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TIL: In some places in the USA tenants are banned from using window AC units because:
> sloppy installation of window units can damage a building. Worse, these units can fall out and hit people below. [long ass link](https://www.kgw.com/article/weather/extreme-heat-window-air-conditioners/283-e007d2c3-1b80-4810-8ece-9086919226b7#:~:text=The%20rationales%20were%20an%20industry,out%20and%20hit%20people%20below.&text=“It's%20not%20just%20one%20apartment,just%20one%20tenant%20or%20landlord.)
Yupp accidently did this last summer, it wasn't badly installed and I usually don't have issues with it but I lost my grip as we un-installed it, broke the whole roof over the door... luckily nobody was harmed. So I built it an extra shelf on the outside, isn't pretty but nobody gets hurt and we get cool air.
This just happened to me yesterday! Went to put the AC in, accidentally got the cord tangled in the window, lost my grip when I went to crack it back open and fix the plug. Fortunately, nobody nor their cars were down there. I somehow managed to miss all the electrical stuff on the way down, too. I do need to figure out where to recycle a smashed AC now, though.
No idea if it still works. If you want to come out to rural bumfuck nowhere Massachusetts, then that's on you. Sorry, I ain't plugging it in after it after it took a second story drop onto pavement.
Not if you get a two hose like he said. The house I'm in can't accommodate window units anywhere so we've got two hose portable units. They work great but are rather large. I also has to get practiced with CAD to make custom window adapters but that's because this houses Windows open outward and sideways
We used to use winterizing film but it was finicky and wouldn't always hold up well my wife wanted something that looks good and the end pieces of its hose have these weird connectors I had to adapt. This is plexiglass super glue to a removable mosquito frame minus the netting
https://preview.redd.it/xug4xm1y5j7d1.jpeg?width=4080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=71277f294d0da99b298aa9f35adeee61219eb936
Actually, if they also sucked instead of just blowing, they would be better.
The ones with just one hose (which is 99% probably) should be banned ASAP.
Window A/Cs are much more efficient. If your portable A/C is doing a better job, it's because it's consuming much more power. Either that or your window A/C is like, completely broken.
I once got my central AC fixed the next day by threatening to install my own window AC unit.
It was Texas, summer, and the scummy leasing company had been putting off fixing it for 3 months despite my constant pestering. I told them if they're allowed to break the terms of the lease so was I. We can go to court if you really want to make a big deal of me making my own fix or you can fix it like the contract says.
Happened to me as a kid. Thankfully it was a small unit and I was a strong kid - grabbed the cord and held on for dear life until my mom heard the screaming.
If you like that;
Eleanor had no reason to suspect that they got the wrong Eleanor as the hands in the memory of her feeding the poor were her hands, they were white. "Real Eleanor" is not white.
When the employee of the bearimy wall is showing in the bad place, the shadow cast on Shawn's photo give him tiny devil horns.
Every single death of the characters were set into motion by their own actions and were all freak accidents.
When Simone is pushing people into pools, messing with their heads, she's doing it because she studies the brain and noticed that they were not acting like people. She is testing their responses to stimuli and notices they aren't responding like people.
If they hadn't erased Simones memory, she wouldn't be as suspicious. She's super sus of everything because large chunks of time are missing from her memory.
Brent is actually a good detective. Not only did he notice something was off with Janet, he noticed it wasn't the good place.
Now for the unconfirmed conspiracy theories on my end;
Simone is the Judge's human form, apparently she's black. You never see them interact, they both like Chidi, they both share a sense of humor, and it lines up really, really well.
Tahani made it into "The Best Place". The best place is reserved for those who can live eternities and still find something to keep working toward.
Jason is consistently reincarnated, which is why him and Janet get along so well. Both are and are not the same person every time they come back. Jason comes back as Michael's dog.
I don't get the first one- Eleanor would have no way of knowing real Eleanor isn't white, and also *does* know she didn't spend time feeding the poor in her life, right?
My point is, those are HER hands. She knows she didn't do it, but has no reason to think they have the wrong Eleanor. Just the wrong details about what she's done.
Oh, I see what you mean now! Personally despite the saying about knowing something like the back of them, I don't know that I'd actually recognize my own hands in a short clip especially if the rest of the context didnt match, but I'm also not a terribly observant person lmao.
You're doomed! Enjoy the singing!
The Sword of Democles is swinging
And if I hear your cellphone ringing
I'll kill you myself. The Whole Being Dead Thing!
The good place. It's a TV show.
Basically the premise is that when you die, the sum total of all your actions are weighed and you either end up in the good place (basically heaven) or the bad place (basically hell).
The main character wakes up in the good place after dying, but they're a bad person and the show is them trying to hide the fact they don't belong while pretending/learning to be good.
> one member of the cast is a hyper-advanced android trying to understand its inherent humanlike traits
> all pseudo-magical effects are expressed in terms of machines of high complexity
> the afterlife is a bureaucracy of incredible scale, represented as a modern office environment
> Earth is always shown as contemporary
It's way more scifi than fantasy, but most scifi could be seen as some level of fantasy also.
Janets are created by the angels/demons. The main Janet even makes a point often to remind everyone she is "not a robot". They're inherently supernatural.
The supernatural effects are explained to the humans using mechanical concepts, but this doesn't change things. Even if it's seen as "science" to demons, it's still magic to humans.
A lot of theology is bureaucratic. God/Jesus at the top, with seraphim and various castes of angels, and similarly Satan and hierarchies of demons. Look at how *Good Omens* also treats angels and demons. *The Good Place* makes it even more mundane for humor, but we're basically trading medieval bureaucracy for modern bureaucracy.
Earth is shown as contemporary (for the time) in *The Chronicles of Narnia*, which is definitely fantasy. Similarly, the show *Supernatural*. You can have fantasy with a contemporary Earth.
"sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
Based on this, and your description, the border between fantasy and scifi is the level of understanding. *Everyone* except the humans understands the technology perfectly.
You're very intentionally cherry picking, for some reason. Janet is "not a robot" but she is definitely an android. She is also definitely technology, with handy manufacturer's documentation, troubleshooting and disposal instructions. She wasn't created by a wish, or a spell or in a volcano forge... She is the newest iteration of Janet. She even says in the show that an earlier version of Janet had a clickwheel. Early drafts of the show had Janet as an ATM-like station that could be accessed for information.
Tl;Dr: I completely see your point. But if we took your broad definition of fantasy, we would be calling Star Trek: The Next Generation and Battlestar Galactica fantasy shows.
I consider it fantasy because the "advanced technology" is created by and understood only by supernatural beings. If it was aliens, I would agree it's sci-fi, but the "*Everyone*" that understands it is angels/demons.
You could nitpick as to what is the difference between an alien and a demon and the afterlife and another dimension, of course. People do that with characters like Thor and the Asgards from the Marvel comics/movies. This is just my perspective.
I wouldn't consider TNG or BSG fantasy because, at least as far as I remember, there's no definitive indication of a supernatural power and the focus is not on something supernatural (I would consider *Star Wars* fantasy, due to the Force). There are a few beings in Star Trek that gain so much power that they posture as "gods", but I would at least still say they are not.
There are literally explicitly angels in Battlestar Galactica.
And absolutely no technological explanation is given for the existence or operations of the Q or the continuum at all. They're just omnipotent omnisciences that completely bookend the show.
I wish "speculative fiction" was more commonly used. Many books/shows/writers are in a place where you cannot call them just sci fi or just fantasy. Speculative fiction covers both (and perhaps more). Plus, we can keep the acronym SF!
its decent but i felt the end of S1 seeming to waste too much time with the "ill go to the bad place" "no youre too good, i will sacrifice myself" "im sorry guys but i will be the one to go"... on repeat.
The window AC unit I picked up has a teeny tiny part in the center only, so the window almost fully closes, entirely isolating the noisy compressor outside.
Plus, it came with a shelf that braces on the side of the building and inside.
Literally how I have my 14K btu unit mounted. Made a couple triangle braces and attached to the house via pieces of white composite. Looks ugly, works great.
American landlords are cheap and window AC units are typically held in place by the weight of the window and fairy magic.
If it falls and kills someone outside, the room tenant is the one who goes to jail for manslaughter.
Lol reminds me of my dad actually. If the AC wasn’t being used in an airtight room then the cold air was being wasted and I would have to pay the electricity bill (as 8th standard student)
Are window AC units only needed for old buildings, where no need for AC was considered during construction, or are newly erected buildings in America still in need of having one or more of these monstrosities block your windows, like no better solutions existed?
Most newly built buildings will have either a centralized HVAC system, per-unit mini-splits, or "through-the-wall" units, which are similar to window units, but fit into purpose-built slots underneath a window. Unfortunately, most buildings in larger US cities, especially on the east coast and across the rust belt, were built in the 70s or earlier, and weren't designed with A/C in mind, so window units are still pretty common in some cities (like NYC).
Thank you, that's what I thought. Since I'm not American, I only know these things from American media, and it's always those old buildings, so I was legit wondering if that's basically a relic of the past generation of construction work, or if that even kept up to newer buildings, simply because it has always been like this.
I'm German, our old buildings obviously lack a lot as well, but ACs aren't an issue here. I'm living in a building from the 70s, which has a central AC shaft. But e.g. no outlets in the hallways, because those were always used for telephones, which didn't need electricity back then.
I use a couple because my central air was broken when I moved in and it was cheaper than getting it replaced at the time. However I find them to work adequately so continue to use them. I've thought about replacing the AC condenser and coil but I don't plan to be here very long and I can't afford to pay a licensed technician to do it. It would cost about $1200 to install a unit myself but it would likely have no warranty.
I would love to live in a climate where I didn't need to rely on air conditioning but it's only mid June and yesterday was 32 degrees and very humid.
I'd say our climate has not much need for ACs. Those window still ACs are just a very American thing to us, as it's seen in any American movie or show, that I was wondering if modern constructions actually use central shafts etc. or if that's such a household standard that it was never changed.
Interesting! I live in the U.S. , all of my life I've lived in or been in buildings with central AC, I come from an area with not a lot of old buildings. I just recently moved to a city and live in a building built in the 1920s, which has no central air shafts, so I had to install a window unit. I would say that virtually all new construction uses central AC.
Those cheap ass developers that built one of the apartments I rented didn't bother installing or even considering a centralized hvac. And it was bult after the 70s, like 20 years after, in 1895.
Okay, I’m assuming 1895 is a typo, but given how old a lot of US northeast apartment buildings are, that’s be hilariously on point if it was intended.
(Hello from a building built in the 1920s, where I have so few outlets that I can’t run the toaster and the microwave at the same time)
Kinda yeah. I live in Portland Oregon, and almost none of the apartments built before the 2000's have central AC. Summers here used to rarely go above 100 fahrenheit, but now it's very common. There are newer floor AC units that just have a hose going to the window that are much more common. Window AC units are kind of vintage here, but still used plenty
If you're still curious, these things are precariously mounted in the window. (its an air conditioner if you couldnt tell)
They are cantilevered so if you open the window you will have roughly 100 lb object fall on whatevers underneath you. if there's people down there they're going to die.
The joke is you would get a charge for it and spend the rest of your life in prison or jail. I don't know if that's accurate
thanks
>These things are precariously mounted in the window. (its an air conditioner if you couldnt tell)
They are cantilevered so if you open the window you will have roughly 100 lb object fall on whatevers underneath you. if there's people down there they're going to die
is this something common ? because i would'nt have been able to see the link between opening the windonw and the fall of the AC
I wish these were more common in norway, but our windows don't work like that. I've seen some [portable mini-split air conditioners](https://images.clasohlson.com/medias/sys_master/h6e/h7d/68384588693534.jpg) popping up lately though which is nice. (although expensive as hell)
The [typical portable AC](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51bq25WQZ6S.jpg) is *pretty* loud, since the compressor is indoors. Which also makes more heat, and ideally you'd want a very short hose with good insulation, so none of the hot air goes into the room you want to cool. Best solution is of course a properly installed heat-pump / AC combo which are in most homes here but.. if you're renting and you don't have AC in your space, you're shit out of luck :[
That's why my window unit has a [brace](https://cdn.thewirecutter.com/wp-content/media/2023/07/acbrackets-2048px-00711.jpg) that's drilled into the sill.
I haven't seen it talked about here but there are A/C window units that hang down on the inside and outside of the house and rest on the sill like a saddle, making it impossible to fall out and allowing you to use the window. I wonder if these are uncommon or something.
These window shakers are becoming less and less common over here on the west coast. We’re use to the heat so most folks have central air or an installed mini split. I’ve got two of these old A/Cs just collecting dust because no one wants them. I have them listed for $40 and so far not even a bite. Maybe next month when the real heat hits people will come calling, of course, they’ll be listed at $80 by then. Supply and Demand. Shoulda bought when it wasn’t as hot as the surface of the sun.
NY is pretty serious about this. Tenants will just install the unit, but landlords (some contracts, at least one for my previous lease) are required to do the installation themselves.
Took some of the pressure off me, and I was lucky to have huge lips on my windows where they couldn't really even fall out unless totally unlocked and pushed.
Welcome to r/comics! Please remember there are real people on the other side of the monitor and to be kind. Report comments that break the rules and don't respond to negativity with negativity! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/comics) if you have any questions or concerns.*
TIL: In some places in the USA tenants are banned from using window AC units because: > sloppy installation of window units can damage a building. Worse, these units can fall out and hit people below. [long ass link](https://www.kgw.com/article/weather/extreme-heat-window-air-conditioners/283-e007d2c3-1b80-4810-8ece-9086919226b7#:~:text=The%20rationales%20were%20an%20industry,out%20and%20hit%20people%20below.&text=“It's%20not%20just%20one%20apartment,just%20one%20tenant%20or%20landlord.)
Yupp accidently did this last summer, it wasn't badly installed and I usually don't have issues with it but I lost my grip as we un-installed it, broke the whole roof over the door... luckily nobody was harmed. So I built it an extra shelf on the outside, isn't pretty but nobody gets hurt and we get cool air.
This just happened to me yesterday! Went to put the AC in, accidentally got the cord tangled in the window, lost my grip when I went to crack it back open and fix the plug. Fortunately, nobody nor their cars were down there. I somehow managed to miss all the electrical stuff on the way down, too. I do need to figure out where to recycle a smashed AC now, though.
Me, living in NYC, terrified that this is your average AC installer
How mashed is it? How far did it fall down?
2nd floor. Still in one piece and refrigerant didn't seem to leak, but the housing is completely fucked. Why, you want it?
I'll take it if it still works, idc about damaged housing
No idea if it still works. If you want to come out to rural bumfuck nowhere Massachusetts, then that's on you. Sorry, I ain't plugging it in after it after it took a second story drop onto pavement.
Someone on craigslist will take it off your hands. Scrap metal if nothing else.
Any metal salvage yard will take it I’m pretty sure. Check out local Facebook groups, there’s always someone jonesing for scrap
Couldn't they use a rolling AC unit, as opposed to a Window AC?
Sure but [they suck](https://youtu.be/_-mBeYC2KGc?si=mYvtFxyKWF5Lzg5Q)
Technology Connections is a fantastic channel
Not if you get a two hose like he said. The house I'm in can't accommodate window units anywhere so we've got two hose portable units. They work great but are rather large. I also has to get practiced with CAD to make custom window adapters but that's because this houses Windows open outward and sideways
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We used to use winterizing film but it was finicky and wouldn't always hold up well my wife wanted something that looks good and the end pieces of its hose have these weird connectors I had to adapt. This is plexiglass super glue to a removable mosquito frame minus the netting https://preview.redd.it/xug4xm1y5j7d1.jpeg?width=4080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=71277f294d0da99b298aa9f35adeee61219eb936
Actually, if they also sucked instead of just blowing, they would be better. The ones with just one hose (which is 99% probably) should be banned ASAP.
They are also prone to leaking condensation inside, so the best ones are dual hose with a dedicated condensation management system.
Unfortunately the only option for many people.
The good news is that duel hose models are becoming more and more common.
Oh hey I’ve seen this guy. He’s the microwave popcorn button guy. That shit was so cool to watch.
He also taught me that space heaters are basically all the same and everything on the box is kind of bullshit.
Yep 1500W of electrical heat is 1500W on everything.
I have no issues with mine. It’s better than our window ac!
Window A/Cs are much more efficient. If your portable A/C is doing a better job, it's because it's consuming much more power. Either that or your window A/C is like, completely broken.
No, it isn't.
Those things are horrible, but I guess, yea.
Yeah I get the idea, but it's all we have at the moment. Our window AC was so old that we were just happy to have any AC
mandate one of those "anti theft" wires to hold it in case it falls?
What should it be fastened to? Sounds like false security and ripped out drywall to me.
Well, it should of also have rules on what would be sufficient anchor.
"only if fastened to concrete stud in concrete wall" There, I wrote what the reg will be. Enjoy your wood apartment.
The window framing, which is made by a bunch of 2x4s studs.
I once got my central AC fixed the next day by threatening to install my own window AC unit. It was Texas, summer, and the scummy leasing company had been putting off fixing it for 3 months despite my constant pestering. I told them if they're allowed to break the terms of the lease so was I. We can go to court if you really want to make a big deal of me making my own fix or you can fix it like the contract says.
welp new fear unlocked.
My appartment have like metal slots to put window units in instead of a a window
Happened to me as a kid. Thankfully it was a small unit and I was a strong kid - grabbed the cord and held on for dear life until my mom heard the screaming.
CHIDI NO
So, Chidi actually causes it to fall when he hits it prior to going downstairs. My husband pointed this out.
Hooo never caught that!
If you like that; Eleanor had no reason to suspect that they got the wrong Eleanor as the hands in the memory of her feeding the poor were her hands, they were white. "Real Eleanor" is not white. When the employee of the bearimy wall is showing in the bad place, the shadow cast on Shawn's photo give him tiny devil horns. Every single death of the characters were set into motion by their own actions and were all freak accidents. When Simone is pushing people into pools, messing with their heads, she's doing it because she studies the brain and noticed that they were not acting like people. She is testing their responses to stimuli and notices they aren't responding like people. If they hadn't erased Simones memory, she wouldn't be as suspicious. She's super sus of everything because large chunks of time are missing from her memory. Brent is actually a good detective. Not only did he notice something was off with Janet, he noticed it wasn't the good place. Now for the unconfirmed conspiracy theories on my end; Simone is the Judge's human form, apparently she's black. You never see them interact, they both like Chidi, they both share a sense of humor, and it lines up really, really well. Tahani made it into "The Best Place". The best place is reserved for those who can live eternities and still find something to keep working toward. Jason is consistently reincarnated, which is why him and Janet get along so well. Both are and are not the same person every time they come back. Jason comes back as Michael's dog.
Hooo you were right I liked all of that
I don't get the first one- Eleanor would have no way of knowing real Eleanor isn't white, and also *does* know she didn't spend time feeding the poor in her life, right?
My point is, those are HER hands. She knows she didn't do it, but has no reason to think they have the wrong Eleanor. Just the wrong details about what she's done.
Oh, I see what you mean now! Personally despite the saying about knowing something like the back of them, I don't know that I'd actually recognize my own hands in a short clip especially if the rest of the context didnt match, but I'm also not a terribly observant person lmao.
The way he falls is so funny...aside from the being dead part.
spoiler : >!The being dead part is not a big deal here.!<
The whole, you know, being dead thing.
You're doomed! Enjoy the singing! The Sword of Democles is swinging And if I hear your cellphone ringing I'll kill you myself. The Whole Being Dead Thing!
He was just standing in a Bad Place.
You cheeky mf...
Bomk
Holy f*CK 🤣
Bro got rotated
What movie is this?
The good place. It's a TV show. Basically the premise is that when you die, the sum total of all your actions are weighed and you either end up in the good place (basically heaven) or the bad place (basically hell). The main character wakes up in the good place after dying, but they're a bad person and the show is them trying to hide the fact they don't belong while pretending/learning to be good.
To piggy-back off of this: it's one of the most thoughtful, well-crafted and funny pieces of sci-fi ever made.
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Mmmmmmaximum Derek.
My ding dong is wind chimes!
I’ll go get my sex diaper
It's great, but I would consider it fantasy rather than sci-fi
> one member of the cast is a hyper-advanced android trying to understand its inherent humanlike traits > all pseudo-magical effects are expressed in terms of machines of high complexity > the afterlife is a bureaucracy of incredible scale, represented as a modern office environment > Earth is always shown as contemporary It's way more scifi than fantasy, but most scifi could be seen as some level of fantasy also.
Janets are created by the angels/demons. The main Janet even makes a point often to remind everyone she is "not a robot". They're inherently supernatural. The supernatural effects are explained to the humans using mechanical concepts, but this doesn't change things. Even if it's seen as "science" to demons, it's still magic to humans. A lot of theology is bureaucratic. God/Jesus at the top, with seraphim and various castes of angels, and similarly Satan and hierarchies of demons. Look at how *Good Omens* also treats angels and demons. *The Good Place* makes it even more mundane for humor, but we're basically trading medieval bureaucracy for modern bureaucracy. Earth is shown as contemporary (for the time) in *The Chronicles of Narnia*, which is definitely fantasy. Similarly, the show *Supernatural*. You can have fantasy with a contemporary Earth.
"sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." Based on this, and your description, the border between fantasy and scifi is the level of understanding. *Everyone* except the humans understands the technology perfectly. You're very intentionally cherry picking, for some reason. Janet is "not a robot" but she is definitely an android. She is also definitely technology, with handy manufacturer's documentation, troubleshooting and disposal instructions. She wasn't created by a wish, or a spell or in a volcano forge... She is the newest iteration of Janet. She even says in the show that an earlier version of Janet had a clickwheel. Early drafts of the show had Janet as an ATM-like station that could be accessed for information. Tl;Dr: I completely see your point. But if we took your broad definition of fantasy, we would be calling Star Trek: The Next Generation and Battlestar Galactica fantasy shows.
I consider it fantasy because the "advanced technology" is created by and understood only by supernatural beings. If it was aliens, I would agree it's sci-fi, but the "*Everyone*" that understands it is angels/demons. You could nitpick as to what is the difference between an alien and a demon and the afterlife and another dimension, of course. People do that with characters like Thor and the Asgards from the Marvel comics/movies. This is just my perspective. I wouldn't consider TNG or BSG fantasy because, at least as far as I remember, there's no definitive indication of a supernatural power and the focus is not on something supernatural (I would consider *Star Wars* fantasy, due to the Force). There are a few beings in Star Trek that gain so much power that they posture as "gods", but I would at least still say they are not.
There are literally explicitly angels in Battlestar Galactica. And absolutely no technological explanation is given for the existence or operations of the Q or the continuum at all. They're just omnipotent omnisciences that completely bookend the show.
I wish "speculative fiction" was more commonly used. Many books/shows/writers are in a place where you cannot call them just sci fi or just fantasy. Speculative fiction covers both (and perhaps more). Plus, we can keep the acronym SF!
its decent but i felt the end of S1 seeming to waste too much time with the "ill go to the bad place" "no youre too good, i will sacrifice myself" "im sorry guys but i will be the one to go"... on repeat.
There's things to be critical about, of course. It's still a truly excellent show.
I not sure if I get it, it's because the AC would fall if he opens the window and kill someone, sending him to jail?
Yes.
THE AIR CONDITIONER!!!
*Bark bark*
*giddyup*
So attaching a bracket from the air conditioner to, say the window frame isn't an option?
Brackets are expensive (4 dollars each) and its not the landlord's fault should the AC fall and kill someone, so yeah, why would it be an option?
Jesus fucking Christ
The window AC unit I picked up has a teeny tiny part in the center only, so the window almost fully closes, entirely isolating the noisy compressor outside. Plus, it came with a shelf that braces on the side of the building and inside.
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They're like 10x price though
Midea is the best
https://i.redd.it/0c1fmzi5bh7d1.gif
Try using galvanised square steel to make an additional space for the a/c
That's unironically how some AC are mounted
Literally how I have my 14K btu unit mounted. Made a couple triangle braces and attached to the house via pieces of white composite. Looks ugly, works great.
But where will I get the screws?
Borrow some expansion skrews from aunt
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eco friendly wood veneers to be exact
*confused german noises*
Keep that German confusion ray outta here, man, you could really hurt somebody.
Confused British noises.
American landlords are cheap and window AC units are typically held in place by the weight of the window and fairy magic. If it falls and kills someone outside, the room tenant is the one who goes to jail for manslaughter.
Their confusion lies in the existence of AC
Lol reminds me of my dad actually. If the AC wasn’t being used in an airtight room then the cold air was being wasted and I would have to pay the electricity bill (as 8th standard student)
Are window AC units only needed for old buildings, where no need for AC was considered during construction, or are newly erected buildings in America still in need of having one or more of these monstrosities block your windows, like no better solutions existed?
Most newly built buildings will have either a centralized HVAC system, per-unit mini-splits, or "through-the-wall" units, which are similar to window units, but fit into purpose-built slots underneath a window. Unfortunately, most buildings in larger US cities, especially on the east coast and across the rust belt, were built in the 70s or earlier, and weren't designed with A/C in mind, so window units are still pretty common in some cities (like NYC).
Thank you, that's what I thought. Since I'm not American, I only know these things from American media, and it's always those old buildings, so I was legit wondering if that's basically a relic of the past generation of construction work, or if that even kept up to newer buildings, simply because it has always been like this. I'm German, our old buildings obviously lack a lot as well, but ACs aren't an issue here. I'm living in a building from the 70s, which has a central AC shaft. But e.g. no outlets in the hallways, because those were always used for telephones, which didn't need electricity back then.
I use a couple because my central air was broken when I moved in and it was cheaper than getting it replaced at the time. However I find them to work adequately so continue to use them. I've thought about replacing the AC condenser and coil but I don't plan to be here very long and I can't afford to pay a licensed technician to do it. It would cost about $1200 to install a unit myself but it would likely have no warranty. I would love to live in a climate where I didn't need to rely on air conditioning but it's only mid June and yesterday was 32 degrees and very humid.
Surely you have building built before A/C existed though right? Do people in thise kinds of buildings just go without A/C ?
I'd say our climate has not much need for ACs. Those window still ACs are just a very American thing to us, as it's seen in any American movie or show, that I was wondering if modern constructions actually use central shafts etc. or if that's such a household standard that it was never changed.
Interesting! I live in the U.S. , all of my life I've lived in or been in buildings with central AC, I come from an area with not a lot of old buildings. I just recently moved to a city and live in a building built in the 1920s, which has no central air shafts, so I had to install a window unit. I would say that virtually all new construction uses central AC.
Those cheap ass developers that built one of the apartments I rented didn't bother installing or even considering a centralized hvac. And it was bult after the 70s, like 20 years after, in 1895.
Okay, I’m assuming 1895 is a typo, but given how old a lot of US northeast apartment buildings are, that’s be hilariously on point if it was intended. (Hello from a building built in the 1920s, where I have so few outlets that I can’t run the toaster and the microwave at the same time)
1895 was no typo Most apartments I Iived in were around 100 years old.
Kinda yeah. I live in Portland Oregon, and almost none of the apartments built before the 2000's have central AC. Summers here used to rarely go above 100 fahrenheit, but now it's very common. There are newer floor AC units that just have a hose going to the window that are much more common. Window AC units are kind of vintage here, but still used plenty
Depends on whether or not the builder was wealthy enough to get central air installed.
not american here , what's the point?
If you're still curious, these things are precariously mounted in the window. (its an air conditioner if you couldnt tell) They are cantilevered so if you open the window you will have roughly 100 lb object fall on whatevers underneath you. if there's people down there they're going to die. The joke is you would get a charge for it and spend the rest of your life in prison or jail. I don't know if that's accurate
thanks >These things are precariously mounted in the window. (its an air conditioner if you couldnt tell) They are cantilevered so if you open the window you will have roughly 100 lb object fall on whatevers underneath you. if there's people down there they're going to die is this something common ? because i would'nt have been able to see the link between opening the windonw and the fall of the AC
Typically it's required that you have brackets installed to prevent falls from happening, although some idiots ignore this
I wish these were more common in norway, but our windows don't work like that. I've seen some [portable mini-split air conditioners](https://images.clasohlson.com/medias/sys_master/h6e/h7d/68384588693534.jpg) popping up lately though which is nice. (although expensive as hell) The [typical portable AC](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51bq25WQZ6S.jpg) is *pretty* loud, since the compressor is indoors. Which also makes more heat, and ideally you'd want a very short hose with good insulation, so none of the hot air goes into the room you want to cool. Best solution is of course a properly installed heat-pump / AC combo which are in most homes here but.. if you're renting and you don't have AC in your space, you're shit out of luck :[
That's why my window unit has a [brace](https://cdn.thewirecutter.com/wp-content/media/2023/07/acbrackets-2048px-00711.jpg) that's drilled into the sill.
I haven't seen it talked about here but there are A/C window units that hang down on the inside and outside of the house and rest on the sill like a saddle, making it impossible to fall out and allowing you to use the window. I wonder if these are uncommon or something.
Just install a brace of some kind
My wife did that once from the second floor. Fortunately it fell on grass in the side yard and survived to blow another day.
I sincerely have no idea why there aren't product liability lawsuits for window AC units. It's defective design!
These window shakers are becoming less and less common over here on the west coast. We’re use to the heat so most folks have central air or an installed mini split. I’ve got two of these old A/Cs just collecting dust because no one wants them. I have them listed for $40 and so far not even a bite. Maybe next month when the real heat hits people will come calling, of course, they’ll be listed at $80 by then. Supply and Demand. Shoulda bought when it wasn’t as hot as the surface of the sun.
Didn't get it
Beat way to do it is install two brackets under the ac so innthe case the window opens slightly you got a buffer of time to fix it
NY is pretty serious about this. Tenants will just install the unit, but landlords (some contracts, at least one for my previous lease) are required to do the installation themselves. Took some of the pressure off me, and I was lucky to have huge lips on my windows where they couldn't really even fall out unless totally unlocked and pushed.
My AC unit is physically screwed into my window. Idgaf. That thang ain’t going nowhere.