Our house was completed at the end of 2005. At that time, the regulations regarding thermal insulation were certainly not as strict as they are today, yet I still find the insulation to be, in my opinion, completely excessive.
A few weeks ago, when the mornings were still pleasantly cool, I tried ventilating the ground floor by cross-ventilation to lower the temperature to 20°C (68°F). After closing all the windows, it took less than an hour for the temperature to rise back up to 24.4°C (76°F). It goes without saying that
- all the heating systems were turned off
- such temperatures are not healthy over the long term.
The insulation craze is especially noticeable in the attic, where temperatures of 30°C (86°F) under similar outdoor conditions are common.
After careful consideration, I recently had an inverter air conditioning unit installed in the attic (I work exclusively from home), which has definitely greatly improved the living comfort.
However, to what extent this is compatible with the fundamentally good idea of reducing energy costs—especially considering the expected rise in peak temperatures due to climate change—is something I still wonder about...
Are there other ways to lower the basic indoor temperature to a healthy level (21-22°C / 70-72°F)?
P.S.: There are plenty of search results when looking up “insulation madness”... it makes you wonder if someone suspects something.
A few weeks ago, when the mornings were still pleasantly cool, I tried ventilating the ground floor by cross-ventilation to lower the temperature to 20°C (68°F). After closing all the windows, it took less than an hour for the temperature to rise back up to 24.4°C (76°F). It goes without saying that
- all the heating systems were turned off
- such temperatures are not healthy over the long term.
The insulation craze is especially noticeable in the attic, where temperatures of 30°C (86°F) under similar outdoor conditions are common.
After careful consideration, I recently had an inverter air conditioning unit installed in the attic (I work exclusively from home), which has definitely greatly improved the living comfort.
However, to what extent this is compatible with the fundamentally good idea of reducing energy costs—especially considering the expected rise in peak temperatures due to climate change—is something I still wonder about...
Are there other ways to lower the basic indoor temperature to a healthy level (21-22°C / 70-72°F)?
P.S.: There are plenty of search results when looking up “insulation madness”... it makes you wonder if someone suspects something.
S
Steffen8031 Jul 2018 15:40Bookstar schrieb:
Experience shows something different. Spend one night sleeping with air conditioning, and you wake up severely ill the next morning.EXACTLY!!! That’s why we sleep with air conditioning every night... and have for many years on vacation! And of course, most vacationers (in air-conditioned hotels) are ALL constantly sick!!!
C
chand198631 Jul 2018 16:08People become more susceptible to illnesses when they are cold, not because of the cold itself. Cooling down certain body parts (usually the neck and ears) can promote the development of local infections. But the air conditioning doesn’t have to be set so cold, and the airflow doesn’t need to be directed right at those sensitive areas, does it?
Steffen80 schrieb:
An air conditioner doesn’t make you sick. Viruses and bacteria do.I’ll just ignore that silly common belief...
You’re right, of course, that you don’t catch a cold just from being cold—the term is misleading. Apparently, no one has ever caught a cold in Antarctica because the air there is basically germ-free. You can freeze there, but at least you won’t get a cold!
What I personally find unpleasant is a big temperature difference between inside and outside. For example, 35°C (95°F) outside and cooling down to 20°C (68°F) inside. If you come inside sweaty and start to shiver, you become vulnerable. Especially if you have small children bringing home bacteria and viruses from daycare or kindergarten that would make any biological weapons manufacturer envious...
If someone stays alone in a cooled room the whole time, they won’t get sick—that’s true. But then they still have the problem that their wife pulls the thick winter pajamas out of the closet...
Enjoy your air conditioning!
Best regards,
Andreas
S
Steffen8031 Jul 2018 17:12As I said, no one in our household has gotten sick because of the air conditioning. Despite having two small children in daycare, they only get sick in winter when the air conditioning is turned off.
We currently have the following indoor temperatures WITHOUT air conditioning and WITHOUT a geothermal heat exchanger for our mechanical ventilation system:
Ground floor: approximately 20.5°C (laundry room about 21°C)
First floor: approximately 21.5°C
Attic: approximately 22°C (two small gable windows without shading)
Building location: Lower Franconia (near Kitzingen )
During the current heatwave, we ventilate every night.
Because of the intense cross-ventilation at night, we have temporarily turned off the mechanical ventilation system
(even though it switches to the KRG mode when the outdoor air becomes warmer than inside, preventing the incoming air from really heating up).
The house was built with 42.5cm (17 inches) Ytong blocks without additional insulation, plus external blinds, and insulated attic with both rafter and between-rafter insulation.
The walls are finished with lime plaster, which effectively stores moisture.
Indoor humidity fluctuates between 55% and 70%, depending on nighttime ventilation (the walls still need some time to "dry out").
I don’t miss having air conditioning or any other measures at all.
Everyone who enters the house is amazed by the comfortable indoor climate.
@Steffen80:
How is the indoor humidity with air conditioning in your house? For example, in cars it typically makes the air very dry.
Ground floor: approximately 20.5°C (laundry room about 21°C)
First floor: approximately 21.5°C
Attic: approximately 22°C (two small gable windows without shading)
Building location: Lower Franconia (near Kitzingen )
During the current heatwave, we ventilate every night.
Because of the intense cross-ventilation at night, we have temporarily turned off the mechanical ventilation system
(even though it switches to the KRG mode when the outdoor air becomes warmer than inside, preventing the incoming air from really heating up).
The house was built with 42.5cm (17 inches) Ytong blocks without additional insulation, plus external blinds, and insulated attic with both rafter and between-rafter insulation.
The walls are finished with lime plaster, which effectively stores moisture.
Indoor humidity fluctuates between 55% and 70%, depending on nighttime ventilation (the walls still need some time to "dry out").
I don’t miss having air conditioning or any other measures at all.
Everyone who enters the house is amazed by the comfortable indoor climate.
@Steffen80:
How is the indoor humidity with air conditioning in your house? For example, in cars it typically makes the air very dry.
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