The movie theater, your favorite pub, coffeehouse, the public library, the concrete breezeway structure at a park or City Hall. All of these are places where people can go to cool off. And no, it’s not “cheating” to borrow AC (or heat, as applicable).
You’re not stealing anything. It’s paid for by our taxes (or our patronage).
And, assuming you take the opportunity to reduce the AC at home while you’re out, you’ll be saving on fuel and money.
Cooling centers (official or otherwise) are something we’re only going to need more of as time goes on. As we face more power outages, as well as equipment breakdowns and not enough people available to fix it, and/or not enough money available to fix it.
This might sound disheartening but it’s actually a good thing. Cooling centers offer the additional benefit of connecting us with our local community. And being able to check on the more vulnerable members of our community.
And of course it’s a lot more energy efficient to cool one big building than to try to cool each of our individual houses.
Also, cooling centers can have a TV or library, offering entertainment that you might not have at home.
On that note, I’m off for my weekly visit to my favorite neighborhood pub. A Bloody Mary (no straw please) and a PBR, oh so nice and cold!
And I like to catch up on the TV news which I only usually ever watch in a bar. Plus, there’s this really great vintage car channel that’s always on over there.