Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

The far-reaching effects of air conditioning

bbc.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

11–20 of 184 posts

Re: The far-reaching effects of air conditioning

#11

Post by _0nac »

Lee Kuan Yew, founder of modern Singapore: "Air conditioning was a most important invention for us, perhaps one of the signal inventions of history. It changed the nature of civilization by making development possible in the tropics. Without air conditioning you can work only in the cool early-morning hours or at dusk. The first thing I did upon becoming prime minister was to install air conditioners in buildings where the civil service worked. This was key to public efficiency."

https://www.vox.com/2015/3/23/8278085/singapore-lee-kuan-yew...

Re: The far-reaching effects of air conditioning

#12

Post by LeoPanthera »

callmeed wrote: post #7

If you like this story, I recommend reading How We Got to Now: Six Innovations That Made the Modern World . Its a quick read and very interesting. And, yes, "cold" is one of the six. https://www.amazon.com/How-We-Got-Now-Innovations/dp/1594633...

The book is based on a PBS/BBC TV show which is also excellent. It's on the Amazon, Google, and Microsoft video stores, and questionably legal copies are also on YouTube.

Re: The far-reaching effects of air conditioning

#13

Post by ido »

kayoone wrote: post #10

In places like Brazil were AC is everywhere but isolation and heating is limited, it gets really cold in the winter even if its only 15 degrees outside. In places like germany where home isolation and heating is generally very good, you really have to suffer in the summer because rarely any place apart from some offices have AC. Even more so, many don't like AC at home because it consumes a lot of power and can make…

We live in Berlin and the insulation and generally high ceilings make most apartments pretty cool even in the hotter summer days (which are rare and rarely much hotter than 30c).

There are maybe 2-3 weeks per year when I wish we had air conditioning, at most.

Re: The far-reaching effects of air conditioning

#14

Post by kijin »

ishi wrote: post #8

The downside of air conditioned homes is that houses are now built with very little regard to insulation and intelligent use of the sun (to warm the house at winter) and the wind (to cool it during summertime). My house has a large, paper-thin southern wall and during the summer it gets so hot that it radiates heat into the house at night. So I have to air-condition my bedroom at night. And the windows are stupidly d…

I wholeheartedly agree. A powerful HVAC system is not an excuse to skimp on insulation! Not only does it waste energy, it also leaves you with higher utility bills and increases the chance of condensation.

Condensation is the real killer if you live in a humid climate. It damages the walls, causes mold, and can even mess with the electrical system.

Re: The far-reaching effects of air conditioning

#15

Post by SeoxyS »

hobo_mark wrote: post #3
jaseemabid wrote: post #2

Unless you have lived in the tropical humid heat, you wont be able to relate to this. Moving to NYC recently and living without an AC or even a fan feels so glorious. I bet 10% of my brain was constantly fighting the heat back when I was in south of India.

Likewise, I just came back from HK and I have no idea how they could get anything done there before the introduction of AC. And I was told it gets even worse in the middle of summer!

I went to HK in the middle of hottest times (Aug 1st) last year and it was absolutely brutal. But then again, the entire city really grew out of nowhere during the past century, so it kind of grew in tandem with air conditioning.

HK is one of those places that's absolutely amazing as a city, and has some of the worst weather on earth (crazy humidity all the time, insane heat in summer, crazy rains and typhoons all the time… and a cloud of pollution emanating down from Shenzhen).

Re: The far-reaching effects of air conditioning

#16

Post by fuckemem »

callmeed wrote: post #7

If you like this story, I recommend reading How We Got to Now: Six Innovations That Made the Modern World . Its a quick read and very interesting. And, yes, "cold" is one of the six. https://www.amazon.com/How-We-Got-Now-Innovations/dp/1594633...

"cold" is quite broad though. That would cover refrigeration/ freezing which would be a much bigger impact than air con.

Re: The far-reaching effects of air conditioning

#17

Post by czechdeveloper »

ido wrote: post #13
kayoone wrote: post #10

In places like Brazil were AC is everywhere but isolation and heating is limited, it gets really cold in the winter even if its only 15 degrees outside. In places like germany where home isolation and heating is generally very good, you really have to suffer in the summer because rarely any place apart from some offices have AC. Even more so, many don't like AC at home because it consumes a lot of power and can make…

We live in Berlin and the insulation and generally high ceilings make most apartments pretty cool even in the hotter summer days (which are rare and rarely much hotter than 30c). There are maybe 2-3 weeks per year when I wish we had air conditioning, at most.

Once indoors temperature hits 26, I can't get any work done. I know I have short temperature comfort range, but 30 indoors is crazy for me.

Re: The far-reaching effects of air conditioning

#18

Post by pitaj »

jay-anderson wrote: post #5

> A study in Phoenix, Arizona, found the hot air pumped out of air conditioning units increased the city's night-time temperature by 2C Often I wish places of business and work places wouldn't turn up the AC so much. I have a jacket at work in Phoenix during the summer because they keep it so cold.

Better have it too cold and people where extra clothing than have people sweating themselves. You can always put more clothes on, you can't take off your skin.

Re: The far-reaching effects of air conditioning

#19

Post by Hydraulix989 »

SeoxyS wrote: post #15
hobo_mark wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Likewise, I just came back from HK and I have no idea how they could get anything done there before the introduction of AC. And I was told it gets even worse in the middle of summer!

I went to HK in the middle of hottest times (Aug 1st) last year and it was absolutely brutal. But then again, the entire city really grew out of nowhere during the past century, so it kind of grew in tandem with air conditioning. HK is one of those places that's absolutely amazing as a city, and has some of the worst weather on earth (crazy humidity all the time, insane heat in summer, crazy rains and typhoons all th…

I really liked the weather there when I went in December.

Re: The far-reaching effects of air conditioning

#20

Post by thaumasiotes »

fuckemem wrote: post #16
callmeed wrote: post #7

If you like this story, I recommend reading How We Got to Now: Six Innovations That Made the Modern World . Its a quick read and very interesting. And, yes, "cold" is one of the six. https://www.amazon.com/How-We-Got-Now-Innovations/dp/1594633...

"cold" is quite broad though. That would cover refrigeration/ freezing which would be a much bigger impact than air con.

Refrigeration allows you to preserve any kind of food and eat it at any time of year. It allows food to be shipped in to remote locations, which is important.

Air conditioning directly lets people live where they otherwise couldn't; it doesn't seem obvious that refrigeration is larger-impact.

Post reply on HN