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Back in Switzerland we still rarely have AC in homes and offices. My parents still work in an office that can get 40C/104F for two to three weeks in summer. Eve

Back in Switzerland we still rarely have AC in homes and offices. My parents still work in an office that can get 40C/104F for two to three weeks in summer. Everything is built for winter.

foz 12y ago
I live in CH now, and I noticed that most buildings have massively thick exterior walls which seem to insulate against the blazing sun during the day, so that at night things are tolerable. In my office in Zurich, we break out the electric fans during a hot day, and people take off their button shirts and walk around in flimsy undershirts. Most large stores have A/C though. I honestly don't miss A/C at all, I remember living in NYC during heat waves, and dreading the shock transition from extreme hot to cold that happened when you entered or exited a building.
- speakeron 12y ago
  I live in CH too (for more than 20 years now) and although in can get hot in the summer, the humidity is normally much lower than the US east coast and southern states. I used to regularly travel to North Carolina from Basel (normally warmer than Zurich) and could really feel the difference, even though the temperatures were similar in the summer. In NC, A/C was essential; in Basel not so much.
  - throwawayornot 12y ago
    pharma/biotech?
mjn 12y ago
That's also true in Denmark (everything is built for the winter). Although since it doesn't get that hot, rather than AC, it would suffice if things were just better ventilated. There are 2-4 weeks every summer where office buildings, the metro, buses, etc. get incredibly hot (e.g. 35º inside when it's 28º outside), which could be fixed with better window-opening technology. On the other hand, very few people will be in the office during those 2-4 weeks anyway, since everyone just takes that time as vacation. And apartments (unlike office buildings) typically have good ventilation.

Back in Switzerland we still rarely have AC in homes and offices. My parents still work in an office that can get 40C/104F for two to three weeks in summer. Everything is built for winter.

foz 12y ago

I live in CH now, and I noticed that most buildings have massively thick exterior walls which seem to insulate against the blazing sun during the day, so that at night things are tolerable. In my office in Zurich, we break out the electric fans during a hot day, and people take off their button shirts and walk around in flimsy undershirts. Most large stores have A/C though. I honestly don't miss A/C at all, I remember living in NYC during heat waves, and dreading the shock transition from extreme hot to cold that happened when you entered or exited a building.

speakeron 12y ago
I live in CH too (for more than 20 years now) and although in can get hot in the summer, the humidity is normally much lower than the US east coast and southern states. I used to regularly travel to North Carolina from Basel (normally warmer than Zurich) and could really feel the difference, even though the temperatures were similar in the summer. In NC, A/C was essential; in Basel not so much.
- throwawayornot 12y ago
  pharma/biotech?

mjn 12y ago

That's also true in Denmark (everything is built for the winter). Although since it doesn't get that hot, rather than AC, it would suffice if things were just better ventilated. There are 2-4 weeks every summer where office buildings, the metro, buses, etc. get incredibly hot (e.g. 35º inside when it's 28º outside), which could be fixed with better window-opening technology. On the other hand, very few people will be in the office during those 2-4 weeks anyway, since everyone just takes that time as vacation. And apartments (unlike office buildings) typically have good ventilation.