It's probably also similar to why it's nice to feel a breeze on a hot day.
If I lived on a higher floor, I would definitely have an AC unit though. I have friends who live on the 7th floor and she told me there are days that they can't even be at home when it's very warm outside. I have no idea why they don't have a portable AC unit.
The key to success is converting it (the rubbish technology portable airconditioners available in Switzerland) to a two-hose system.
With other words: you don't want the thing to create underpressure in your home and suck in more hot air from the ourside while it is expelling hot air throught the hose.
Anything that is being sold as a portable air conditiner right now in Switzerland is pure garbage from a technology point of view.
Firstly there are no true dual hose systems available (you have to build that yourself with improvised methods) and secondly the compressors and the control systems that are included with portable airconditioners are stone-age technology. Everything seems to be exactly the same and (except for the varying cases and marketing lingo) probably emerge from the same factory somewhere in China.
Why doesn't anyone manufacture and sell a portable airconditioner with dual hose technology, a sound-proofed case and and quiet inverter compressor ?
It certainly can't be that difficult !
I’m a fan fan so far, too. Yet I wonder if an air dehumidfier isn’t the better option (or a combination), especially for the bedroom.
With +/- 40db they appear to be less noisy, and power consumption 130W for even a cheapo model like this looks fairly low (recommended for <25m2 rooms). To top it off, dry air is also useful in a damp cellar, in a cold room in the winter, and when hanging wet clothes. Plus, many models come with air filtering/cleaning capability.
50% humidity reduction at 30°C produces some 15g water per m3 air (12g at 25°, 9g at 20°). A room with 40m2 and 2.5m height has 100m3, that reduction produces 800g at 30°. The result is pretty dry air, that should make 30° comfortable because the sweat evaporates easily.
Does anyone have practical experience with these thingies? Pros and cons?
The dehumidifier setting is ok and definitely less noisy then the a/c, but on a really hot day the a/c is the only thing that truly makes a difference. Maybe a standalone dehumidifier would work better, I'm not sure
We usually put the a/c on an hour or two before bed then switch it to the fan on a low setting overnight. Can't beat getting in to a cold bed!*
Although the a/c is ~64db, the fan setting is much quieter, probably less than 50.
(* I mean when it's meltingly hot everywhere else - fully understand cold is not always wanted and people do suffer from this too)
Unless the humidity is high, in which case that process is slowed. In recent days the humidity has been high. (Where I am, anyway)
The dehumidifier works a treat. Even though it does not cool, simply taking liters of water out of the air can make a real difference. Our rule is when the papers on my desk start to curl, time to de-humidify. The unit is portable (well, lug-able) so I can plug it in any room needed. The water pulled out of the air is used to water the balcony plants.
We made it through this heatwave without even installing the air conditioner. Over the last 20 years, we've maybe run it a week or two in a heatwave year - and many years, like this one, not at all. But when it's needed, it is indeed needed, as conditions in the house become dangerous in prolonged heatwaves. With awnings and blinds the house can be kept cool for about two weeks of 30+ degrees in full sun, but more than that and our 80s construction, specifically designed to retain heat, becomes an oven.
Low tech solutions - awnings out, windows closed, and blinds drawn by 8AM, windows and balcony door open over night, work well most of the time, as long as the temps go under 20 at night. We've had to make screens for all windows and doors given the increasing misquito plague. We are lucky to live in an area where we can safely leave windows wide open over night, but sadly those days may be dwindling with increasing crime. When the night time temps stay over 20, though, the low tech solution does not work.
The trick with the air con is only cool the minimum needed to give yourself a break. I don't cool the whole house, only one area. If it gets so miserable that the aircon is needed, I shut up the rest of the house and hang out in that room. Afterall, it's only for a short time.
Embrace the tech available - but use it wisely, and sparingly.
ETA: I see lots of questions and comments about dehumidifiers. We love ours as well, but use it more in the basement where things are truly damp especially when I’ve done laundry. I don’t find personally that it cools it down that much. Perhaps combined with a fan it would, but really whilst ours is very useful for another purpose, I wouldn’t probably think of it as a first recourse for the heat.
So far this Summer it's been uncomfortably hot and humid for several weeks in total and temperature and humidity also vary to a significant degree depending on where you live and what your building is like so what is pleasant for one person can be horrible for someone else.
Without my AC unit to cool my room down before bed I would have slept like absolute crap on pretty much all of those nights. I also have a ceiling fan and that just does not compare, for obvious reasons, to the reduction in temperature you get from chilled air. Running my AC for 3 hours before bedtime keeps my bedroom cool well into the morning.
People use it too much. It doesn't help in informed discussions.
It is hot enough to suffer from heat stroke - though probably not at night.
I also think people mistake various normal sensations for serious medical emergencies.
As an example, people can't seem to cope with hunger pangs any more.
It's healthy to feel hungry - your appetite does not need sating straight away (with a 'snack')
People shouldn't really sit down to a meal unless they feel pretty hungry - what with the obesity in the Western world and all that.
I use drying clothes to increase the humidity in winter as it is the opposite problem with the central heating
Actually, research says that you’re not supposed to just ignore hunger pangs because it can lead to dizziness, low blood sugar, etc. I think one of the problems with obesity is that people now tend to reward themselves with food – dopamine – and that food is so easily accessible now and so overly processed. Fast food, chips, etc. So a lot of people aren’t eating because they’re hungry but because the food tastes good. Not to mention that we’ve become such a sedentary society.
Back to the heat… I think everyone has different degrees of heat tolerance. And of course, someone living on a high floor is not going to experience a 35-degree day the same way someone living on the ground floor would. And the elderly in particular are more prone to heat stroke because their bodies do not regulate temperature the same way that younger people’s do.
"The human body has two main mechanisms to cool itself: sweating and increasing blood flow to the skin. In older adults, those processes are compromised — they sweat less and they have poor circulation compared with younger adults.
“Because older individuals are not able to release the heat as well, their core temperature goes up faster and higher,” said Craig Crandall, a professor of internal medicine specializing in thermoregulation at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. “And we know that core temperature is the primary driver for heat-related injury and death.”
These changes don’t suddenly emerge when someone reaches 65; they start gradually in middle age, said Glen Kenny, a professor of physiology at the University of Ottawa. “It’s a slow decline,” he said. But you start to see noticeable differences “by the age of 40, no question.”
Reminds me I have a possible problem with draining water from the mobile device.
There is a pipe near the top where I have to unscrew a cap pull out a rubber plug, plug in a short plastic hose to connect to a water receptacle, and then remove the cap and rubber plug from a pipe near the bottom.
Then water is supposed to flow down the plastic pipe but nothing comes, and just a small amount of water spills out of the bottom pipe.
How does this work for you?
My AC is the Whirlpool PACB29CO which automatically evaporates the water. It cools a medium sized room really well and also has a less annoying noise than other AC's I owned.
Whatever works for your situation, for me there is no substitute for AC!
That's the point. Everyone is different. No one has stated (unless I missed it):
Room size.....
Aircon output....
Room Temperature when AC switched off
Room Temperature when AC switched on
Relative Humidity when AC switched off
Relative Humidity when AC switched on
Obviously there are many other factors involved too but phrases like "I couldn't live without it" and so on are pretty subjective.
Young people too, especially children but yes, especially old people and in that group, those with dementia are particularly vulnerable as they easily forget to drink.