Air Conditioning - Required or Not

RadarControl

I'm heading to Sydney next Wednesday on 176 visa. For the last two weeks I have been keeping an eye on house & flat shares on Domain.com.au website and flatmatefinders.com.au. I have noticed in the ads that alot of properties do not come with Air-Conditioning or ceiling fans. Spoke with one person in Sydney last night who had a property in Cremorne and she said air-conditioning and ceiling fans are not common at all.

Just wondering do people think need to find property that has air-conditioning or ceiling fans?

ifeelill

Yeah! for you air con will be

catbear

We bought a stand up rotating fan in Target or BigW (can't remember which) and it enough for us. Personal I don't like aircon, too much of a contrast.

AngryHippie

It depends,
I'm in Brisbane, at the height of summer here, Air-con is a must for a good nights sleep. Unless its over 25 degrees at night, the ceiling fan works fine.
I have lived without air conditioning, with just a pedestal fan, and it does get a bit clammy at night during the summer.
Sydney doesn't normally experience the same humidity levels as Brisbane though, so its down to what you can tolerate. For most a fan will suffice, just be prepared to sleep under a sheet only, or without even a sheet at night when it hots up !

Cooperspale

You'd probably only need it in Dec Jan.
Try get a place near the water for to catch some sort if breeze overnight and avoid living way out west as it heats up about 10c more than CBD some days!

Rotary fan, sleep with a sheet or a wet sheet.
Soak your feet and wrists in cold water if you feel too hot.
Close all your windows, pull your blinds and curtains during the day and do not open until sundown

jackbhoy

We only turned on ac a couple of times last summer in Melbourne, as other poster mentioned I don't like having ac on all the time as then you never acclimatise and every time you step outside it'll feel like opening an oven door.

A key thing is design of building as well. We have large patio doors in living and bedroom and cross ventilation, which means we nearly always get some sort of breeze through. Also, we used to live in a south facing apartment that got evening sun and it made it a lot more uncomfortable at night than current place. If you get a single aspect place with small windows it'll feel like a sauna and ac would be a must.

Mellor

jackbhoy wrote: »

We only turned on ac a couple of times last summer in Melbourne, as other poster mentioned I don't like having ac on all the time as then you never acclimatise and every time you step outside it'll feel like opening an oven door.

A key thing is design of building as well. We have large patio doors in living and bedroom and cross ventilation, which means we nearly always get some sort of breeze through. Also, we used to live in a south facing apartment that got evening sun and it made it a lot more uncomfortable at night than current place. If you get a single aspect place with small windows it'll feel like a sauna and ac would be a must.

Large windows can cause overheating much easier than small ones. But they allow better venting. Which makes large fixed windows are a nightmare.

I have AC, never use it. Like Jackbhoy, cross vent is enough for me.

CabanSail

Lived in Sydney for many years. Never had A/C there. The Rotary Fans will normally be enough except a couple of nights a year.

Now that I live on the Far North Coast on NSW I have a house with good thermal design. I have a small A/C unit in the bedroom only. Last summer I used it about half a dozen times. Have it set to about 24 degrees. That will make it a comfortable temperature but really reduces the humidity. The unit only cycles on for short bursts every few minutes so does not use a lot of power.