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The old-school way of keeping the summer heat out of your home

monocle.com

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Re: The old-school way of keeping the summer heat out of your home

#61

Post by DougN7 »

citrin_ru wrote: post #23
throwawayffffas wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, anecdotally night time temperatures have gotten much worse the last decade. But in the 90s-2010s you could easily get by without air-conditioning and no misery, with just passive temperature control.

If you live in a brick/stone hours you can still go a long way by maximally ventilating house at nigh and during the day keeping sun out (shutters, awning e.t.c) and keep ventilation minimal. It would not help if the nights are warm (so you'd need AC) but there are still many more days with cold nights and by using shutters and timed ventilation you can reduce AC energy use. AC full on without other measures and pass…

Many years ago I lived in a brick apartment and the afternoon/evening sun would hit the wall next to my bedroom, making it very hot at night. I started going out with buckets of water to splash on the wall a few times each evening and it made a real difference. A white sheet hung across the wall might have helped more. Lots of things can be done if you don’t mind looking silly :) Unless you’re in the an area with high temp and high humidity. That is bad.

Re: The old-school way of keeping the summer heat out of your home

#62

Post by vladvasiliu »

gib444 wrote: post #49
enaaem wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In many places in Europe, there is only 1-2 weeks where AC is needed, and that is the main reason why many people don't want to bother with it.

In various places in Europe, there are 2-16 weeks when AC is needed, and the reasons people don't have it include being gaslit about not 'needing' it; legislation/landlords preventing installation; not being able to afford the units or the electricity; and being stubborn and stuck in their ways particularly around wanting to preserve tradition or appearances of buildings

> legislation/landlords preventing installation

Don't know about "Europe", but here in France this is the main reason. Even if you live in an apartment you own, you have to fight multiple bureaucracies (city / HOA) to be allowed to install a split AC. Detached houses tend to fare better, but, even there, you should make sure you don't step over some arcane permit-requiring line.

The result is people adapt how they can, usually buying portable ACs that have terrible efficiency, so the whole "AC's are bad 'cause they consume a lot of electricity" consideration goes out the window. See how these are sold-out everywhere and people are fighting over the units when available.

Bonus points for not being able to run it at night if your windows aren't at a certain height above street level, because no one in their right mind would sleep with a street-level window open.

Re: The old-school way of keeping the summer heat out of your home

#63

Post by vladvasiliu »

draven wrote: post #22
jaapz wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most of the time these things are governed by whatever's cheaper (in the short run). Maybe electrical energy is massively subsidized or just cheap in general. Installing shutters can be a large up-front investment, especially when installed by somebody else. It may take many years of burning energy with an AC to earn that back. Also maybe the home isn't even yours, but you are renting. The owner doesn't care about yo…

I thought it was more of a cultural thing, or perhaps enforced by the building code ? Here in France I've never seen a house or flat without shutters. In Bangkok, when I was looking for a condo, none of them had shutters. A cursory web search tells me shutters can influence the DPE ("diagnostic de performance énergétique".) A bad rating means you can't rent your property.

Actually, many homes in France don't have shutters. According to this article, almost half don't have any.

https://immobilier.lefigaro.fr/article/seulement-54-de-logem...

Re: The old-school way of keeping the summer heat out of your home

#64

Post by vladvasiliu »

customguy wrote: post #37
JuniperMesos wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it is an American thing; a principled grounded in many Americans not actually believing people like you when they claim "that isn't being suggested". Moralistic arguments that using air conditioning is harmful to society (which certainly exist in America, even if they're more common in Europe) are the rhetorical basis for actual laws regulating the use of air conditioning and trying to legally discourage its…

> Moralistic arguments that using air conditioning is harmful to society Can you name one? That isn't the same argument as against all needless waste? What I'm seeing is we can't even talk about shutter designs without talking about AC instead. Using AC may not harm society, but some people knowing about it kinda does.

The moralistic argument here in France is that the AC units heat the outside air, which worsens things for people outside, especially those who can't afford AC in their home.

Never mind that these same people would go absolutely out of their minds if you suggested tearing down and remodeling most cities, which are basically radiators at night since there's concrete everywhere.

So instead of trying to somehow mitigate the issue of "AC heating the outside air", by, for example, installing the outside units on top of the buildings, so most heat wouldn't be at street level where people walk around, many people who can't breathe in their apartments just use portable ACs which dump the heat right outside their windows. Bonus points for these being very unefficient, so now electricity consumption is even higher.

In the specific case of France, they also tend to forget that most of our electricity is essentially carbon-free.

Re: The old-school way of keeping the summer heat out of your home

#65

Post by exe34 »

asymmetric wrote: post #51
exe34 wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've put some fabric on the outside of my windows using nylon thread, a stapler and some plastic suction cups. It made the day time temperature of my living room go from about 32°C to about 23°C during a heatwave in the UK. I won't need aircon in that room now. I do have an upstairs office that will keep on getting hot, so I might get an aircon there in a year or two. But I'm not desperate thanks to a tiny bit of eff…

That’s amazing and inspiring! Does it look like what’s described here? https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2025/06/dressing-and-undre...

https://ibb.co/v2M8jX0

I actually don't have a picture from outside, as it was a bit warm at the time I was taking the picture! It was meant to be a version 1 and immediately replaced with a pvc frame and a pair of hooks to install it without a step ladder in the morning, but it turned out to be pretty robust so far, and I ended up leaving it up for several days during extended heatwaves.

Re: The old-school way of keeping the summer heat out of your home

#66

Post by psd1 »

arcza wrote: post #30

Anything except using AC like the rest of the world, hey Monocle? There is no comparison, and not to mention the excellent efficiency of R-32 based super inverter systems that are no different to winter heating heat pumps. AC should be the norm in Europe, but apparently it's "far right"!

In the first line of the précis:

> Modern air conditioning isn’t the only way to keep cool in the summer

TFA is unobjectionable, but you've taken it as an attack on your identity as an enjoyer of AC. Nobody here is stopping you. Nobody here has called you far-right - you have Streisanded yourself.

HN tries to be better than this, which takes real effort from all of us - including me, including you - to rise above our atavistic identity crises. Bearing up a straw man is unedifying, please don't.

Re: The old-school way of keeping the summer heat out of your home

#67

Post by rusk »

somewhereoutth wrote: post #29
rusk wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Already in widespread use https://www.sips.org/what-are-sips

But there is no airflow inbetween the outside and the building core - the panels are still part of the building itself.

https://steelroofsheets.co.uk/categories/ventilated-wall-cla...

Re: The old-school way of keeping the summer heat out of your home

#68

Post by throwawayffffas »

DougN7 wrote: post #61
citrin_ru wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you live in a brick/stone hours you can still go a long way by maximally ventilating house at nigh and during the day keeping sun out (shutters, awning e.t.c) and keep ventilation minimal. It would not help if the nights are warm (so you'd need AC) but there are still many more days with cold nights and by using shutters and timed ventilation you can reduce AC energy use. AC full on without other measures and pass…

Many years ago I lived in a brick apartment and the afternoon/evening sun would hit the wall next to my bedroom, making it very hot at night. I started going out with buckets of water to splash on the wall a few times each evening and it made a real difference. A white sheet hung across the wall might have helped more. Lots of things can be done if you don’t mind looking silly :) Unless you’re in the an area with hig…

Retractable awnings are very common including in residential setups in southern Europe.

Re: The old-school way of keeping the summer heat out of your home

#69

Post by benj111 »

JuniperMesos wrote: post #28
benj111 wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is this an American thing? There seem to be a number of comments akin to "you'll prise it from my cold dead fingers" when that isn't being suggested.

I think it is an American thing; a principled grounded in many Americans not actually believing people like you when they claim "that isn't being suggested". Moralistic arguments that using air conditioning is harmful to society (which certainly exist in America, even if they're more common in Europe) are the rhetorical basis for actual laws regulating the use of air conditioning and trying to legally discourage its…

Yeah but I don't get why it's so defensive. Sure some people are against AC for reasons, and some people are for a, for reasons. I don't see why that has to turn into an ideological battle. Discuss the issues, don't just ignore everything that's perceived as coming from the other side. Yes this is probably getting into issues of American politics. But talking about shutters doesn't have to turn into an ideological battle.

Re: The old-school way of keeping the summer heat out of your home

#70

Post by vladvasiliu »

throwawayffffas wrote: post #68
DougN7 wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Many years ago I lived in a brick apartment and the afternoon/evening sun would hit the wall next to my bedroom, making it very hot at night. I started going out with buckets of water to splash on the wall a few times each evening and it made a real difference. A white sheet hung across the wall might have helped more. Lots of things can be done if you don’t mind looking silly :) Unless you’re in the an area with hig…

Retractable awnings are very common including in residential setups in southern Europe.

Do those also cover the apartment walls? I've only seen large awnings covering walls in detached houses, and even then it's relatively rare to cover walls that aren't close to doors.
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