3 ms·

The French are painting their windows with chalk to beat the heat

22 points by geox 4mo ago

SideburnsOfDoom 4mo ago
An acquaintance in London painted his windows with Yogurt. Based on this advice https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/paint-your-windows-with-yoghurt-to-beat-the-heat-aj100-practices-told https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/paint-your-windows-... He said that it helped.
poulpy123 4mo ago
I would put mylar sheets on my windows instead, although the best is of course to have shutters The traditional shutters from south east France are great to block the sun but still allow light https://volets-thiebaut.com/modules/boixmultiblocs/images/7a8862f0a5396221da8cae8aea5843d0e37ab519_volets-battants-alu-a-la-nicoise.jpg https://volets-thiebaut.com/modules/boixmultiblocs/images/7a...
- nom 4mo ago
  emergency blankets works great and are cheap too however, you get even better cooling with a coating that radiates the heat, it cools below the air temperature which feels so wrong NighthawkInLight on YouTube has explored this and created recipes, the results still feel impossible to my intuition
- pseudohadamard 4mo ago
  You can also get UV/IR-reflective coatings on your windows, either in the glass when they're installed or as aftermarket foils on existing ones. We have them on all of our sun-side-facing windows and they do a great job. They also provide privacy if you use the heavier-duty commercial-grade ones, which look like a mirror from the outside.
kylehotchkiss 4mo ago
Anything But A Heat Pump™
- wolvoleo 4mo ago
  If you live in a historical rental flat you often can't install AC. Also we do tend to consider the environment here. All the heat kept out doesn't have to be pumped.
  - dcrazy 4mo ago
    You can do both
  - cinntaile 4mo ago
    People have no issues heating their house during colder months, but cooling them during warmer months... No they can't do that, that's bad for the environment. Both require energy to change the temperature a certain number of degrees, they're not any different.
- SideburnsOfDoom 4mo ago
  It's not either-or
- tim-tday 4mo ago
  Have you been to Paris? Go on google earth and poke around. Theres no place to put the condenser. Most people rent so even if there was they can’t drill holes for the lines and even if they could, most buildings are historic so they can’t. Central AC/heatpumps on some rooftops could work.
  - KingMachiavelli 4mo ago
    Window units can be added to basically any existing home. And like you said roofs are an option. France could afford AC with their relatively cheap power but it’s just culturally and politically unpopular despite heat related deaths being extremely high and loss productivity it’s certainly more than the cost to retrofit.
    - dumah 4mo ago
      Paris would need significant infrastructure work across the distribution system to handle AC at NYC’s rate of 90% on summer heat wave days.
yownie 4mo ago
radiative sky paint https://hackaday.com/2023/07/03/cooling-paint-you-can-actually-make/ https://hackaday.com/2023/07/03/cooling-paint-you-can-actual...
- netsharc 4mo ago
  Using CaCO3 which is calcium carbonate, like the article. This science-lecturer-esque guy is using Barium Sulfate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNs_kNilSjk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNs_kNilSjk
tim-tday 4mo ago
It’s supposed to be yogurt.

22 points by geox 4mo ago

An acquaintance in London painted his windows with Yogurt. Based on this advice https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/paint-your-windows-with-yoghurt-to-beat-the-heat-aj100-practices-told https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/paint-your-windows-... He said that it helped.

poulpy123 4mo ago

I would put mylar sheets on my windows instead, although the best is of course to have shutters The traditional shutters from south east France are great to block the sun but still allow light https://volets-thiebaut.com/modules/boixmultiblocs/images/7a8862f0a5396221da8cae8aea5843d0e37ab519_volets-battants-alu-a-la-nicoise.jpg https://volets-thiebaut.com/modules/boixmultiblocs/images/7a...

nom 4mo ago
emergency blankets works great and are cheap too however, you get even better cooling with a coating that radiates the heat, it cools below the air temperature which feels so wrong NighthawkInLight on YouTube has explored this and created recipes, the results still feel impossible to my intuition
pseudohadamard 4mo ago
You can also get UV/IR-reflective coatings on your windows, either in the glass when they're installed or as aftermarket foils on existing ones. We have them on all of our sun-side-facing windows and they do a great job. They also provide privacy if you use the heavier-duty commercial-grade ones, which look like a mirror from the outside.

kylehotchkiss 4mo ago

Anything But A Heat Pump™

wolvoleo 4mo ago
If you live in a historical rental flat you often can't install AC. Also we do tend to consider the environment here. All the heat kept out doesn't have to be pumped.
- dcrazy 4mo ago
  You can do both
- cinntaile 4mo ago
  People have no issues heating their house during colder months, but cooling them during warmer months... No they can't do that, that's bad for the environment. Both require energy to change the temperature a certain number of degrees, they're not any different.
SideburnsOfDoom 4mo ago
It's not either-or
tim-tday 4mo ago
Have you been to Paris? Go on google earth and poke around. Theres no place to put the condenser. Most people rent so even if there was they can’t drill holes for the lines and even if they could, most buildings are historic so they can’t. Central AC/heatpumps on some rooftops could work.
- KingMachiavelli 4mo ago
  Window units can be added to basically any existing home. And like you said roofs are an option. France could afford AC with their relatively cheap power but it’s just culturally and politically unpopular despite heat related deaths being extremely high and loss productivity it’s certainly more than the cost to retrofit.
  - dumah 4mo ago
    Paris would need significant infrastructure work across the distribution system to handle AC at NYC’s rate of 90% on summer heat wave days.

yownie 4mo ago

radiative sky paint https://hackaday.com/2023/07/03/cooling-paint-you-can-actually-make/ https://hackaday.com/2023/07/03/cooling-paint-you-can-actual...

netsharc 4mo ago
Using CaCO3 which is calcium carbonate, like the article. This science-lecturer-esque guy is using Barium Sulfate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNs_kNilSjk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNs_kNilSjk

tim-tday 4mo ago

It’s supposed to be yogurt.