Minergie

Rationally it makes sense to go for a run when the sun is setting because the heat from the sun is lower. In theory this means that the body is dealing with a cooler environment.

In practice, when I go for evening rides and runs my body remains warm for hours, and that heat, during a heat wave, in a minergie building makes it unbearable.

For a few days it was cooling, and I had stopped using fans. I questioned why. I suspect that it is because when the building is exposed to heat wave temperatures for several days the air heats, but eventually the buildings’ structure begins to radiate its own stored heat energy. This means that you’re dealing with hot air, which isn’t bad. It’s when the building becomes a radiator that it becomes unpleasant.

It’s worth noting that after my historical post was deleted from a group chat I aborted my run with that group. The reasons were rational, rather than emotional. Something else came up and by the time that something was over the run had started. I also expected it to rain very heavily and storm.

Yesterday the forecast was similar but I chose not to just sit at home and miss out. I could see that a storm was coming for 18:50 and again a few minutes later. I thought “If I wait too long it will be cancelled and I will have had a second day in a row without sports. That’s why I got dressed and cycled to the shop. I said “I expect the ride is cancelled”, and it was.

This morning I woke at 4 to have a shower, have breakfast, and then drive to Morges for a 6am run. As a result I had no opportunity to open windows, aerate or anything else. I kept every room closed so each room is a compartment.

The result, is that the temperature in my flat has been completely flat, varrying by .01 of a degree throughout the day, rather than huge fluctuations.

In theory we will get a storm this afternoon and I am impatient for it. I am impatient for heavy rain to cool the roof and walls of this nightmare minergie building. As great as it is to have a cheap building to heat in winter, it is a deadly building in summer, especially when neighbours open their windows to aerate and let hot air in.

In normal buildings, if you open windows you get a draft, and that draft circulates air and it’s refreshing, and when you close windows that freshness lingers. In a minergie building, if you leave the window blinds open the sun heats every surface, and the air. The space heats up just like a car.

Minergie is theoretically a fantastic, environmentally friendly way of making a building more energy-efficient, by reducing the need for air conditioning and heating. For three years now I have been playing with and experimenting with minergie. During the first and second heatwaves, I liked to open windows and get fresh air. I found that Minergie means “poor air circulation”. As soon as you close the windows you feel the heat radiate from the walls as if they were sauna stones.