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Air conditioning is one of those inventions that have become so ubiquitous that many in the developed world don’t even realize that less than a century ago, it didn’t exist. Indeed, it wasn’t so long ago that the air inside our buildings and the air outside of them were one and the same, with occupants powerless against their environment.
As an allergy sufferer, I have joked that I have a statue of Saint Willis Carrier on the dashboard of my car. Air conditioning has made a huge improvement in the quality of my life. Four words to anyone who wants to take away my air conditioning: "My cold, dead fingers."
I have not read Eric Dean Wilson's book, but the Amazon comments call into question the scientific accuracy of important details within the book. There is no listing of the Table of Contents to give further information about the book. Another book by an author who doesn't like air conditioning is Losing Our Cool: by Stan Cox. I have not read this book either.
Many of the references I have been reading about how ancient civilizations designed buildings to stay cool only apply to arid climates with low humidity and large temperature swings between night and day. These ideas are of little use to those of us living in humid climates. Here's an article about evaporative coolers and mold: https://hvac-boss.com/faq/do-evapora...rs-cause-mold/
Note that the map indicates that evaporative coolers are only ideal west of 103 degrees latitude, and even then not all areas qualify. My thought on winter humidifiers is that they should not be considered east of 100 degrees latitude.
Air conditioning is one of those inventions that have become so ubiquitous that many in the developed world don’t even realize that less than a century ago, it didn’t exist. Indeed, it wasn’t so long ago that the air inside our buildings and the air outside of them were one and the same, with occupants powerless against their environment.
In reality, the air and temperature inside a building is never the same as outside. With the right construction a house can be cooler during the summer and warmer during the winter (read how the Romans cooled and heated their homes). The air inside our modern homes quite often contains traces of cleaning chemicals, from window cleaners to disinfectants and every in between. An air exchanger (I am not talking about an AC unit), pulls-in fresh air from outside, and exhausts the stale air in the house. Air conditioners and heaters make our lives quite pleasant at home or at work.
As an allergy sufferer, I have joked that I have a statue of Saint Willis Carrier on the dashboard of my car. Air conditioning has made a huge improvement in the quality of my life. Four words to anyone who wants to take away my air conditioning: "My cold, dead fingers."
I have not read Eric Dean Wilson's book, but the Amazon comments call into question the scientific accuracy of important details within the book. There is no listing of the Table of Contents to give further information about the book. Another book by an author who doesn't like air conditioning is Losing Our Cool: by Stan Cox. I have not read this book either.
Many of the references I have been reading about how ancient civilizations designed buildings to stay cool only apply to arid climates with low humidity and large temperature swings between night and day. These ideas are of little use to those of us living in humid climates. Here's an article about evaporative coolers and mold: https://hvac-boss.com/faq/do-evapora...rs-cause-mold/
Note that the map indicates that evaporative coolers are only ideal west of 103 degrees latitude, and even then not all areas qualify. My thought on winter humidifiers is that they should not be considered east of 100 degrees latitude.
It is about how French colonial architecture evolved from rural French architecture for dealing with the hot humid climate of Louisiana.
There is another book "Vanishing French Heritage: A Complete Study of the Vertical Log Homes of the Illinois Country" which discusses the challenge the French had to adapting their homes to hot, humid summers and cold winters. I could not find a link to a free version, sorry.
However, any culture on this planet that evolved in hot, humid environs developed strategies to beat the heat and should be fairly accessible on-line.
Old architecture, but full of ideas. Not for alleviating allergies, but temperature regulation for sure.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Even in our mild climate I would be miserable in summer without AC, and when we had the rare heat dome that got it up to 114F in June it could have been a disaster. We have two window units, which use little power ($40/year+-) and keep our family room/kitchen where we spend most time, and our bedroom cool in summer. It's inefficient to have a whole-house central AC because you are paying and using energy to cool rooms that no one is in. If you have several kids that are home all day, it's still better to give them small window units. Cooling our house with central AC (3,000 sf, 5 BR) would cost about $168/month to run, while most rooms are sitting empty. Our bedroom unit has a time and turns on a couple of hours before we go to bed, and off again just before we get up. Our triple-pane windows do keep it cooler inside but heat rises, so our upstairs gets too hot to sleep comfortably. Life is too short to be forced to try and sleep when it's hot.
Here's a National Geographic video about a building design inspired by termites: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=620omdSZzBs It's located in Zimbabwe. Once again, an arid climate with low humidity and wide diurnal temperature changes.
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