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ronnyhugo t1_iwv28rs wrote

Top tip; Insulation helps with heat. IIRC its a very recent development that California added any real insulation to building codes.

Good insulation is the only reason AC units are so rare in Norway, because in summer when its really hot (well, hot for us) we just close our windows in the morning (having been open all night) so we keep the night cold inside and heat outside through the day until it starts cooling down outside.

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maxintos t1_iwvdlan wrote

This only works because nights get actually cold in Norway and other nordic countries. In most actually hot places it's still +25c or hotter during the night.

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ronnyhugo t1_iwvgnzh wrote

There you'd have the windows closed all the time, and not insulate underneath your house (in Norway we also insulate under the house). The ground under the house is the yearly average temperature (day and night).

Which is also why geothermal will be important. Both as a place to put the heat from the AC, and in colder climates as a way to have a constant temperature to pick up heat from (a heat pump is just an AC unit that has the hot side inside instead of outside).

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Not_invented-Here t1_iwzqgcn wrote

Annual temp of Norway though is a bit different from the tropics which is going to sit around 25-30 C, add in a well insulated place and humidity and I feel its less fun. I don't think the ground insulation or not is going to take away heat fast enough. You're still going to need some form of AC.

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ItilityMSP t1_iwz7ttv wrote

Doesn’t work in a heat bubble…same strategy in Canada…In a heat bubble, after a day or two night time temperatures are still above body temperature which is unbearable…throw in a nearby forest fire and well opening a window is no longer an option.

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ronnyhugo t1_iwzb9j3 wrote

Then you'd have the windows closed so that the tiny amount of heat that does come in through a well-insulated house, can go into the ground which is always the annual average temperature.

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