Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Heating/ventilation at EcoVillage

[fmancino (fmancino]

On Mon, 6 Nov 1995, David Hungerford wrote:

> The radiant-floor common house in Ithaca may be subject to "overheating" 
> in the summer, but that shouldn't be a problem if people don't expect it 
> to be air conditioned inside.  
> (snip)
> but this should allow the CH to remain quite comfortable if your nightime 
> temp drops below 70 F.  Of course, you'll need to close the windows in 
 (snip)
> will overheat." Well, yes!!Compared to an air-conditioned building!!  
> But, is being warmer than what an air conditioner would provide 
> necessarily "over" heating?  Well, certainly you want to be cooler in 
> hot weather, but you can achieve that by just keeping the heat OUT, 
> bringing in as much cool as possible, and coping with the rest by 
> changing your behavior.  Nature's provisions for cooling the human body 
> 
> Good luck bucking normality,
> 
> David Hungerford
> Muir Commons--Living without A/C in California's central valley and 
> wearing shorts all summer.

I think this is one issue where those living in the West do not quite
understand the heat and humididty of summers in the East.  Nighttime 
temperatures do not drop below 70 for most of our summer; in fact, a 
number of people die from the heat here, and in other cities.  The 
heat/humididty especially affects the elderly and young the most; the 
most common prescription to avoid heat stroke and exhaustion is to be in 
an airconditioned environment.  The use of building modifications as you
suggested are admirable and useful, yet I myself would never use a common 
house in the summer without some supplementary ac.  (I did not even mention
allergy sufferers, did I?)  There are a number of energy efficient units, 
electric or gas that would be useful to consider for a common house, in 
combination with building design approaches, fans, etc., to keep a 
building around 75 in the summer but it does involve some use of energy 
that I am willing to pay to price for in return for some semblence of 
normal life from June to Sept.

Frank Mancino