• very smart Idiot
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    11 year ago

    The first one is about how wet bulb temperatures and extreme heat work. The second one is about Europe. Whether or not they are ‘more’ resilient doesn’t matter.

    Yes it does matter. European housing is well insulated. And definitely sturdier than US housing.

    Also I don’t think you know what Europe is.

    Yea, my bad. As a German I obviously have no idea what Europe is.

    Scandinavian, Central European and British houses are mostly made to keep heat in during cold winters. They’re not good for heatwaves.

    This is wrong. Insulation goes both ways. In summer it helps keeping the cooler night temperatures inside.

    Mediterranean style housing is definitely better for heat. But that doesn’t stop Italy, Spain, and France from having deadly heatwaves.

    Mediterranean housing is not especially good against heat. Wrong assumption. Swedes, Germans and the French are doing a much better job than the mediterranes.

    • Void_Reader
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      31 year ago

      Won’t dispute that European housing is sturdier. And yes insulation works both ways - however, you need good ventilation. And shading etc. AFAIK insulation optimised for heat retention is different to that optimised for keeping cool.

      If you have a study or something that compares Mediterranean vs other European house designs, please send it to me and I’ll change my mind if I’m wrong.

      As a German you should know that heatwaves have killed thousands of people in Germany as well.

      Swedes, Germans, and French are also wealthier and have less extreme heat to deal with than Italy, Spain or Greece. You can’t attribute that to house design. Again, if you have a study comparing these, send it to me and prove me wrong.

      • very smart Idiot
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        11 year ago

        My comparison on housing insulation is purely based on my experience. Italien housing is not much insulated. Insulation is usually driven by the need to reduce cost when heating in winter. That’s a problem Italiens face not so much. Therefor in comparison to Northern Europe, Italien housing is far less insulated. And because insulation goes both ways, I came to the conclusion that Northern European housing is better suited for warm summers.

        • Void_Reader
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          31 year ago

          https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10199188/

          Found this paper ^ Haven’t read it yet though

          I think you may be partly right

          But anecdotal evidence isn’t very convincing. I’ve had the opposite experience; found being in Greek and Spanish houses during a heatwave way more tolerable than UK ones, even without AC. Idk about Germany but some older Czech houses feel like ovens when it gets too hot. Lovely for winter though.