it in the living room and leave the bedroom door open.

I have the fans running tonight and it is nice and cool. Not sure how it is going to affect dust build-up. Using aircon my home gets so much dust, i have to dust the entire apartment once a week.

Cleaning is recommended (by the cleaners!) every 6 months. If you lift the cover on the internal unit you should be able to see how much mould build-up there is.

Does your throat hurt when you dont run the aircon? Does it only happen at night? If so, you may be allergic to something in/on the mattress, or indeed you may just be sleeping in a draft from the fans. Try fitting an impermeable mattress cover, or changing the mattress. Sleeping in a draft gives me all sorts of aches and pains.

I sweep the floor of my room every day (mostly kitchen dust and dead skin dust), but I only need to dust other surfaces once or twice a month. What sort of dust is it that you are collecting up?

[craigt3365]

I could never live here without AC. Especially during the hot season. But, what I do, is turn it up so it just cools a bit. But keeps the temps bearable and the humidity down a bit, but not reduced to a level where it's too dry.

I also have it serviced on a regular basis. Every 6 months they come and clean it out.

The dust is not because of the AC. You either leave your windows open or have some very big gaps in the openings??? Lately, we haven't had to open the windows and there's no dust in our house. Quite nice.

[Naam]

The money you save from not using aircon will pay for a maid many times over, in my case for multiple GFs, let them keep the place spotless.

and the maid can wipe the sweat from your forehead

[junkofdavid2]

Tried it. Without aircon, needed to keep windows open and curtains open at night, resulting in noise and lights from outside coming in.

[Berkshire]

I could never live here without AC. Especially during the hot season. But, what I do, is turn it up so it just cools a bit. But keeps the temps bearable and the humidity down a bit, but not reduced to a level where it's too dry.

I also have it serviced on a regular basis. Every 6 months they come and clean it out.

The dust is not because of the AC. You either leave your windows open or have some very big gaps in the openings??? Lately, we haven't had to open the windows and there's no dust in our house. Quite nice.

Agree. No way I can live here without AC. Kind of hard to sleep when I'm sweating profusely. And keeping the window open can bring in dust, pollution, noise, etc. I would also think that the humidity will result in more mildew accumulating. As far as allergies...has the OP always had this problem? It would seem less healthy to be bringing in polluted air.

[craigt3365]

The money you save from not using aircon will pay for a maid many times over, in my case for multiple GFs, let them keep the place spotless.

and the maid can wipe the sweat from your forehead

We haven't run AC for the past month. Since we don't run it often, our bill is between 1,500-2,000B per month cheaper than normal. Well worth the cost, IMHO.

[Naam]

The money you save from not using aircon will pay for a maid many times over, in my case for multiple GFs, let them keep the place spotless.

and the maid can wipe the sweat from your forehead

We haven't run AC for the past month. Since we don't run it often, our bill is between 1,500-2,000B per month cheaper than normal. Well worth the cost, IMHO.

there are people who claim their electricity bill is 500 Baht per month. mine is 500 Baht too during the hot season.

unfortunately not per month but per day

[i claudius]

The money you save from not using aircon will pay for a maid many times over, in my case for multiple GFs, let them keep the place spotless.

and the maid can wipe the sweat from your forehead

I tried to get her to wipe it from all over my body ,but the wife caught us and now its back to the airr con

[Ruin]

A good, maintained aircon will not make dust. The owner makes dust! A fan will probably just move the dust around a bit more.