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Other option is to go underground. On continental climate it also saves winter heating costs
by qwerta 12y ago
Other option is to go underground. On continental climate it also saves winter heating costs
- girzel 12y agoWhy isn't this considered as a solution more often? Is it just because construction costs go up, or for reasons of culture and habit? It seems like this is absolutely the best approach for stabilizing temperatures in both hot and cold climates. Might not work well in a place with a lot of ground water, I guess, but in general it seems like a win. Reduces building profiles, as well.
- rprospero 12y agoWhile I've read enough Asimov to believe that the future is underground, I'll also be the first to admit that the lack of windows is a major problem with the system. You both lose natural light and the cooling air currents provided by the wind.
- girzel 12y agoWell I didn't mean all the way underground -- I think you'd get substantial benefits from going three-quarters down on the ground floor. If there's only one floor, skylights do the trick. For multiple stories, high windows, and then fans circulating air between floors. Hmm, I guess this is getting a little expensive after all...
- seanmcdirmid 12y agoWe like our views. Also, fire code wouldn't really allow for it in most developed countries...sinking windows is quite expensive.
- pcrh 12y agoA traditional Persian method of cooling was to build windcatchers combined with an underground intake that was routed underground where it cooled. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Qanat_wind_tower.svg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Qanat_wind_tower.svg
- jessaustin 12y agoThat seems like a great idea if you happen to build near a functional qanat. It's irrelevant to 99.9% of the locations where humans build homes.
- deleted 12y ago[deleted]
- jessaustin 12y ago...in very specific environments, at huge cost.
- kitd 12y agoA qanat can be little more than a shaded pond. It doesn't have to be underground. Air around it is cooled, then drawn by the wind tower through the house.
- jessaustin 12y agoOK, that makes sense. All you need for that is a source of water and a low-humidity environment. I guess well pumps use less energy than air conditioners?
- pcrh 12y agoIt's unlikely to work well for offices and high rises, granted. But it wouldn't be too hard to imagine this kind of set-up being modernized and applied to many suburban homes in the US Southwest, for example.