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Houses in France are typically much better insulated than houses in the US. Houses also have thick shutters, which once closed (which you usually do during the
by thatfrenchguy 7y ago
Houses in France are typically much better insulated than houses in the US.
Houses also have thick shutters, which once closed (which you usually do during the day) tend to retain cold better than without.
People in France also tend to take 3-4 weeks off in July / August as well (and business tend to be slower during those months as well), and tend to have wardrobes which are better suited to the season they’re in as well.
The climate is also slightly nicer as well, it gets less hot than in say Arizona :-).
- rayiner 7y agoAll of that sounds like things you have to do because you’re too poor to afford central AC.
- TheSpiceIsLife 7y agoI think the idea is a well insulated building needs less heating / cooling.
- rayiner 7y agoInsulation isn’t magic. Our house in Bangladesh was made of inches of concrete. It still got hot as hell, and everyone there who can afford it gets an air conditioner. Of course France’s climate is more moderate. But I’m genuinely shocked to learn that 95% of what purports to be a first world country can’t keep their houses at a fixed temperature year-round. I feel like my dad (who grew up in Bangladesh) when he went to West Virginia and found out there were places in America without indoor toilets.
- adrianN 7y agoTry adding some styrofoam or something to the outside of the concrete. But as you note, France is not Bangladesh and the climate is mild enough that you just don't need AC.
- TheSpiceIsLife 7y agoIf you’re going to use styrofoam please find a product with fire retardant properties.
- benj111 7y agoYou tend to have a cold season in France, and colder nights. Yes you could have a stifling fortnight, but the thermal mass is enough to get you through relative blips like that. Source grandparents have house in south of France with 1ft+ thick walls, no aircon. Stays nice and cool all summer.
- TheSpiceIsLife 7y agoConcrete is not an insulator. It absorbs heat and releases it over time. It’s the direct opposite of an insulator, it’s thermal mass. If it’s cold outside concrete will swiftly radiate away any heat it has retained and you’ll find yourself in quite the chilly building. Good insulators for homes are products like Rockwool, Earthwool, and HardieFire (probably all Australian product names). You can also get thermally reflective paints for roofs and exterior walls; fully sealed / sealable door and windows; double glazed windows with thermal film almost as good as triple glazed; polycarbonate window frames that have low thermal conductivity; HVAC systems that can transfer heat from warm roof space to living areas; products like Sun Lizard thermal transfer systems. I’ve been in houses in Victoria and Tasmania where some or all of these systems have been implemented and the inside of the houses hover around 17 - 25 all year round with only passive systems.
- rayiner 7y ago> I’ve been in houses in Victoria and Tasmania where some or all of these systems have been implemented and the inside of the houses hover around 17 - 25 all year round with only passive systems. That’s an enormous range (62-75 F) that few Americans would tolerate.
- TheSpiceIsLife 7y ago17 degrees inside in winter is comfortable with a jumper and pants of some form. 25 inside during summer is fine with light T-shirt and shorts. Also, doesn’t the USA have the highest carbon footprint per capita? Might wanna get that checked out.
- pen2l 7y agoThen Americans should get their act together! Seriously though, I'm an Asian now living in America -- in the cold part. For the first 15'ish years here, I despised the Winters because I could not tolerate them. But then I started lifting and doing cardio, and all of a sudden I could bear the cold just fine. Americans are being wusses if they are so intolerant of that range. They need to buck up and hit the gym, like I finally did.
- 7y ago
- reilly3000 7y agoCentral air is a giant waste of energy, tantamount to leaving the hose on all day. Better construction materials and techniques obviate the need for AC - check out Passivhaus engineering http://www.phius.org/phius-certification-for-buildings-products/case-studies/case-studies-pdfs http://www.phius.org/phius-certification-for-buildings-produ...
- lostmsu 7y agoI am curious, with better insulation, would not CO2 levels inside be too high for comfortable living? When I close door to my office, it quickly grows to 1300ppm, and my office has giant holes.
- rightbyte 7y agoYou have ventilation with heat exchange.
- lostmsu 7y agoHow does that work?
- reilly3000 7y agoThe basic standard of Passive House design/retrofit is making sure the structure is airtight. There is a standard test called the blower-door test to see how much air is escaping through parts that should be sealed. The heat exchanger pulls in fresh outside air and filters it thoroughly. It can 'passively' adjust the air temp by warming it with household heat recycled from cooking, showers, etc, or selectively pulling in cooler air. The net effect is dramatically better indoor air quality with minuscule utility bills. More decent info here: http://www.heatspaceandlight.com/can-open-windows-passivhaus/ http://www.heatspaceandlight.com/can-open-windows-passivhaus...