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Scott – excellent article on the use of air conditioning. It has always been my dream to live at the beach and thought that Costa Rica would be our chance to live that dream – that is until we spent a couple of weeks driving the pacific coast. Love it, it is beautiful but too hot and humid for our taste, thus we settled on the mountains around Lake Arenal where we can have all the doors and windows open during the day and a light sweater is required at night.
I believe too many people are moving to Costa Rica for it’s beauty but are not taking into account what affect they are having on the ecology by taking the “have it all” attitude with them when they move.
Hummmn, I wonder about all the luxury homes being built, are they not power hogs? Almost everyone has a swimming pool, pumps run continuously and lights that they let burn all night for security. I think modest well built homes are okay but things like Mel Gibson’s planned mansion will cause Costa Rica to go to more and more fossil fuels.
ArtAgreed whole heartedly … As I mentioned in my energy article at it might be a good idea to implement a “a special ‘A/C consumption tax’ on electricity to all homes that choose to use air conditioners?” And “Why not implement a special water tax for high volume water users and people with swimming pools?”
And then use that extra money to improve and invest in the energy infrastructure of Costa Rica.
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comThe very first hotel we stayed at, in the city Alajuela, had no A/C. Both my wife and me like it on the cold side, and thought we would experience a terribly hot first night. Our host said it gets awfully cold at night, but we were not sure if he meant cold for Gringos, or cold for Ticos. The first night was very nice. The second night, I got up at 4am to close the windows in our room. We were freezing!
Last year we went down with our sons, both A/C lovers as well. They had the same experience as we had. When we returned home to balmy NY, we found we did not use the Air conditioning half as much for the rest of the summer. My chronic sinuses were clear all the time in Costa Rica. No steroid spray. When we got back, my sinuses stayed clear for three months, so did our sons’.
Not using air conditioning, besides saving on your utility bill, is healthier. No question in my mind. Your skin even feels better. Less dry and itchy.
When I was growing up, we lived in the city, and most of the time we only had a fan. And we survived. Now, we use the A/C all the time up here. I think we have gotten softer over the years. Or just spoiled.Good idea about the consumption tax.
There were a number of reasons we purchased a home in the mountains. No need for air conditioning being one, no Mosquitos, the wonderful cool climate we all come to CR for and stunning beauty, a few reasons (there are many more) we purchased where we did.
And I agree with Scott, the power hogs should be made to pay extra for their needs.
Scott, you’ve hit on the solution (if there can ever be one). Increasing the cost of electrical usage, perhaps through a progressive tariff system, similar to a progressive income tax system, would make folks cut back on usage. Such a system could give lower income families an affordable rate for their modest consumption, and charge higher rates as consumption increases. This is only a solution for funding the real solution. CR must find ways to raise money to expand all of it’s infrastructure as the population and economy grows. Then it must have the political will to actually spend this money for infrastructure. Welcome to the real world, CR! That being said, as a person of modest means, I would opt for a house with A/C for several reasons. One, you need it in the coastal beach areas so you can close up the house and keep out the heat and choking clouds of dust generated by traffic on the dirt roads so common to this area. Never having visited the inland areas, I don’t know if dust is a similar problem. But even with temperatures breezy and mild, A/C sure is nice to have for the occasional heat wave. A visit to Seattle a few years ago during a “heat wave” bore this out. Most homes in Seattle don’t have A/C, and a few of the older folks actually died from the heat. Scott, this was a good, though-provoking article. Keep up the good work.
I’ve been informed by a member of the board of directors of our local water utility that Costa Rican law prohibits discriminatory pricing of utilities. I thought a good solution to our local water supply problem might lie in higher rates for higher usage, but it can’t be done.
It wouldn’t make any difference if you could charge more. The hogs have the money to pay, they would still do what they want to. The only solution is to limit the power they can use. If they can get all they want, they will and Costa Rica will have to deal with the pollution. If you limit the power they can buy then they will have to go solar and/or wind generated power. Let them put up with the cost not Costa Rica. Now find a way around that.
ArtYou have it exactly right, Art. The affluent will always be able to buy what they want.
A partial solution to the problem, here and elsewhere, would be to require the installation of solar hot water heaters on all homes of more than a given size. We had solar hot water in Lansing, Michigan and Southern Shores, North Carolina. It worked wonderfully in both places and Lansing is the second-worst site in the country for solar applications. And here, in Costa Rica, even in the rainy season the solar panels produce the majority of our hot water.
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