I live in an area that is well-known for the length and severity of the winter weather. We deal with lake-effect snow, dangerously cold wind chills and sub zero temperatures. I sometimes need to run the furnace in September. We’ve already had snow on the ground on Mother’s Day. Keeping a warm home is an expensive challenge. I pay a small fortune in heating bills and am always anxious for warmer weather. Our summers never last very long and the weather is unpredictable. There are years when it’s chilly and rainy most of the time. There are also those summer seasons that are ungodly hot and humid. Fans and open windows aren’t enough to cool down the house and sleeping becomes impossible. Since I can’t justify the investment into a central cooling system, I’ve purchased a window air conditioner for each of the bedrooms. By watching for sales at the local home improvement stores, I was able to buy good quality cooling units for a little over a hundred dollars each. They are compact, lightweight and simple to install. I am amazed by the amount and power of cool air these systems provide. No matter how hot and sticky it gets, these small air conditioners keep the bedrooms perfectly cool. Each one features a cordless remote that allows adjustment of temperature and fan speed. We can make changes to the settings without even getting out of bed. I like that the sound of the air conditioner running drowns out exterior noise pollution. I tend to run the air conditioner even on the cooler summer nights because I always sleep so much better.