ᐅ Does it make sense to install an air conditioning system?

Hello,

we are soon building an urban villa with two full floors in Brandenburg (Barnim).
Construction method: double-layer masonry (15 cm (6 inches) lightweight clay wall elements + 14 cm (6 inches) mineral wool insulation + 11 cm (4 inches) facing bricks, so a wall thickness of 40 cm (16 inches)).
Now we need to decide whether we require air conditioning so that the construction company can plan the necessary openings and electrical installation accordingly. For us, only a split system for one or two rooms is an option (kitchen, because it gets hot when cooking / living room or bedroom).

Unfortunately, we cannot assess whether it is really necessary, whether the rooms become uncomfortably warm during hot days like the last two weeks, or if they stay cool due to the construction style of a detached house.

Does anyone have any experience?

We appreciate any advice.

Best regards

I have no idea how different temperatures affect your comfort. The purpose of air conditioning is to improve comfort.

I find air conditioners very pleasant for cooling down poorly insulated cars. In the house, I prefer open windows and doors and gladly accept a few degrees higher temperature for that.

In the southwestern USA, I was grateful for air conditioning during the summer months in poorly insulated houses. In adobe houses, it wasn’t necessary. Frequently switching between air-conditioned and non-air-conditioned areas can be stressful for some circulatory systems.

For a few years, we hosted students from California or Texas during the summer for a few weeks. Some of them struggled with our summer climate and the limited presence of air conditioning. It seems there are adaptation effects.

I would have them installed in the bedrooms; in the kitchen, in my opinion, it is unnecessary.

We are also planning for the bedrooms in the new house. We already live in a KfW55 standard home and can no longer get the heat out of the walls during summer; after ventilating, it heats up again immediately.

We integrated cooling through the geothermal heat pump into the underfloor heating system. It’s not air conditioning, as it only achieves about a 4-6°C (7-11°F) difference, but it works throughout the entire house. We are very happy with it.

My dad installed air conditioning in his bedroom in his townhouse. The room is directly under the sloping roof. It works great — but I would probably catch a cold quickly there. That’s why it wasn’t an option for us.

The underfloor heating and cooling system did not work adequately here, so after one year, split units were installed in the house. (I would do the same again)

I am now considering equipping the entire house with this system. You don’t have to cool it down to refrigerator temperatures, so there is no risk of catching a cold.