I mean, I bought my window ac at least 10 years ago, the only upkeep is cleaning the filter. no issues. I bought a house with an AC from the 70s or 80s in the wall, also nothing but washing the filters. Sure I'm using electricity, but I wouldn't call that upkeep.
People from the "hotter" regions, how do you deal with the heat?
I am from Eastern Europe and this is the hottest summer on my memory. For at least 3 consecutive years the heat is breaking all records....