Short answer
It's worth it if you're storing anything that heat, damp or big swings can ruin, for more than a few weeks, somewhere with hot summers, humid air or freezing winters. For tools, plastic bins and patio furniture, a standard unit is usually fine. The deciding factors are what you store, where and for how long.
For many people, yes. It pays off when the things in the unit would cost more to replace, or can’t be replaced at all, than the extra rent over the months you store them. It’s money wasted on things that don’t care about weather.
Three questions decide it
1. What are you storing? Wood furniture, photos, documents, books, electronics, leather, artwork and instruments are the usual candidates. Metal tools, plastic bins, lawn equipment and glassware usually aren’t.
2. Where is the unit? A standard unit is essentially a metal box sitting in the local weather. The National Archives tells families to store keepsakes out of “damp basements, garages, and hot attics,” and a non-climate unit behaves much like a garage.
3. How long? A two-week gap between leases in spring is low risk. A year that includes a full summer or winter is not.
The conditions you’re protecting against
Federal guidance for home storage sets fairly simple limits. The National Archives says to keep temperatures below 75°F and humidity below 65% to prevent mold. The Library of Congress warns against storing valuables in poorly insulated spaces like basements, attics or garages, and against places with “frequent extreme swings in temperature or humidity.”
An unconditioned unit in most of the country will break at least one of those limits for part of the year.
Climate makes the biggest difference
Where you live changes the answer more than anything else.
- Hot and humid regions. The Department of Energy defines a hot-humid climate partly by a wet-bulb temperature of 67°F or higher for 3,000 or more hours in the warmest six months. Damp heat for that long is ideal for mold. Climate control is close to essential for anything organic.
- Cold-winter regions. Freezing and drying cycles crack wood and can damage electronics and liquids. Heated storage is the main benefit here.
- Mild, dry regions. The case is weakest here, though summer heat still affects photos, media and electronics.
The National Weather Service treats a dew point of 65°F or higher as “becoming oppressive”. If summers where you live feel like that, assume a standard unit will be damp.
A quick way to decide
Climate control is probably worth it if any of these are true:
- You’d be upset to lose an item, and it’s made of wood, paper, fabric, leather or film.
- The unit will sit through a summer in a humid state or a winter below freezing.
- You’re storing electronics, records, a piano or artwork.
- You’re storing for six months or longer.
If none apply, save the money. A standard unit with items raised off the floor on pallets is fine for durable goods.
What it costs
Climate-controlled units cost more than standard units of the same size. See how much more climate-controlled storage costs for what we know so far.
To compare options near you, start with a large market such as climate-controlled storage in San Antonio, or search your city.