Air conditioners are not the best for the planet long term, but Europeans may need to care a bit more about themselves in the short term and start installing more of them.
So is Canada, but it has 64% of homes with air conditioning.
Also, maybe it’s just me, but like didn’t England, France, Spain, Italy and southern Germany all hit like 100f (38c) or higher this summer (and other summers before that)?
It’s less of a story and more a telling sign that climate change is having a direct impact on humans that it’s becoming more and more necessary for people in even European, Canadian and even PNW climates to adapt and outfit houses and businesses with them.
The main reason is how people build houses. In Europe, people use different meterials (bricks, mortar, concrete, etc.) which insulate and put on top insulation. Walls are thicker too. The good insulation keep the heat outside.
The other is the law. Europe has regulations on AC. For example, if I want AC in my house, I must compansate the electricy consumption with renewable.
While building with different materials DOES change insulation, that doesn’t mean it always makes the buildings cooler.
On the contrary, building with bricks, as is standard for all year residential buildings throughout most of Europe is a way to trap and detain heat, NOT a way to keep heat out.
You see, the greatest temperature difficulty before anthropogenic global was the outside being too COLD, so that’s what we’ve been building for and because of that, AC hasn’t been as necessary.
Nowadays though, the heat retaining structures with no AC are becoming unbearably hot for much of the year. We desperately need environmentally responsible AC.
That’s nonsense. Insulation works both ways. It doesn’t differentiate if outside is cold or hot. A well insulated house will keep you warm during winter and cool during summer.
It has to be cold inside to begin with. Much of the US has night time lowes over 25 in the summer, with daily averages of 30. So a uncooled home will never be near that. Allg homes should be well insuladed, but just like it would be mad do hgae no heat in much of Europe, its similarity not realistic to have no cooling in much of the us.
My house is very wel insulated. It doesn’t take much energy to keep it at a nice temperature in winter.
In summer though, it can get very hot inside. The reason is that I have some fairly large, south facing windows. And once it’s hot inside, it’s very hard to cool it down again.
I should really invest in some blinds, preferably outside, to keep the sun out during hot days.
But the point is that insulation and keep heat in/out is not perfectly symmetrical.
Mate, you might as well complain your house is too hot because you run the heating all summer. Your insulation is working fine, you’re just nerfing it by not keeping the sun out.
Well, your problem is the sun going through the windows. They completely defeat your house insulation. Yes, you need blinds, they help a lot. Preferably, outside mounted. Like in Southern Europe. If you cannot mount them outside, look for pleated blinds. They not only your room protect from the sun, but also work as an additional insulation layer. You can also close them during winter nights to save a bit of energy.
Not arguing about which is better but most American brick homes you see are a brick veneer, still renting on plywood, studs, and Sheetrock for the actual wall.
I think most people here are talking about the structure being provided by the brick/blocks. Typically they’re much thicker and heavier and provide structure and some insulation.
Ottawa is on the same latitude as Venice so it’s not like canada is very northly (though i know canada has a much more varied temperature range). That aside i think there are many reasons, like the southern countries are not as wealthy as US and theres a culture of using other methods to survive the heat such as building colors, not paving every cm^2 of land etc.
And if we look at more northen Eu countries like where I live (sweden) the highest ever measured temp is 38c (100.4f). So anyone here who needs an AC for the few days when the temp is above 25c is a card carrying bitch.
So is Canada, but it has 64% of homes with air conditioning.
Also, maybe it’s just me, but like didn’t England, France, Spain, Italy and southern Germany all hit like 100f (38c) or higher this summer (and other summers before that)?
It’s less of a story and more a telling sign that climate change is having a direct impact on humans that it’s becoming more and more necessary for people in even European, Canadian and even PNW climates to adapt and outfit houses and businesses with them.
Southern Germany didn’t hit 38.
The main reason is how people build houses. In Europe, people use different meterials (bricks, mortar, concrete, etc.) which insulate and put on top insulation. Walls are thicker too. The good insulation keep the heat outside.
The other is the law. Europe has regulations on AC. For example, if I want AC in my house, I must compansate the electricy consumption with renewable.
You’re part right and part wrong:
While building with different materials DOES change insulation, that doesn’t mean it always makes the buildings cooler.
On the contrary, building with bricks, as is standard for all year residential buildings throughout most of Europe is a way to trap and detain heat, NOT a way to keep heat out.
You see, the greatest temperature difficulty before anthropogenic global was the outside being too COLD, so that’s what we’ve been building for and because of that, AC hasn’t been as necessary.
Nowadays though, the heat retaining structures with no AC are becoming unbearably hot for much of the year. We desperately need environmentally responsible AC.
That’s nonsense. Insulation works both ways. It doesn’t differentiate if outside is cold or hot. A well insulated house will keep you warm during winter and cool during summer.
It has to be cold inside to begin with. Much of the US has night time lowes over 25 in the summer, with daily averages of 30. So a uncooled home will never be near that. Allg homes should be well insuladed, but just like it would be mad do hgae no heat in much of Europe, its similarity not realistic to have no cooling in much of the us.
https://weatherspark.com/y/8813/Average-Weather-in-Dallas-Texas-United-States-Year-Round
My house is very wel insulated. It doesn’t take much energy to keep it at a nice temperature in winter.
In summer though, it can get very hot inside. The reason is that I have some fairly large, south facing windows. And once it’s hot inside, it’s very hard to cool it down again.
I should really invest in some blinds, preferably outside, to keep the sun out during hot days.
But the point is that insulation and keep heat in/out is not perfectly symmetrical.
Mate, you might as well complain your house is too hot because you run the heating all summer. Your insulation is working fine, you’re just nerfing it by not keeping the sun out.
Without outside blinds, the insulation doesn’t work. The windows work as a greenhouse effect and will quickly heat your house.
Then, the insulation will work keeping the heat inside.
I did mention that in Europe, we close our outside blinds during the day.
Well, your problem is the sun going through the windows. They completely defeat your house insulation. Yes, you need blinds, they help a lot. Preferably, outside mounted. Like in Southern Europe. If you cannot mount them outside, look for pleated blinds. They not only your room protect from the sun, but also work as an additional insulation layer. You can also close them during winter nights to save a bit of energy.
Most of the American homes i have lived in are brick homes.
Not arguing about which is better but most American brick homes you see are a brick veneer, still renting on plywood, studs, and Sheetrock for the actual wall.
So what make a brick home a brick home
I think most people here are talking about the structure being provided by the brick/blocks. Typically they’re much thicker and heavier and provide structure and some insulation.
Well the American style would provide insulation. It is still bricks just with fiberglass insulation and other wall parts
Ottawa is on the same latitude as Venice so it’s not like canada is very northly (though i know canada has a much more varied temperature range). That aside i think there are many reasons, like the southern countries are not as wealthy as US and theres a culture of using other methods to survive the heat such as building colors, not paving every cm^2 of land etc. And if we look at more northen Eu countries like where I live (sweden) the highest ever measured temp is 38c (100.4f). So anyone here who needs an AC for the few days when the temp is above 25c is a card carrying bitch.