Earlier quoted context omitted.
Sounds like a quick legal solution: heat and cooling are now the landlords problem. Sort of like the kitchen.
Oops, in Germany the kitchen is usually the tenants responsibility. Does that mean we should lose our heating privileges instead? (I'm sure some landlords would love that)
Extreme Heat conference cancelled due to extreme heat warning
351–360 of 505 posts
Re: Extreme Heat conference cancelled due to extreme heat warning
#352Earlier quoted context omitted.
The uk gets cold enough that a air to water heatpump is a better heating solution.
Air to water heat pumps are typically less efficient than air to air. Both will work in cold UK temperatures. However the water is often heated to a higher temperature which can reduce efficiency.
Air2air have a cop of 2.5 - 3.2 while air2water it’s 3.0 to 3.5
Re: Extreme Heat conference cancelled due to extreme heat warning
#353Earlier quoted context omitted.
True, though the places I lived in California (Sacramento, San Luis Obispo in particular) all had eaves. Covered patios were common too.
I feel eaves are more to keep the drip line from rain from hitting the foundation than for any heat abatement. Typical spanish style roof will not have anything on the side that isn't sloping for example. Just sort of ends flush with the wall. Some don't have any eaves at all really.
Ironically when I had a 200 year old thatched cottage it had 'eaves' by virtue of the thatch extending almost a meter from the wall. It had built up slowly over centuries of rethatching.
My experience is mostly with Californian houses that definitely had eaves.
Re: Extreme Heat conference cancelled due to extreme heat warning
#354Earlier quoted context omitted.
Let me introduce you to… cold related deaths. They are 8x more common in europe than heat deaths. Since both of the cases happen mostly indoors we can assume it's both thanks to state of the buildings. Not everyone can afford AC or insulation and cold used to be and still a bigger problem. Heating is absurdly expensive with leaky building so people prioritize insulating. “Ideological comfort” lol stop it what the hel…
« Heating is absurdly expensive with leaky building so people prioritize insulating. » Nope, heat pumps are cheaper and more efficient. Insulating did not even make a dent in reducing emissions in Germany after years of trying. Whataboutism about cold related deaths doesn’t change anything about the heat related deaths. Did you know the Philippines lose fewer people to heat than Europe, per capita? They have AC. Agai…
Would love to see you convince the landlords to refurbish the building to use expensive heatpumps when gas is already in place. Also heatpumps just like any other heating solution sucks without insulation.
It would be better to look at new buildings and you will find out that yes even europeans when building new get AC/heatpumps and solar and all the good stuff.
The thing is - I as european don't know a single person who has or is building a new house. I know few that live in a house but most prefer appartments.
Re: Extreme Heat conference cancelled due to extreme heat warning
#355Earlier quoted context omitted.
Even now planners are forcing people to build horrible ovens that make no accounting for heat. The planners in Ireland laughed when I talked about over heating in our self built house due to lack of eaves.
Being done here too (not Ireland): Right now, councils are approving, and builders are building, apartments/houses that are big square boxes with no eaves or shading, black synthetic cladding, and windows with safety stays that only allow them to open about 8cm so almost no cooling possible. The upper floors of these units are essentially uninhabitable during summer.
Re: Extreme Heat conference cancelled due to extreme heat warning
#356Earlier quoted context omitted.
Exactly. The recent heat deaths I saw were people getting heart attack from jumping into cold river and others mostly from dehydration. All are from outside. You will not die from sleeping in 30c. What europe will have to get used to is slow down over the mid day when the heat is worst.
Night temperatures over 25°c are extremely dangerous for health if continous, there's no getting around this, just get the damn ACs. In my country, we've always had "siestas", now we have ACs too.
Re: Extreme Heat conference cancelled due to extreme heat warning
#357Europeans don’t get scolded enough for their resistance to air conditioning. In terms of accounting for preventable deaths, Greece has 2x more heat-related deaths per capita annually than Mississippi has gun deaths. By comparison, the worst US state for heat related deaths, Nevada - a literal desert - has >10x fewer deaths per capita than Greece.
Some of that has to do with engineering and age / history. Many older building in the southern part of Europe are built to cope with heat, at least "normal heat", and have done so very well for centuries. In places like Spain and Italy, society has adapted around the worst heat by means of Siestas.
In Northern Europe, there are maybe (during "normal summers) 7-14 days in a year with heat waves, and long dark winters with freezing temperatures so large windows are not uncommon. Houses there are built to trap heat (and cold) with insulation, with current building codes mandating around 350mm (~13.5") of insulation.
I have and old (1970s) house with 100mm insulation in the walls and 200mm insulation in the roof, and that house heats up in the sun. I also have a 2014 "modern" house built to regulations at the time, so around 300mm insulation, and despite a full day of sun, 30C, that house doesn't heat up nearly as much. Insulation by itself obviously doesn't protect you from prolonged high ambient temperatures, and I do have a portable AC for those situations. I think I've used it for 10 days in total over 2 years. Most days, simply opening windows and doors are enough to cool down the house. Having roof windows creates a "chimney effect" letting the hot air out on top, drawing relatively cooler air from closer to the ground.
I also have an older summerhouse (1984), constructed with wood inside and outside, 75mm insulation in walls, 100mm in the roof, and that has a proper mini split aircon unit, Panasonic NZ25VKE, and in the 5 years I've had it installed, it has used 4.75 kWh on cooling. For comparison it uses around 1400 kWh yearly on heating. The wooden construction doesn't trap heat like bricks/concrete does, so even on very hot days simply opening a couple of windows/doors is generally enough to get the heat out, as well as putting the heat pump on "only fans" mode.
And finally, a lot of newer buildings (2010 and onwards) does have climate control, both heating and cooling, but Europe is an old continent, and the buildings are old as well. It's not uncommon to see 200 year old buildings still in use today. 100 year old buildings are quite common. The church in the town I live in was built between 1250 and 1595. It has of course been updated with electricity and other modern commodities, but no air conditioning. The meter thick granite walls keeps it nice and cool.
Ironically, the US' insistence on running on electricity powered by coal, oil and gas is contributing to global warming making the problem worse, emitting about 2-3x as much CO2 as Europe on electricity (https://app.electricitymaps.com/map/live/fifteen_minutes), making the need for AC greater. If anything, the Americans don't get scolded enough for their resistance to renewable energy sources.
Re: Extreme Heat conference cancelled due to extreme heat warning
#358Europeans don’t get scolded enough for their resistance to air conditioning. In terms of accounting for preventable deaths, Greece has 2x more heat-related deaths per capita annually than Mississippi has gun deaths. By comparison, the worst US state for heat related deaths, Nevada - a literal desert - has >10x fewer deaths per capita than Greece.
We don't like it either, but thanks for being a sanctimonious prick about it.
Re: Extreme Heat conference cancelled due to extreme heat warning
#359Earlier quoted context omitted.
I highly doubt there are many (if any) places with "installing any kind of AC is illegal" laws. On the other hand, there are plenty of noise-related laws preventing you from installing an AC loud enough to be a nuisance for your neighbors. But that's solved by getting one with proper sound isolation, or placing it in such a way that the noise doesn't travel to the neighboring properties. Similarly, you aren't allowed…
In plenty of rental accomodation you are not even allowed to put a nail in the wall to hang a picture from.
Re: Extreme Heat conference cancelled due to extreme heat warning
#360Earlier quoted context omitted.
By all means install an AC unit to deal with the worst of it. Just install shades as well when you've got the scaffolding out so you can install a smaller, cheaper, and less energy-hungry one. Unfortunately I personally live in a highrise, and in a rental unit, so that "small hole and a bracket" definitely isn't an option for everyone.
If you can open a window at all you can run a portable AC unit. Even just 3-4 inches is enough.