I have had a few emails come in asking me “Is it true that all houses in Puerto Rico have bars over the windows and doors?”

The answer is yes, and it is probably for the reason you would expect – crime.  But don’t take that wrong…  The crime isn’t all that bad; keep on reading.

Well it’s mainly because of air conditioning.  You see the people in Puerto Rico don’t use air conditioning like we do in the States.  In the States, when it’s warm, we will run our central AC all of the time.  In Puerto Rico, central AC is very rare.  Everyone just has window units.  Most of the time all windows are wide open letting the air circulate.

Also in times of heavy hurricanes and storms the electricity goes out.  With the loss of electricity, there is no way to keep cool.  Brief power outages are also fairly common.

Since people have their windows open at all times, bars on the windows and doors are used for security to prevent crime.  Think about it, one of the reasons we always have our AC going all of the time in the States is because we would not leave our windows and doors wide open.

When I first moved here, I did not think I would ever get used to not using my AC.  I never use it now unless guests come to visit.  All I use are fans that are scattered around my house.  What is the benefit to not using AC?  My electricity bill on average costs me about $50 a month (it cost more because my Puerto Rican girlfriend likes to run the AC when she can).  What did yours cost this month?