We are staying in our 6th hotel of this trip right now. And only 50% of these hotels have had air conditioning. This had led to a few restless sleeps where it was simply too hot. In one of our hotels, we had to ask them to bring a fan up to our room. But hey, this is Europe. I’m sure everyone thought we were spoiled North Americans. Interestingly enough, not having AC forces you to be more aware of the environment around you. Very quickly you learn that if you don’t shut the blinds or shutters when the afternoon sun is shining in, you are going to end up with a room that is too hot to sleep in. I try to be mindful of this back home in Toronto, where we do have AC, but there really isn’t the same imperative to both design and then operate around climate and local conditions. Active mechanical systems do much of this for us.
Daily insights for city builders, delivered every morning at 6 AM ET. I’m Brandon Donnelly — a Toronto-based real estate developer and founder of Globizen. I’ve been writing here since 2013.
3 responses to “No AC”
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I grew up in a house with no AC (in the French alps) and we had to operate it like a machine in a summer to ensure maximal comfort: open windows at night to flush warm air out, close the shutter and open awnings in the daytime on all south facing windows and hope for the best. Similarly, no fan in the bathroom so we just opened the window for a few minutes after taking a shower.
It kept the house very cool in the daytime and liveable at night. The only place that was always too house was the mezzanine space right under the roof.
I’ve always found this way of living more pleasant and engaging, but it also only work in dry climates. Humid ones like toronto, almost require AC on really hot days, because no amount of natural ventilation will fix the problem. Although I found that taking really cold showers and going to sleep dripping wet works wonders when one doesn’t have AC in Toronto.
When I moved to Toronto the lack of ability to operate the house (windows that don’t fully open, no shutters, etc.) was a puzzle to me. It felt like something was missing.
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This is exactly right. You need to “operate the home.” But you’re also right that humidity is a challenge. Still, there are lots of times throughout the year where Toronto would still benefit from “operating.”
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It’s crazy how many people in Toronto don’t understand that the big ball of fire in the sky can really hinder a buildings ability to cool in the summer but its partly due to how good our systems are. Draw your blinds/curtains when in direct sun, otherwise it can act like a electric space heater working against your cooling system.
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