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The difference in design between buildings in hot European countries, which almost universally have shutters and other forms of shading, and American ones which
by sparsely 5y ago
The difference in design between buildings in hot European countries, which almost universally have shutters and other forms of shading, and American ones which might have a porch if that, is striking. It's an extremely effective, cheap, and low carbon way of controlling temperatures which only requires small changes to design and behaviour.
- Karrot_Kream 5y agoJust window fans and shutters can go a long way to keeping houses cool. A tactic I like to use a lot in the wee months of the summer is to use a window fan to let cold air in at night, then put the shutters up during the morning to try and keep the night cold air inside as long as possible while still having some ventilation. Along with a ceiling fan this works very well, unless the night doesn't cool down enough.
- cbg0 5y agoThe shutters you speak of are mostly for comfort because the sun is usually quite bright. You'll still see shutters + A/C units pretty much everywhere in Europe where you have 30+ degrees in the summer.
- sparsely 5y agoThe significantly reduce heat from solar radiation - you might still need AC units, but they need to do less work and be on less often.
- anigbrowl 5y agoAmerican houses used to be designed for the weather to some extent, eg having internal airflow to maintain cool cupboards in kitchens. Having worked in residential construction for a few years (only on the West coast) my feeling is that well-maintained older homes are often in better condition than newer ones.