Buildings

The Long Tail of the Heat Wave

This morning it felt nice and cool so I spent as long as I could ventilating before the sun heated the Southern side of the building to a point where cooling was no longer effective. I went from 30°c down to 26°c very, very fast. The Outside Air Temperature (OAT) was 18-20°c so it’s a shame I didn’t capture more of that fresh air. The Long Tail of the heat wave comes as soon as you close the windows.

The Summertime Failure of Minergie and the Case for AC

Minergie is a fantastic concept for a cold planet, and to keep cool in winter. It traps heat with ease during the morning and radiates it for the rest of the day into the night. It supplements to solar radiation heat with geothermal heat, which it gets from the heat pumps. That heat is then spread across the buidling with hot water pipes.

In winter this is fantastic because it saves on energy and provides a comfortable environment. In reality it’s not unusual for me to notice 25°c in winter, so in effect it might be too warm, for some.