Last week, 76 million Americans were under a heat wave warning and 150 million experienced temperatures above 90 degrees Fahrenheit. A Kansas City-based woman revealed how she bought a portable AC unit to combat the heat wave while trying to lower her electric bill. And now we’re all wondering if this increasingly common solution is worth the effort.
In a viral video, TikTok user Vivian (@fathervivian) films her boyfriend on the floor of their apartment, flipping through some paper instructions. Then she pans to reveal the new portable AC unit they bought: “Buying a $400 portable AC unit because our apartment can’t go below 87 degrees and we’re being billed $400 a month for electricity,” she explains in the text. overlap. The video ends with the content creator rolling his eyes.
Vivian expresses her frustration with her apartment AC in the caption, “This heat wave? Crazy. Robbery.” The video garnered over 375,000 views.
Are portable A/C units a viable solution?
They retail through online outlets like Amazon for around $70-$400. still Consumer Reports writes that they should be viewed as a “last resort” because window units are always a better solution: “While a window AC uses outside air to cool the coils on the outside of the unit, a portable air conditioner uses air conditioning from the room is in it to cool the mechanics. This creates negative pressure that can cause warm, unconditioned air from nearby or outside rooms to flow into the room you’re trying to keep cool.”
They are also not super mobile, Consumer Reports adds.
The Reddit consensus is that they work “okay”, but dual hose units are superior.
Why was her apartment so hot in the first place?
During an interview with the Daily Dot, Vivian said that she has gone to the bottom of the matter. She discovered that it was the apartment building that didn’t stay cool that was making her place so hot.
“We knew this was a problem because when we moved in, for the first 6 months, our electric bill was only $100-$140 a month. Now it’s hitting $400,” she revealed via a direct message on Instagram.
“It was determined that it was the apartment that was causing the problem after we had an investigation with our electric company (Evergy) to come out and check the meters and run some tests,” she added. “It came back perfect and they sent us a form saying that the bill is high because of something internal (the apartment itself, the air conditioning unit). We told the apartment and they sent an electrician and a lot of maintenance people, but nothing was fixed.”
Because nothing was working and it kept staying at 90 degrees, the content creator bought the portable AC and plans to keep it.
“We had multiple emails and phone calls with the apartment, but they kept saying the maintenance people took it, and so many maintenance orders ended up being ‘fixed. Changed the air filter.’ However, nothing has really changed. They will [say] because we are on the third floor and ‘the heat rises,’” she said.
However, Vivian found ways to cope with her fever and bill.
“In May, I found a way to cut some of my daily expenses. I try to match my set temperature with what I read inside. If it was 80 degrees, and I originally wanted it to go to 70 degrees, it would NOT go down to 70, which caused my electric bill to skyrocket. Therefore, I would set the temperature to match 80 so that the air conditioner turns off as it is ‘matched’. It helped, but as it got hotter, I couldn’t keep doing it,” she said.
Viewers can relate to these air conditioning problems
“If you’re going to use the portable AC, just turn off the mains or leave it to the fans only. That way at least it circulates the cooler air from the draft around your apartment,” said one viewer.
“Ac tech here. There is definitely something wrong with the AC. Either limited or low fee. Call maintenance and fight them 24/7,” said a second.
“Some apartment filters have not been replaced or removed and the coils are full of dirt, need to be cleaned to work more efficiently,” commented a third.
Vivian’s story inspired many people to share their air conditioning problems.
“I’m in LA with no AC or windows, I know when I tell people that they don’t believe me,” said one user.
“That was me last summer and the summer before that. I told my husband I couldn’t do another summer in that one [expletive]. It moved and it’s much better,” recalls a second.
In a follow-up video, Vivian gives an update on her situation. Although the AC unit looks harsh, it has worked well, keeping her apartment cool. In addition, she turned off the apartment AC. Not only has the AC unit kept her apartment cooler, but so has her electric bill. “Yesterday, when he finally turned it off and just used our cell phone, it was $13, and that’s pretty good,” she said. Furthermore, it reveals how long this situation has been building up. “This has been going on since January, guys. Like, it was phone calls and meetings with our landlord, the maintenance people, the power company,” she says. “They did tests and said it was the apartment.” So far, nothing has completely solved the problem.
@fathervivian This heat wave? Crazy. Robbery. #fyp #apartmenthorrorstory ♬ only one girl – autumn
Because they have given up on the problem, she and her boyfriend plan to move out. “Our departure date is August 18, but we plan to leave two weeks or a week from now,” she says. Overall, the fiasco has hurt him. “It is very tiring and I hope you understand that we have done this. Like, we’ve been doing everything and anything since January to improve,” she says. “This place is filthy… And they were built in 2010.”