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84 Degrees is Warmer than You May Think

ThermometerOur home air conditioner broke this past weekend. It was 84 degrees inside my house at midnight last night, so trust me when I say that 84 degrees may be warmer than you think.

I live in Florida. During the summer, we as a people spend most of our days inside air conditioned buildings, or traveling from one air conditioned space to another. For example, from your house to your car, or from your car to your office. We go outside for extended periods of time during the summer only if we’re planning a day in the sun (i.e. a day at the beach, yard work, theme parks, etc). Even then, there is the expectation that we’ll be back in the air conditioning at some point. The outside temperature during the summer is typically in the mid-90s with a heat index over 100 degrees. On top of that, the city I live in has incredibly high humidity and no breeze whatsoever. That’s our life.

When I hear the temperature is going to be 84 degrees outside, I’m rather pleased. That’s very mild compared to what I’m used to. However, I guess I didn’t realize how warm 84 degrees actually is because I can usually escape into air conditioning at any time.

Let me tell you, when your house is 84 degrees with high humidity two nights in a row… it really sucks. Combine that with four people and two cats, and everyone starts getting on each others nerves. It’s hot, sweaty and miserable for everyone. You know it’s pretty bad when your shower water is cooler than the air temperature. And you don’t want me to start on how uncomfortable it is trying to sleep at that temperature. Yuck!  I realize it could be much worse and I’m thankful for what I have, but it still made for two miserable nights.

The light at the end of the tunnel? We’re expecting a repairman today.

5 thoughts on “84 Degrees is Warmer than You May Think

  1. I feel your pain. I was battling (and sort of still) AC issues for two months. Trust me, Central Florida is worse. At one point our house was 89 degrees.
    Your advantage: You’re in the panhandle and you have some nice oak tree cover.
    84 still sucks though. Good luck with that. Thank God autumn is just around the corner.

  2. Best of luck. The Upstate of SC can get pretty dang hot in the summer (such as this summer) but we have enough mountains to get some cold air flow usually at night.

  3. I know your pain, and you have my sympathies. It never hurts to have trays/coolers of ice set behind a box fan, but an emergency window unit is better.

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