Paris Air Conditioning in July
Jul 19th, 2006, 03:18 PM
#44
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I'm not in Paris ;-), BUT is it hard to understand why people who freeze for months (-25C, -15F in winter, that's acutually quite cold imho) want to have a little bit (just a tiny little bit) of summer (it's only two weeks, REALLY) now and then. Munich right now is perfect!, Paris is a little warmer, might be a cultural difference, but how do you handle and survive winter when a little "heat" is a problem???
Jul 19th, 2006, 07:43 PM
#45
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People treat cooling differently from heating because—until recently—most of Europe was a cool climate. That has now changed, and air conditioning is no longer an occasional luxury, but a constant necessity. However, people are stupid and/or stubborn and will refuse to face realities at times, often to the point that they will end up in the hospital, or worse, rather than admit that change is necessary.
The temperatures in Paris have been above 100° F on the street for some time now. That's 30 degrees above "normal," and it's not going away. It doesn't matter how mild the summers were 20 years ago—those summers are history now. The future will be hot and unpleasant, and so A/C is now a necessity.
If the temperature were 0° C instead of 40° C (the equivalent in cold of the heat we are experiencing now), people would be crying out for heating systems. Certainly nobody would be trying to work or sleep in such temperatures, nor would governments content themselves with handing out cups of hot chocolate and blankets. And yet this sort of blindness seems to afflict everyone in Europe when it comes to heat. It's not a temporary heatwave; it's the new European climate. Eventually heating may even become optional, and only A/C will be essential.
The temperatures in Paris have been above 100° F on the street for some time now. That's 30 degrees above "normal," and it's not going away. It doesn't matter how mild the summers were 20 years ago—those summers are history now. The future will be hot and unpleasant, and so A/C is now a necessity.
If the temperature were 0° C instead of 40° C (the equivalent in cold of the heat we are experiencing now), people would be crying out for heating systems. Certainly nobody would be trying to work or sleep in such temperatures, nor would governments content themselves with handing out cups of hot chocolate and blankets. And yet this sort of blindness seems to afflict everyone in Europe when it comes to heat. It's not a temporary heatwave; it's the new European climate. Eventually heating may even become optional, and only A/C will be essential.
Jul 19th, 2006, 11:26 PM
#46
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Anthony GA :
Average temperatures are virtually unchanged. There is, and always have been warm spells. The hottest spell recently in Paris was 1976 ( http://www.meteofrance.com/FR/climat...?LIEUID=DEPT75 ). It was hotter and drier in the middle ages.
Europeans don't have AC as standard because it is rarely required, and energy costs are high.
Old, and modern well insulated houses, don't need AC. My house is up to 20C cooler than the exterior air temperature : and we consistently have temperatures 10C higher than Paris.
Modern appartments and hotels were not designed to cope with high temperatures. Money was saved, and they are uncomfortable for a couple of weeks per year.
So, as a tourist, you may need AC very occasionally.
Peter
Average temperatures are virtually unchanged. There is, and always have been warm spells. The hottest spell recently in Paris was 1976 ( http://www.meteofrance.com/FR/climat...?LIEUID=DEPT75 ). It was hotter and drier in the middle ages.
Europeans don't have AC as standard because it is rarely required, and energy costs are high.
Old, and modern well insulated houses, don't need AC. My house is up to 20C cooler than the exterior air temperature : and we consistently have temperatures 10C higher than Paris.
Modern appartments and hotels were not designed to cope with high temperatures. Money was saved, and they are uncomfortable for a couple of weeks per year.
So, as a tourist, you may need AC very occasionally.
Peter
Jul 20th, 2006, 01:15 AM
#47
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Average temperatures in Paris have increased by 1° C, which doesn't sound like much, but it's a larger jump than they had previously experienced in the preceding century.
The number of days that get down to freezing is less than half what it was in 1900. The number of days that are above 25° C has nearly doubled, with most of that change occurring in the past ten years.
The hottest weather in Paris was in 2003.
This data also comes from Méteo France.
Insulated buildings need more A/C, not less, because buildings generate their own heat. While insulation may protect against a very brief spell of hot weather, it will only make things worse over the long term, as it prevents endogenous heat from escaping the building, and so it must be removed actively by refrigeration.
A perfectly insulated building will become unbearably hot in a short time no matter what the outside temperature is like. Heat doesn't work the way cold does.
Ten years ago, you didn't need air conditioning, since the highs even in the middle of summer were only in the 70s. Now the highs are consistently up around 100° F or more, and the situation worsens each year.
Eventually, everything will have to be air conditioned, unless the current dramatica warming trend suddenly reverses, which seems unlikely. Right now, the temperature on the street in Paris is sometimes the same as Las Vegas—the only difference is that you can escape from the heat into air-conditioned buildings in Las Vegas, whereas that option is practically nonexistent in Paris.
And if you are visiting Paris between May and October, you must find a place with A/C. And not the wimpy European-style A/C, but the real thing, something that both brings the temperature down to a normal 22-24° C, and removes the humidity. If you don't have relief from the heat, your entire vacation in Paris may be ruined.
The number of days that get down to freezing is less than half what it was in 1900. The number of days that are above 25° C has nearly doubled, with most of that change occurring in the past ten years.
The hottest weather in Paris was in 2003.
This data also comes from Méteo France.
Insulated buildings need more A/C, not less, because buildings generate their own heat. While insulation may protect against a very brief spell of hot weather, it will only make things worse over the long term, as it prevents endogenous heat from escaping the building, and so it must be removed actively by refrigeration.
A perfectly insulated building will become unbearably hot in a short time no matter what the outside temperature is like. Heat doesn't work the way cold does.
Ten years ago, you didn't need air conditioning, since the highs even in the middle of summer were only in the 70s. Now the highs are consistently up around 100° F or more, and the situation worsens each year.
Eventually, everything will have to be air conditioned, unless the current dramatica warming trend suddenly reverses, which seems unlikely. Right now, the temperature on the street in Paris is sometimes the same as Las Vegas—the only difference is that you can escape from the heat into air-conditioned buildings in Las Vegas, whereas that option is practically nonexistent in Paris.
And if you are visiting Paris between May and October, you must find a place with A/C. And not the wimpy European-style A/C, but the real thing, something that both brings the temperature down to a normal 22-24° C, and removes the humidity. If you don't have relief from the heat, your entire vacation in Paris may be ruined.
Jul 20th, 2006, 03:16 AM
#48
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Well, if you need freaking A/C and are unable to adopt to another place with a different life and different traditions, so be it. ;-) What you shouldn't do is telling the majority, who actually enjoy themselves when there's pleasant weather once in a while, how to live. The weather didn't change (much) as well as the lifestyle. Kids can leave school early on a hot day and go enjoy the afternoon at the pool. People come home from a long working day to find some shade in a beergarden. Life and traditions have been like that for centuries, and no, they're not installing A/C in schools, rather they give the kids a few extra hours in the sun having fun playing or swimming. ;-) You quite obviously are a "foreigner"
Jul 20th, 2006, 04:37 AM
#49
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relax logos. i think the point has been already made over and over that many people in paris don't have aircon. it's up to the OP if he wants to be a cultural superhero and sleep like the locals or be comfortable with a wife who "can't hack heat" and actually enjoy his holiday.
the OP's question is whether we think that he will be comfortable without aircon and with a wife with a low heat tolerance. he is not asking for lectures on how to be at one with the suffering locals.
we locals are suffering in my city on the disgraceful public transport. if someone asked if they should take a taxi because of heat concerns of the tube...i would say absolutely if you can afford it. i wouldn't be giving lectures on how they need to be at one with the culture.
if someone has a low tolerance for heat (as the OP clearly stated), they should be looking for aircon in paris in the summer. to suggest otherwise is just putting one's own agenda before giving proper advice.
the OP's question is whether we think that he will be comfortable without aircon and with a wife with a low heat tolerance. he is not asking for lectures on how to be at one with the suffering locals.
we locals are suffering in my city on the disgraceful public transport. if someone asked if they should take a taxi because of heat concerns of the tube...i would say absolutely if you can afford it. i wouldn't be giving lectures on how they need to be at one with the culture.
if someone has a low tolerance for heat (as the OP clearly stated), they should be looking for aircon in paris in the summer. to suggest otherwise is just putting one's own agenda before giving proper advice.
Jul 20th, 2006, 04:47 AM
#50
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I'm totally relaxed (at work btw ;-) ), don't worry. Temps above 30C no aircon. Not even slightly agressive, because auf the warm weather. The point has been made a 100 times. I just love seeing Anthony repeating himself for the 101st time. ;-)
Jul 20th, 2006, 05:21 AM
#52
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logos, you obviously are different than most of us. I guess when you travel you take none of your own comforts or personal life style actions with you. If you go to a place where people don't shave, it would be "horrible" not to join the locals and of course, you wouldn't shave either -- or bathe, or eat sleep between sheets if they don't.
If you went on a "safari" in a third world country, I guess you would avoid using a bed or even a cot, and you certainly wouldn't take any showers which are set up for "foreigners"? Give me a break. Why should someone give up what makes them comfortable, because the locals don't do it?
If you went on a "safari" in a third world country, I guess you would avoid using a bed or even a cot, and you certainly wouldn't take any showers which are set up for "foreigners"? Give me a break. Why should someone give up what makes them comfortable, because the locals don't do it?
Jul 20th, 2006, 06:58 AM
#54
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The majority is not enjoying temperatures of over 100° F, nor does it find such weather pleasant. People have the same physiology everywhere.
What's happening in part is that Europeans still think this is temporary, so they try to put up with it; they do not yet realize that this weather is now becoming the normal weather, and not the exception. They'll tire of it.
What's happening in part is that Europeans still think this is temporary, so they try to put up with it; they do not yet realize that this weather is now becoming the normal weather, and not the exception. They'll tire of it.
Jul 20th, 2006, 07:30 AM
#56
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I was in Paris in mid-June in a room without A/C. I thought I'd try it, given that last year when I was there at the same time, it was unseasonably cool (high int he 60's.) This year, it was unseasonably warm (high's in the mid-80's and humid.) Given that it is even warmer lately, I'd go for the A/C if your wife really likes it. I was uncomfortable but tolerated it, even with the windows open (5th floor, overlooking a private courtyard; didn't see access from the roof; quiet street in front)and it cooled off SOMEWHAT in the evening. However, I know that my husband, who needs a cool room, would have wanted to move to another hotel (I was on my own this trip.)
That said, I have been in good and not-so-good A/C in Paris. It can be a crapshoot of a noisy unit or being under-powered, or quite effective. That's partly why I'd try no A/C since I didn't have my picky husband along.
For the record: he copes with even a noisy A/C with earplugs. He travels a lot internationally, and has to cope with a variety of environments, and he is used to earplugs, where I am not. He uses Mack's Ear Pillows ear plugs, found at any Walgreen's or CVS.
That said, I have been in good and not-so-good A/C in Paris. It can be a crapshoot of a noisy unit or being under-powered, or quite effective. That's partly why I'd try no A/C since I didn't have my picky husband along.
For the record: he copes with even a noisy A/C with earplugs. He travels a lot internationally, and has to cope with a variety of environments, and he is used to earplugs, where I am not. He uses Mack's Ear Pillows ear plugs, found at any Walgreen's or CVS.
Jul 20th, 2006, 08:14 AM
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a couple years ago, i was working temporarily in munich (logos' hometown) on the top floor of an old unairconditioned building in the rindermarkt. almost everyone in the office were germans.
everyone was complaining and the boss had a near mutany on his hands. 1/2 the people went home "sick", including vital staff who were needed to keep the business going...like most companies, this one could not just close up and send everyone to the beer garden. the people who stayed were complaining so much and eventually everyone left. this pattern went on for weeks and the business suffered immensely in late projects and poor handling of clients. eventually, many of the loudest complainers had to be moved to a lower floor.
so i cannot buy into logos' fantasy world of germans skipping through the spinklers when it gets too hot.
everyone was complaining and the boss had a near mutany on his hands. 1/2 the people went home "sick", including vital staff who were needed to keep the business going...like most companies, this one could not just close up and send everyone to the beer garden. the people who stayed were complaining so much and eventually everyone left. this pattern went on for weeks and the business suffered immensely in late projects and poor handling of clients. eventually, many of the loudest complainers had to be moved to a lower floor.
so i cannot buy into logos' fantasy world of germans skipping through the spinklers when it gets too hot.
Jul 20th, 2006, 05:32 PM
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Paris reached an official temperature of 100° F in the shade yesterday; the temperature on the street is usually ten degrees higher or so. A few people have died. The government is still going on about bottles of water and kind words, and seems to have no clue about the importance of simply air conditioning the country, which is the only real solution.
