My local area is well-known for the long, snowy, freezing cold winter conditions. We typically start up the furnace sometime during the month of September and keep it running until around Easter or even Mother’s Day. We expect temperatures down to twenty below zero and feet of snow accumulation. The winters are a lot of work and expense. We shovel snow, scrape ice and pay huge monthly energy bills for more than half the year. It seems to take forever for the snow to melt, the robbins to arrive and the first daffodils to sprout. I am always very eager to shut down the furnace and open the windows. After keeping the house sealed up tight for so long, the indoor air smells stale and feels super dry. The influx of fresh air is essential to a healthy and clean living environment. The last thing I want to do is close the windows and run a central air conditioner. I certainly don’t want to deal with high electric bills. Plus, our summer season is short. If we’re lucky, we get three months of sunshine and warm temperatures. Central cooling is unnecessary. For us, the ideal solution is window cooling units. I watched sales, took advantage of a manufacturer’s rebate and was able to purchase air conditioners at the local home improvement store at a reasonable price. I bought a window AC unit for each of the bedrooms. The cooling systems are lightweight, compact and easy to fit into the window frame. Despite the small size, they are sufficiently powerful to cool down a sizable room very quickly. With a cordless remote, each family member is able to customize room temperature to their personal preference.