"when in Rome, do as the Romans do"
Going 4 days without electric and running water can be traumatic for non natives who have been accustomed to the privileges of 24/7 services in their home countries.
The saying of "when in Rome, do as the Romans do" is a very appropriate suggestion to survive in the Dominican environment.
PJT will select one matter as an example to demonstrate this.
A non native can be married to habits, technology, and gadgets suited to his/her home country and when relocating to the DR it is understandable they want to have these same comforts. Air conditioning is one of these comfort items and most people with a good income can enjoy this privilege. Nevertheless, the previous posts example the costs (financial & mental) of maintenance and loss of service of this comfort item. There are of course, people who do have a real valid reason, health wise, to have the service. Yet, there are people so connected to A/C they will not consider to change their habits or even think of options. However, the unstability of electrical service in this country forces them to continue to sustain the continuity of their A/C comfort through investment of invertors and/or generators capable to keep up with the demands of A/C.
PJT had mulled the A/C matter with his Dominican born wife among many other matters prior to making the transition to the DR. We followed her advice and the home was designed to have glass shutter windows, Dominican style, with screening to allow maximum amount of natural air circulation throughout the home less the mosquitos. All rooms have ceiling fans and there are few table fans available to allow isolated comfort zones. There is one small A/C unit in the living room that is used once or twice a year when there is no breeze and the heat is really unbearable. PJT does have a generator to serve as backup during a power outage. Because he is not dependant on A/C the generator is able to provide service to the whole house to include all the fans running without problem, should it be needed. His electric energy bill is about half of those neighbors who use A/C. He has learned to sleep without A/C, using fan comfort only when needed and the open windows are a great assist.
It has been PJT's observation some homes and apartments settled by the A/C lovers lack the openness of his. It is especially noticible they have the sliding windows that limit free air entry and exit to less than half the window frame. It is a good design to maintain the A/C cool within the home, but hell during blackouts. Once the heat enters it is hard to get out.
PJT's suggestion is to find ways to open up the apartment / home to allow more air circulation, invest in ceiling fans to assist comfort and have less impact and stress upon inverters and generators. This investment will pay for itself in the long run by lowering energy costs and dependency on A/C.
Regards,
PJT