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Last year I lived in a older mobile home in Saskatchewan (tin clad, all south-facing windows). It could definitely get up to around 28C during the day if I was

Last year I lived in a older mobile home in Saskatchewan (tin clad, all south-facing windows). It could definitely get up to around 28C during the day if I wasn't careful about managing things (open the windows while it was cool in the morning, close them by 10am or so, make sure shades are drawn, etc). I only had a wall-mount AC unit, and if I messed up the heat management process I had to run the crap out of it to get the temperatures back down to something manageable. Fortunately I was working from home, so I would catch a screw-up early (when I'd realize that I was starting to sweat because of the temperature). Winter was interesting too. The trailer wasn't all that well insulated, so the furnace had to run a fair bit. But on sunny days, even in the middle of winter, you could really feel how much the sun contributed to warming the place up. It was an experience that really drove home the concept of solar gain though! If I were still living there, I'd be putting up carefully angled awnings to reflect the sun during the summer but still let it in during the winter (when it's lower in the sky).

saeranv 9y ago
That is interesting. I've had to run building energy simulations where I spent a lot of time running through similar scenarios while trying to figure out set points for an automated natural ventilation system. It went pretty much exactly as you describe, if you don't catch that heat gain at the right moment, the interior temperatures can get caught increase to a point where opening windows won't exhaust the heat anymore. Since I was working on a completely passively ventilated building at the time, that meant the heat gain would remain, and if there would be a gradual positive feedback loop over the course of a couple of days meaning everyday the interior temperature would get a hotter.
- tonyarkles 9y ago
  On hindsight, I wish I'd tracked the data for you :) We were fortunate enough last year to still have quite cool nights; even if I screwed it up, opening the windows at both ends of the house would cool the place down quite well over night. The only really awkward part was when my wife would come home at 6pm, and she'd be uncomfortably warm until it got dark (which wasn't until 10:30pm or so).

saeranv 9y ago

That is interesting. I've had to run building energy simulations where I spent a lot of time running through similar scenarios while trying to figure out set points for an automated natural ventilation system. It went pretty much exactly as you describe, if you don't catch that heat gain at the right moment, the interior temperatures can get caught increase to a point where opening windows won't exhaust the heat anymore. Since I was working on a completely passively ventilated building at the time, that meant the heat gain would remain, and if there would be a gradual positive feedback loop over the course of a couple of days meaning everyday the interior temperature would get a hotter.

tonyarkles 9y ago
On hindsight, I wish I'd tracked the data for you :) We were fortunate enough last year to still have quite cool nights; even if I screwed it up, opening the windows at both ends of the house would cool the place down quite well over night. The only really awkward part was when my wife would come home at 6pm, and she'd be uncomfortably warm until it got dark (which wasn't until 10:30pm or so).