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2 years ago I bought AC for my bedroom. Before then, I didn't have AC in bedroom. It is now utterly impossible to live without it. Since beginning of July, we h

2 years ago I bought AC for my bedroom. Before then, I didn't have AC in bedroom. It is now utterly impossible to live without it. Since beginning of July, we have a high of ~33c, low of ~25c, with ~75% humidity every single day until today. This is insane. It was never been like this

bell-cot 5y ago
Might you share your (approximate) location, to give us some context?
- anoplus 5y ago
  Netanya, Israel
yosito 5y ago
Have you considered using a fan instead? Nights of 25c are completely bearable with a fan.
- anoplus 5y ago
  I actually started with a fan for a while before I bought an AC. It gets to 25c only maybe at ~4am
- TeMPOraL 5y ago
  A fan won't help you when outside air is 33°C, 75% humidity. Also, AC units double as fans when the compressor is off. I bought a portable AC this summer, and it's a night-and-day difference in quality of life (particularly for my pregnant wife and my 2yo daughter). Pre-AC, July was mostly unbearable, with temperatures around 34°C during the day, dropping below 30°C only around 20:00 or later. Last week we had some cooler days (~24°C), so the compressor in the AC stays off most of the time - running the unit is just like running a fan, except I get to duct the exhaust and intake air with flexi-pipes, making it possible to create patterns of air flow that refresh the air in the whole apartment.
- Karrot_Kream 5y ago
  Fans cool humans by applying the evaporative cooling effect on the skin through sweat (and convection, in certain cases). At 75% humidity, the sweat will not evaporate. You need dehumidification in those conditions for a fan to have an effect. It would be interesting to see how much more energy efficient a dehumidifier and a fan can be than just an AC, but currently it makes more sense for most folks to just buy an AC. After all, a dehumidifier is very similar to an AC. Someone else in this thread linked to https://www.nuscool.com/our-technologies/ https://www.nuscool.com/our-technologies/ which looks like a combination desiccant dehumidifier and an evaporative cooler. That may be a more efficient alternative, depending on the lifetime and maintenance of the desiccant.
  - TeMPOraL 5y ago
    I haven't looked into humidification space directly, but from what I understand, compressor humidifiers are more energy-efficient than desiccant ones. If so, that would make an AC unit more efficient than the dehumidifier/fan combo. Plus, you'll eventually need cooling or heating; a heat pump is as efficient as you can get. Many AC designs control supply air humidity by dumping excess water with exhaust air (when cooling), or pulling it from intake air (when heating). The more I look at it, the more I consider heat pump ACs to be a miracle in a box. They're a good default.
    - Karrot_Kream 5y ago
      > The more I look at it, the more I consider heat pump ACs to be a miracle in a box. They're a good default. They are! If you need heating and cooling, a heat pump AC is fantastic. We just need to make building design more efficient so you need to run it less frequently. But look, even switching most existing heating/cooling HVACs to heat pump units would be fantastic. There's a lot to do.

bell-cot 5y ago

Might you share your (approximate) location, to give us some context?

anoplus 5y ago
Netanya, Israel

yosito 5y ago

Have you considered using a fan instead? Nights of 25c are completely bearable with a fan.

anoplus 5y ago
I actually started with a fan for a while before I bought an AC. It gets to 25c only maybe at ~4am
TeMPOraL 5y ago
A fan won't help you when outside air is 33°C, 75% humidity. Also, AC units double as fans when the compressor is off. I bought a portable AC this summer, and it's a night-and-day difference in quality of life (particularly for my pregnant wife and my 2yo daughter). Pre-AC, July was mostly unbearable, with temperatures around 34°C during the day, dropping below 30°C only around 20:00 or later. Last week we had some cooler days (~24°C), so the compressor in the AC stays off most of the time - running the unit is just like running a fan, except I get to duct the exhaust and intake air with flexi-pipes, making it possible to create patterns of air flow that refresh the air in the whole apartment.
Karrot_Kream 5y ago
Fans cool humans by applying the evaporative cooling effect on the skin through sweat (and convection, in certain cases). At 75% humidity, the sweat will not evaporate. You need dehumidification in those conditions for a fan to have an effect. It would be interesting to see how much more energy efficient a dehumidifier and a fan can be than just an AC, but currently it makes more sense for most folks to just buy an AC. After all, a dehumidifier is very similar to an AC. Someone else in this thread linked to https://www.nuscool.com/our-technologies/ https://www.nuscool.com/our-technologies/ which looks like a combination desiccant dehumidifier and an evaporative cooler. That may be a more efficient alternative, depending on the lifetime and maintenance of the desiccant.
- TeMPOraL 5y ago
  I haven't looked into humidification space directly, but from what I understand, compressor humidifiers are more energy-efficient than desiccant ones. If so, that would make an AC unit more efficient than the dehumidifier/fan combo. Plus, you'll eventually need cooling or heating; a heat pump is as efficient as you can get. Many AC designs control supply air humidity by dumping excess water with exhaust air (when cooling), or pulling it from intake air (when heating). The more I look at it, the more I consider heat pump ACs to be a miracle in a box. They're a good default.
  - Karrot_Kream 5y ago
    > The more I look at it, the more I consider heat pump ACs to be a miracle in a box. They're a good default. They are! If you need heating and cooling, a heat pump AC is fantastic. We just need to make building design more efficient so you need to run it less frequently. But look, even switching most existing heating/cooling HVACs to heat pump units would be fantastic. There's a lot to do.