Every time I have been in one of these "naturally ventilated" facilities designed to "not need AC" due to "passive cooling", they've been uncomfortably hot.
It just feels like industrial scale gas-lighting, and no one in charge can admit it doesn't work afterwards because too much was spent on it.
Is stacking solar on the roof and AC's inside really so uneconomical?
As someone who grew up with AC, I was one time in Brazil and got stuck in a place without AC. Needless to say the first few nights was hell. I just couldn't follow asleep. However after few days, my body just adjust to the local temperature, and really enjoyed it. In fact, going into mall with AC just feels too cold for me then. Of course there is a limit to what our body can endure, but there is something to be said about exposing and adapting our body to the natural elements instead of just adjusting the environment to make what is comfortable to our body.
I live in a place with very little need for heating and air conditioning. If I don't do anything, indoor temperatures vary between 17°C and 27°C around the year. I've noticed that I prefer 24–25°C during the day in the summer and 21–22°C in the winter, and a bit less when I'm sleeping.
When I travel around the US, most places are too cold for my taste. Conference rooms are the worst, as I can't adjust the temperature myself and I often spend hours in them without much physical activity. I guess many Americans don't acclimatize to warmer temperatures, because their summers are uncomfortably hot.
And when I return from long hikes high up in the mountains, even that 17°C feels too hot for sleeping for a few days.
> I guess many Americans don't acclimatize to warmer temperatures, because their summers are uncomfortably hot.
Yeah. It's very weird/funny hearing how 100 F is almost death to them, when it's really not that bad. Most people where I'm from are practicing sports at 100 F.
It is also the question of efficiency and productivity in the most generic sense. You've got only one life, and there is no point in spending it uncomfortably sweating while say loosing your focus given that AC is really cheap, whether it is energy required or the hardware itself.
That’s kind of the point. It’s not uncomfortable to live life in those temperatures if you’re acclimatized. Maybe something you bring up in small talk (“what about this heat?”) but never something that’ll change how you live.
Plus indoor spaces never get that hot due to shade and passive cooling. A little breeze and 90 F is just fine.
While you can live through 90F, your productivity for work or house chores will really suffer - that is why south countries have siestas as it is better to just lay down and relax and possibly sleep through it than trying to do anything else. And don't forget pets - they don't sweat, so it is very hard on them.
plantain · · focus · HN ↗
It just feels like industrial scale gas-lighting, and no one in charge can admit it doesn't work afterwards because too much was spent on it.
Is stacking solar on the roof and AC's inside really so uneconomical?
polycancel · · focus · HN ↗
jltsiren · · focus · HN ↗
When I travel around the US, most places are too cold for my taste. Conference rooms are the worst, as I can't adjust the temperature myself and I often spend hours in them without much physical activity. I guess many Americans don't acclimatize to warmer temperatures, because their summers are uncomfortably hot.
And when I return from long hikes high up in the mountains, even that 17°C feels too hot for sleeping for a few days.
dlisboa · · focus · HN ↗
Yeah. It's very weird/funny hearing how 100 F is almost death to them, when it's really not that bad. Most people where I'm from are practicing sports at 100 F.
trhway · · focus · HN ↗
dlisboa · · focus · HN ↗
Plus indoor spaces never get that hot due to shade and passive cooling. A little breeze and 90 F is just fine.
trhway · · focus · HN ↗