3 ms·
This may have been true in the past, but it is definitely not true at this time. I'm currently shopping for homes in Tokyo, and the current generation of homes
by ryan_lane 5y ago
This may have been true in the past, but it is definitely not true at this time. I'm currently shopping for homes in Tokyo, and the current generation of homes being built are high quality, insulated, with double pane windows, heated wood floors, incredible bathrooms (fully floodable, giant tubs, air conditioning/heating/24 hour ventilation), separated toilets with heated seats and bidets, and generally at least one nice balcony.
There's no central heat, but that's because it's wasteful. Each room has one or more air conditioners (which are heat pumps). I heat (or cool) whichever room I'm currently in, and don't need to waste energy on the entire residence.
- distances 5y agoFor what it's worth, central heating as I understand it can usually also be controlled separately for each room. In Central Europe I too heat mainly the rooms I use (say, living room during daytime and bedroom at nights).
- fatnoah 5y agoIt definitely is. I live in the US, and my house has 3 separate "zones" for heating and cooling. Programmable thermostats turn things off and on automatically based on a pre-set schedule, and the schedules can also be overridden. The result is that we're generally only heating or cooling the parts of the house that we're using.
- ryan_lane 5y agoIt can be, but it's not the norm. I've personally never lived somewhere that has programmable central heating/cooling.