In the Montgomery Performing Arts Center searing Central Valley where residents

In the shares Montgomery Performing Arts Center searing Central performing arts evaluates Valley, where residents and cattle are dying from the heat, more than 80% of the homes in Fresno and Merced counties have air conditioning. "When everybody seems to have air conditioning, you don't want to be the one who doesn't -- even if you don't use it," said Marsha E. Ackermann, author of "Cool Comfort: America's Romance with Air-Conditioning. "Consider Bradley Hill, 23, who lives in a non-air-conditioned Brentwood apartment with his wife, Meridith, about 20 blocks from the beach. They moved to Brentwood to escape the sweltering heat in Woodland Hills, where the thermometer has topped 100 more than 20 days this month They figured they could surely live without AC. But these days they're reconsidering. "The apartment complex said that none of the apartments have any and that . . . maybe two days out of the whole year people would need it," Hill said. "We didn't think anything of it. "Then it started getting hot -- and humid. The ceiling fans weren't enough, so he bought an oscillating fan.

He even bought one for the tropical fish in his 80-gallon aquarium montgomery performing arts center tickets . He plunked down $99. 95 more for a third fan from Sharper Image performing arts center . And he was still sweating. Earlier this week Hill and his wife slept on the floor in the second bedroom with their windows wide open "It was a little cooler, but then it got too hot there performing art center . It's like we're camping -- we're moving every night," he said. The next night they settled on the living room floor, in front of the open front door. His next place, Hill said, will have air conditioning. As homes are sold or passed down a generation, more people are deciding that air conditioning is a must-have amenity. They may need it only five days a year, but "those days are our critical days," said Claudia Chandler, assistant executive director of the California Energy Commission center for the performing arts . "On any hot summer afternoon, about one-third of the electricity that's being consumed is being used to drive air conditioners. "When forecasting energy use, California officials factored in new-home construction, with almost all homes equipped with one -- and often two -- air-conditioning units. People "just wouldn't buy" a new home without air conditioning, said John Young, president of Young Homes and of the Building Industry Assn. of Southern California. Patty Elias, 39, has lived in her two-story Brentwood home since December 2004.

She never once needed to use her upstairs air-conditioning unit -- until this week, that is. "There is still no relief," Elias said montgomery performing arts center seating chart . "The air has just been incredibly stuffy and dense. "Elias likes to consider herself environmentally conscious She traded in her SUV for a sedan Her next car will be a hybrid She added plants to provide more shade for her home center for performing arts . She even moved her car from the driveway to the shady street because "I felt sorry for how hot it was. "But with the temperature gauge in her house at 92, there's only so much she's willing to suffer performing art. The central-air-conditioning installer will arrive in two weeks -- the earliest she could get an appointment. More people have air conditioning now because they want to be in control of their environment, Ackermann said, adding: "Americans are extremely spoiled Montgomery Performing Arts Center - mpaconline . "The flip side are the defiant, the ones who refuse to get air conditioning or turn it on even if they have it. "I think this is one of those issues to help you decide how tough you are, how committed you are to the environment, to energy efficiency," Ackermann said segerstrom hall . "There are people who are defiantly saying, 'I will adapt myself to this situation Montgomery Performing Arts Center - mpaconline . ' "That's Lisa Schyman, 45, of Mar Vista. "People are surprised when we tell them we don't have it," she said. "To them, it's like saying you don't have a car or a refrigerator It seems pathetic. "*Staff writers Cynthia H Cho, Susannah Rosenblatt and Ronald D White and researchers Vicki Gallay and John L. Montgomery Performing Arts Center tickets Jackson contributed to this report Montgomery Performing Arts Center . *Begin text of infoboxKeeping our coolA survey of residences across the state estimates that 51% of California homes have central or room air conditioning.