My sister used one, in addition to an AC, when she lived in Okinawa. On a visit to see her I remember having to drain the reservoir at least once a day. I wasn’t paying the utilities… I was just a freeloading sister taking advantage of a free place to stay, overseas. I know she felt the AC didn’t remove enough humidity… and Okinawa was even more humid than Philly. Having the drain lines definitely sounds like a good plan to avoid it overflowing.
I also lived in Philly. As a native San Diegan, I feel your pain on the humidity thing. The cliche is correct – it IS the humidity more than the heat that makes you miserable. I was able to get by with AC… but then again, I lived in a leaky, 1900 era, uninsulated house… so the AC only cycled off when I turned it off. I didn’t have it on during the day when I was working, so I’d always get home to a hot/humid house… but in 30 minutes I had the house cool enough – even with window units.
Your place is newer construction, right? So I assume you have central air. Are there settings to have it use less power… It may be that your AC unit is oversized for the space – and that’s why it’s cycling off so much.
