Hello everyone,
I’m somewhat heat-sensitive. Until now, I have always lived in apartments that would get extremely hot in summer, despite maximizing shading during the day and ventilating strongly with rapid air exchange at night. Those were the days of my childhood spent in a basement apartment, where even in the height of summer the bedroom stayed pleasantly cool.
To get to the point: I definitely don’t want to deal with that in my own home. So, air conditioning is an important topic for me. My question is: what is the best way to maintain comfortable temperatures even in the peak of summer?
I have read that heat pumps can also provide cooling through underfloor heating, although the effect seems to be relatively mild. It’s also said that mechanical ventilation with heat recovery can be combined with cooling, but here, too, there are obviously fairly strict limitations. Finally, there is the conventional split air conditioning system, which certainly cools well but also consumes a lot of electricity. However, combined with solar panels on the roof, electricity costs should remain manageable since there is usually a surplus of electricity in summer that’s hard to use otherwise.
What would you recommend considering both cost and comfort? Maybe some combination makes sense, for example cooling with a heat pump via underfloor heating and additional cooling through mechanical ventilation with heat recovery – perhaps a moderate amount of cooling from two systems is sufficient in combination. Who has experience and can share knowledge and opinions?
Best regards,
HB1
I’m somewhat heat-sensitive. Until now, I have always lived in apartments that would get extremely hot in summer, despite maximizing shading during the day and ventilating strongly with rapid air exchange at night. Those were the days of my childhood spent in a basement apartment, where even in the height of summer the bedroom stayed pleasantly cool.
To get to the point: I definitely don’t want to deal with that in my own home. So, air conditioning is an important topic for me. My question is: what is the best way to maintain comfortable temperatures even in the peak of summer?
I have read that heat pumps can also provide cooling through underfloor heating, although the effect seems to be relatively mild. It’s also said that mechanical ventilation with heat recovery can be combined with cooling, but here, too, there are obviously fairly strict limitations. Finally, there is the conventional split air conditioning system, which certainly cools well but also consumes a lot of electricity. However, combined with solar panels on the roof, electricity costs should remain manageable since there is usually a surplus of electricity in summer that’s hard to use otherwise.
What would you recommend considering both cost and comfort? Maybe some combination makes sense, for example cooling with a heat pump via underfloor heating and additional cooling through mechanical ventilation with heat recovery – perhaps a moderate amount of cooling from two systems is sufficient in combination. Who has experience and can share knowledge and opinions?
Best regards,
HB1
I once experienced a ceiling cooling system in a house without any (!!!) blinds or shutters. It was a scorching summer day with temperatures over 30°C (86°F), and the days before had been just as hot. The ceiling cooling made the entire house completely cool—not just borderline comfortable but genuinely refreshing. That really impressed me at the time. The other houses, even with shading, controlled ventilation, and so on, didn’t come close to achieving something similar. In all the other houses, you had to sweat. In the house with the ceiling cooling, there wasn’t even any shading used. Of course, it costs money—first for installation and secondly for operation—but for me, this is definitely the ultimate solution if you want to have the very best. Compared to air cooling, there are also no strong drafts, no bacteria, etc.—the air inside is cool, but otherwise, you don’t notice anything. Definitely the best solution. For those interested in learning more: brick climate ceiling.
I worked for almost five years in a building with a holiday apartment and can report the exact opposite. It was extremely hot, and only with full shading all day long was any cooling possibly noticeable... which might also have been due to maintenance. Also, no building technician reported experiencing the performance described by grym.
There may be other, possibly less effective systems? Just to be clear, this climate ceiling is a hydronic system and works exactly the opposite of underfloor heating. Ideally installed on both floors, the climate ceiling cools the entire building. It’s not like a hot oven with cold air, but rather a comfortably tempered whole building. And nothing can warm up from above either, since the top floor ceiling (assuming two full stories) already provides the cooling.
How do you come to that conclusion? The cooling probably works similarly to basements or old historic buildings with very thick solid walls. Because everything around stays cool, the interior remains cool as well. If you have moisture problems, it’s likely caused by poor workmanship somewhere else.
Anyway, the original poster asked for the best method, and a properly installed ceiling cooling system is the best approach I know of. It makes much more sense than a blower. This is how Americans do it in their wooden cabins – heating and cooling through the air. Heating via the floor or walls and cooling through the ceiling or walls is technically a much better solution and can provide higher cooling capacity than an air blower. Additionally, it prevents drafts, reduces bacterial growth in stagnant air conditioning units, and eliminates noise and visible equipment.
Edit: Did you mean a dripstone cave because of water flow? Is your underfloor heating leaking? Oh dear... If you assume everything is poorly done, then of course you shouldn’t build a house. This system will be roughly the opposite of underfloor heating, just installed on the ceiling. That naturally achieves significantly higher cooling capacity, which is why nowadays PCs often use water cooling when high cooling performance and low noise levels are required.
Anyway, the original poster asked for the best method, and a properly installed ceiling cooling system is the best approach I know of. It makes much more sense than a blower. This is how Americans do it in their wooden cabins – heating and cooling through the air. Heating via the floor or walls and cooling through the ceiling or walls is technically a much better solution and can provide higher cooling capacity than an air blower. Additionally, it prevents drafts, reduces bacterial growth in stagnant air conditioning units, and eliminates noise and visible equipment.
Edit: Did you mean a dripstone cave because of water flow? Is your underfloor heating leaking? Oh dear... If you assume everything is poorly done, then of course you shouldn’t build a house. This system will be roughly the opposite of underfloor heating, just installed on the ceiling. That naturally achieves significantly higher cooling capacity, which is why nowadays PCs often use water cooling when high cooling performance and low noise levels are required.
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Steffen802 Jul 2017 18:04If this is so great... why does no one install something like that? At least, I have never seen it. Especially in commercial buildings, there are only regular air conditioning systems.
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