{5} Thoughts on Air Conditioning

It's summer in Indiana which means it's AC season.  BUT...I have thoughts.  Lots of thoughts (because who doesn't have thoughts on air conditioning?).  To start, where we live, June-August temps average 80s-mid 90s during the hottest parts of the day.  100° days aren't out of the question but they are rare (maybe a handful a summer).  So it gets hot here but not super hot.

Now my not at all deep thoughts on air conditioning:

1) It's a necessity but....
I grew up with central air.  Matt did not.  When we were house hunting I said I didn't know how I could live without it and it was on our priority list.  That being said...Matt definitely turns it on (wants it on) more than me...I rarely suggest turning it on and could definitely live without it easier than he could.  I also have a much higher tolerance for heat than most people...it takes much higher temps for me to actually be hot. (My ideal outside weather: mid 80s, sunny, little wind.  My ideal temperature: hot car.).  So while I'm the one who insisted on it, Matt's the one who needs it.

2) Air conditioning is best for sleeping
If I am going to turn on the air, about 90% of the time it's going to be for sleeping.  I hate waking up in a sweat in the middle of the night because it's too hot.  Which is how our air ended up being on in early May.  But then I turned it off as soon as I was up in the morning.  Opened windows all day.  And then back on it went at night. 

3) But I don't want it on all the time
I HATE the idea of being inside all summer with the air.  HATE IT.  I want to actually feel summer.  I want windows open and I generally don't mind being warm during the day.  I want to hear lawn mowers and kids playing and smell the flowers through the windows.  The idea of being cooped up in a cold house with windows shut all summer just....ugggg...I don't have enough words for how much I hate that.  I think I'd take no air over AC all the time (if I had to choose, thankfully I don't).  I want to feel a change of the seasons, even if it gets a little warm.

4) We spend more time outside when the air is off
This might be partially because when the air is on it's pretty hot and miserable outside (90°+).  But also, I'm just more inclined to send Luke out there when the windows are open and I can hear him.  I read on the porch when I can open windows, it's like an oven out there when the air is on and the windows shut.  Turning off the air makes us appreciate summer more I think, or at least take advantage of the things we can't do when it's cold outside!  (Like...be outside without freezing...)

5) If I have to wear layers in the house, the air is too low
My feet get cold in flip-flops about 76°.  I don't want to have to wear pants in the house because the air is too low.  We keep ours around 77°-78° most of the time.  Enough to cool off but not enough to be cold.  If it's so cold that I need more than shorts and a t-shirt...it's too cold.  And I'm too cheap to pay for that!  Also, it's summer.  I shouldn't be cold!

Where do you fall on the AC/no AC/some AC line?  I'm very glad we have it but also don't mind not using it most of the time!  Although if we lived somewhere south where temps are often over 100, I'm pretty sure I'd have a different opinion!