Having owned our Littleton farm house for 33 years, we have never felt the need to add air conditioning. Even now, trapped beneath the dome of heat that extends from the Front Range to the Midwest, it is reasonably comfortable in the house.
The reasons, of course, are the dry air and the elevation (our farm sits at 5400 feet), which facilitate radiative cooling at night. Once the sun goes down, we open the windows and, before long, cool air is filtering in. Outdoor overnight temperatures usually fall into the upper 50s or low 60sF in summer and, even in the current heat wave, they have dropped below 70.
Now that we are two months past the summer solstice, nights are significantly longer and the natural air conditioning is even more efficient. Though we expect an afternoon high in the mid 90sF today, it will be pleasantly mild until mid morning and, thereafter, shade is the only cooling mechanism that we will need.
