Paris Perfect air conditioning
 

Hello, I have rented the Cognac apartment from Paris Perfect for mid-July 2016. I previously rented the Montrachet in October 2009 and was delighted with the apartment and the service from Paris Perfect. I had one concern before reserving the Cognac apartment. It has mobile air conditioning units which must be turned off from 10pm to 8am due to building noise restrictions (many of the Paris Perfect apartments have the same requirement). Has anyone had experience renting from Paris Perfect during hot weather in an apartment that had mobile a/c that has to be turned off at night? I'd like to hear of others experiences.

Thanks!

I don't see the point of renting an apt with AC if you have to turn it off from 10 to 8, that is the main time I want it -- for sleeping. I'd rent somethign cheaper if you have to do that. I've only rented an apt with AC in Paris once and had no such restrictions, but in fact, I didn't use it as it wasn't that hot. That wasn't from Paris Perfect, who doesn't sound that perfect to me.

Totally agree.

Mobile A/C is something useless - I have one in southern
France and am about to discard it.

So either you have A/C or you don't.

Agree that in July in Paris I would only take a place with real AC that you can run 24/7. I have spent too many 90+ days there to accept anything else. (But not a problem for us since w do only hotels with real AC.)

I've never rented an apt in Paris (I've stayed at hotels), but wouldn't find this useful. Typically the hours the A/C could be used would be when I'd be out sightseeing and having meals. Even if I were to return to the apt, it would most likely be a quick stop in. If your routine or hours are different, perhaps you'd get more use during the day.

Nonetheless, if it's a hot summer (and I've been there when it's 100), I'd want to be able to use the A/C when I was relaxing after a long day of exploring.

I rented an apartment last August in Paris and the weather was hot. It was an old building but had central AC. I was asked to turn it off during the day when I wasn't there which was not a problem. There is no way I would have been able to sleep if it hadn't been on during the night.

You never know what the weather will be like in the summer but the fact that I could not use the AC during the night would be a deal breaker for me. I would look for another apartment.

Typically, in the hot Summer months, the temperature does not cool down much at night - if at all - and there won't be any wind, either. So, even if you have several windows which could provide cross-ventilation, you wouldn't be very comfortable if you couldn't use the a/c - especially given the considerable problem of street noise in Paris.

Many apartments only provide a/c in the bedroom(s), whether it's portable units or another system. The problem is the noise (you can actually hear a pin drop in these old buildings, as strange as that may seem), and you have to abide by the rules of the co-propriete, most of which prohibit using any appliances after 10 PM. Otherwise, you and the person you have rented from can expect to hear from your neighbors and possibly the police.

There's a good reason for not running any appliances while you're not in the apartment - stuff happens. A/C units usually have a drip pan that must be emptied frequently depending on how hard the system has to work, dishwashers and washing machines can leak or overload circuit breakers (fire hazard) - all of this involves possible insurance claims, not necessarily the expense of running the units.

You can ask the agency for oscillating fans - or buy a couple yourself for around 25 EU - which frankly will provide about as much (or more) relief as the portable units, and you will be able to use the fans all night long with no problem.

These mobile air conditioning units are cheap crap. They do not work properly and you may even have to leave the window open (!) to let the exhaust air out. That's totally crazy.

I assume that they have these mobile a/c units just in order to say the aparment is "air conditioned".

You can buy these units starting from €139.

Millions of people cope without A/C at night, and manage to hold down a job during the day.
Fans will offer more relief, as will keeping the room dark during the day, using shutters or curtains, to help prevent solar gain. Fans are quieter too. The noise of A/C, especially portable ones would be more disturbing to me than the heat.

>>Millions of people cope without A/C at night<<

This is true. But in Northern Europe, we usually have just a few weeks with high temperatures per year, and during this short period of time we endure the heat.

And in Southern Europe, the buildings are cooler and they keep the shutters closed all day.

I can understand OP. In mid-July, chances are high that you catch hot and humid days and nights and your precious vacation time may be severely affected if you cannot sleep because of the heat.

However, A/C is not common in Parisian apartments, so you probably must go into the luxury segment to find one with a proper A/C (and not the mobile crap).

This thread is going into U.S. Can't cope without A/C whilst Europe doesn't need it ?

Perso I never use AC mostly for noise and ecological impact.

Most of Europe doesn't need AC except around the med.

Only guy I know on Belgium who has AC is my father.

At 636€ a night beginning July 15 (796€ a night the first half of July), I would consider the Cognac apartment a luxury apartment rental. Fans would be a good idea, but honestly, for a vacation I would would want AC at night. Otherwise, it's a beautiful apartment.

Mobile units are ok for small rooms, we had one in our small office (10' x 12', low ceilings) in SW France. Can't imagine one working well in a larger space.

I would prefer and be fine with decent fans.

Air conditioning has been a major issue in my building for some residents. We have a bank on the first two floors. The agency was totally gutted for renovation two years ago and apparently the electronic equipment room was moved to a different place. These rooms require non stop air conditioning in all seasons and the noise from the equipment was vibrating through to some of the apartments. I don't know how it was finally resolved since I am the resident who lives the farthest from the bank premises, but they were ready to take it to court.

traveller19599, living in the Netherlands I am well aware of the hot humid conditions which are possible, nevertheless, most people get through it and manage to work a normal day, also in an unairconditioned building. OP is on holiday and can ace themselves accordingly. Drawing curtains/closing blinds or shutters if available makes a big difference to internal temperatures.

Airconditoning is expensive, noisy, bad for the enviroment, and for the most part unneccessary in Northern Europe.
The mobile units in that apartment are to encourage Americans to rent it.

Yes, but in the US having AC 24/7 is the standard indoors whenever the weather is warm.

A few people my prefer sweating to death to a little noise - but any decent newer unit (less than 8 or 10 years old) is very quiet. We can't even hear the units from one room to another in the same apartment - even the 14,000 BTU unit we have in the living room/dining room. (And our 14K Friedrich unit bought new last summer - replacing one 12 years old - was less than $500 on Amazon.)

It;s too bad these buildings are so badly soundproofed - but there is no way I would give up AC in the summer - it would ruin my vacation not to be able to sleep (which requires temps of less than 70 for me).

I think you will just have to decide how much you are willing to suffer versus choosing other lodging.

Not all mobile air conditioners are crap. You have to get the right kind. We have two -- one for our living room and one for the master bedroom. They cool nearly as well as the wall-mounted air conditioning unit in my office. In addition, there are kits you can buy that fit around the window opening to minimize the "leakage". (If you look carefully, you will see all around Basel old buildings with round holes cut into the windows -- that's so the air conditioning hose can fit into the hole during the summer months without having the window open. In cooler months, the holes are covered.)

Ours aren't as quiet as my office wall unit, but they aren't all that loud. We used them only about five or six nights last summer, but on the nights when we did use them, we were grateful. My colleagues who didn't have air conditioning on those hot nights either slept very poorly or slept down in their basements (if they lived in houses with basements and even then they said they didn't sleep well). We bought our first mobile AC unit in 2005, two years after the 2003 European heat wave that killed thousands. However, to minimize our use of AC, we had screens installed on our apt windows two years ago so we can have them wide open day and night with no critters -- mosquitoes, flies, wasps etc -- winging in to bother us. (DH is allergic to bee and wasp stings)

Like someone posted above, I also consider PP apartments as luxury apts. For a customer not to be able to use the AC at night when it was felt to be needed would be a deal killer. If AC really matters, then stay in a hotel with AC that can be run at night. OTOH, if staying in a PP apartment is the OP's top priority, then perhaps the holiday could be changed to a cooler time when AC won't be an issue. (We are not hot weather people so never holiday in the summer.)

>>Yes, but in the US having AC 24/7 is the standard indoors whenever the weather is warm. <<

Maybe where you live. Here in San Francisco and the SF Peninsula south to about San Carlos - I don't know a single household that has air conditioning. Zero houses in our San Mateo Park neighborhood have AC - and these are mostly 2M to 4M houses.

Stu Dudley

Your question is subjective. Some people cannot sleep in a July heat wave in Paris if they must keep the windows closed due to city noise outside.

Mobile air conditioning units are seldom effective except in very small rooms. It is possible that if you arrive back from dinner by 9pm, that you can cool down a small bedroom by 10pm. But the room will heat back up again in a heat wave fairly quickly, even at night, if the windows are closed (buildings retain heat; bodies give off heat).

It is really irrelevant to you and your situation that I and my mother can sleep in a closed room without air conditioning in a heat wave, or that friends of mine can sleep through any amount of noise and don't need windows closed in a city. Many Parisians have air conditioning in their apartments because they cannot and would become ill without it. You need to make this decision based on your own needs.

Just as point of fact unrelated to your dilemma: At least one-third of US residences, including apartments in New York City, do not have air conditioning of any description and of the remaining two-thirds that do have air-conditioning, they do not run 24/7 in every room in the house. Someday nytraveler will actually leave that super-cooled nyapartment and encounter the real world. (And I bet it still won't make a dent.)

I left the US in 1998, where I lived in central New Jersey. I didn't have air conditioning, but I coped by closing windows when I was out and turning on powerful fans when I got home. I won't say I didn't spend some restless nights when it was very hot, but all things considered, it worked pretty well most of the time.

Our home in Italy has one air conditioning unit, in the bedroom. Most years we rarely or never turn it on. This past summer was very hot, and we used the air conditioner maybe three times, just at night.

It was very hot when I was in Switzerland this past summer, and air conditioning is rare there. Again, closing the hotel windows when we were out and opening them when we got back, along with a fan, made the nights bearable.

I can't imagine not being able to sleep if the temperature is over 70F/22C. I know some people who heat their houses more than that in the winter.

And some prefer showers to baths.

You like to take a bath, you rent with a bathtub.
You like AC, you rent with AC.

On ne va pas y passer la nuit.

In New York City summers (some have been utterly dreadful in the past ten years), the sun rises on my apartment's bedroom windows, flooding each bed with bright sunlight until about noon. If you sleep naked without the windows covered, you can get a tan.

I don't like harsh air conditioning, but I also don't like harsh heat and very high humidity. I also don't like ridiculously high electric bills, so I prefer to conserve. Soon after I bought this apartment, I hired an energy expert to do a consult. He told me I would save more money and more energy if I turned my AC on <b>before</b> the sun rises and keep it on "low" with the windows covered all day, and run the machine 24/7 on very hot/humid days. Since my AC wall units are regulated by temperature, by low he meant 72-75 degrees. I had custom blinds made of sun-blocking material used in photography.

74 degrees in my apartment seems to work well for me, and most people who visit my apartment on hot days in July and August are shocked by the success of that number.

The energy expert said, the AC machine uses the most energy/electricity when you turn the the machine on (surge), and if you turn it on in a heated room, the compressor has to work harder, three to four times longer, to cool the heated room, especially if the building retains heat which most do. I would say the Paris Perfect apt is wasting energy to solve a noise problem, which could be solved quite easily with the proper AC unit.

I care more about comfortable sleep than anything else. Shutting the AC off at night, at the time when it's most important to me, would prevent me from ever taking an apartment with that ridiculous rule. My AC units are incredibly quiet. I don't hear mine or my neighbors, and she runs hers everyday, no matter the temperature. She has the same make and model. Now if only I can do something about the sirens.

We moved to Florida in mid-Nov. Friends from the Northeast and Midwest have asked if we have to run AC all the time.

The AC has been on twice a few hours, primarily to drive down the humidity. I love having the house open. Of course, I told them to ask again in August (or May, for that matter).

It is entirely subjective, some stores here seem frigid to me. Fruits and vegetables sold at room temp in France are in the chilled displays here.

What we use often, are celing fans, they are in every room. They weren't that common in SE France where the norm is to shut the house up on very hot days, it really helps in dry heat.

seems like this has gone really off topic...OP rented a luxury apartment from a high end agency and for that money and in July I would want a/c that I can put on when I want it and that is at night. I hope you did not book that already because frankly that is silly....it is during the day when you don't need it because you are gone. I would look further.

I have rented from Paris Perfect but not in summer. Have you explored other offerings without the night time A/C restrictions? I have no idea what is available when you are planning to be there but I would let them know you want other options. If not, there are several great agencies that you could inquire with.

I would be concerned and not want to chance it. I can't sleep when hot...I would want A/C in Summer.

Tolerance of heat varies a lot by person.

I fully admit that I hate hot weather and just can't cope with it without AC. But I love winter and will happily go out for a tramp when it's 20s and snowing. We're all different.

However, very high heat can kill - as someone noted above in a european heat wave.

And in NYC there are cooling centers open all over the city on very hot days for anyone who does not have AC (often people in older buildings - brownstones with wiring that does not support AC units).

Obviously there are some climates where AC is not really necessary due to low summer temps and possible prevailing winds. But IMHO when it's 95 and humid I don;t know anyone who doesn't want it.

And some people who don;t mind sweltering. I have a friend who is VERY wealthy and her NYC pied a terre is not only a 5th floor walk up but is without AC. On the really hot nights when she is in town she has to come to our place to sleep in the guest room.

And AC being on 24/7 doesn't mean it runs the whole time - one puts it on moneysaver and it cycles on and off as necessary to keep the room on the desired temp (76 when we are not at home - but our bedroom is 70 at night so we can both sleep).

In any case, the OP wants AC and should find a lodging that offers it whenever she needs it.

I remember a similar discussion last year, with Germans insisting that AC was unnecessary there. The guide at the Reichstag also insisted that AC was unnecessary. They may have been correct 20 years ago. They are no longer correct. I booked most of my accommodation in Germany with AC, and I certainly needed it. There is no way I would book the apartment in Paris being considered by the OP.

I have no idea where the figures quoted above for US AC usage came from, but I can assure the writer that here in central NC everyone who can afford it has CENTRAL AC - i.e. the whole house is cooled by forced air, just as it is heated by forced air in the winter. I keep my house at 70/66 (day/night) in the winter and 78/76 in the summer, but a lot of people keep their houses warmer in winter and cooler in summer. Believe me, you do not want to live somewhere with months of temps in the high 90s and humidity ditto without central AC.

It is silly to debate the customary use of AC on this thread. Anyone who is used to AC will sorely miss it on a really hot summer evening. And if you are on a street with noise in Paris, opening the window might not be a great alternative.

Since you asked, make sure you get full-time AC or you risk being miserable. And all this talk of what people in other countries normally do will be of little consequence.

I've also booked a Paris Perfect apartment for this July, but I specifically looked for an apartment with central AC, not mobile units. So my apartment does have central AC.

I know there are many in the Paris Perfect selection that have central AC... You might want to ask them about switching?

There's really no sense in comparing a/c in the US or anywhere else in regard to what exists in Paris. If you are used to typical US standards of central a/c, you won't be comfortable in Paris unless you stay in a hotel.

"Central air-conditioning" translates differently in Paris, and is very hard to come by in private apartments.

It is illegal for almost all buildings (except for new construction dating from the mid 1960's) to install the exterior compressors needed for true central a/c. Buildings constructed before the late 1960's are included under historic preservation regulations, which do not permit their installation except in certain cases, such as hospitals and government buildings. Hotels have the right - no matter how old the building - to install exterior compressors if they are correctly hidden from view and do not leak water or cause other nuisances in public areas.

The regulations of most residential buildings in Paris prohibit the installation of both central and/or window units, which are considered noise nuisances as well as insurance risks due to water damage. Many also prohibit cutting holes in windows or walls to vent portable units. Many apartments do not have the electrical capacity to run air conditioners that are powerful enough to do any good.

Quite often, what is listed as "central a/c" in apartments is a heat pump installed between two interior walls and vented up a chimney flue - which works about as well as a fan - or a window unit which has been illegally installed in an air shaft.

The "good" portable units do have a drip pan, and if it is not emptied in time (usually every 2 hours or so) the unit automatically shuts off to prevent leaks. Older or less-expensive units might not have this feature, so leaks can occur. Since the units sit directly on the floor, vibrations from the motor can be heard in the surrounding apartments. If there is no vent cut in a window or wall, and if the windows are large, you will have to leave them open and try to block the incoming hot air and noise. It's not an ideal situation, no matter what anyone tries to tell you.

I learned to live without a/c, but it wasn't easy. During the first couple of bad heat waves, I slept in the bathtub, and spritzed myself with a water bottle all night long. Now, I sleep in my bed, use an oscillating fan and keep the shutters closed all day long, but leave the windows open a little - and only occasionally must resort to the spray bottle.

Bottom line - if you need "real" a/c - stay in a decent hotel. It's just not worth all the trouble and suffering.

I have stayed in two apartments in Paris. ( we usually rent hotels)
Both had ac.
One had central and one had portable ( but we had no regulations about turning if off at night.. that would have been completely unacceptable!)

The central ac was better.. but the portable ac did help .. and while I prefer central.. I would never consider renting in summer in Paris without some form of AC.. and AC I could run all night.

I did not stay in a "luxury" unit . I used Parisbestlodge and all their apartments are clean, nicely appointed,centrally located, but smaller.

PS just so you know. I took a friend to Paris one August.. told her to pack sundresses etc for the heat.. and it was cold and rainy for 7 out of our 9 days.. so hey.. its not that you will ALWAYS need ac in paris in summer.. but as many other visits have shown me.. when its hot in Paris its miserable hot..

First of all, some of us consider genuine air conditioning to include heat in the winter and cooling in the summer. But what does A/C do that fans don't: de-humidify the air and that makes you feel a lot more comfortable.

I'm really glad a whole lot of people don't have it and still hold down a job. The whole "and that should be good enough for all of us" implication I reject totally.

This apartment SHOULD be listed as "has A/C but only during the day (when you are less likely to be there)" but to each their very uncomfortable own.

<i><font color=#555555>"If you are used to typical US standards of central a/c, you won't be comfortable in Paris unless you stay in a hotel."</font></i>

Absolutely not true. I don't know what a "typical US standard of central AC" is, so who knows what the hell anyone means by that statement. Most older buildings in NYC do not have "central" AC. To put a "central" system into a building already built is cost prohibitive. Most apartments built after WW2 have wall-sleeve units or units installed in a window, which is less desirable. And there's plenty of competition in the AC market to help you choose a good one.

I've been in many overly cold pre-war, regulated apartments in France and in Italy that were much too cold for my liking. I have been in Venice during some serious record-breaking heat waves in September these past five years, and on two occasions, I had to ask the hotel and an apartment owner to turn down the air conditioning unit because it was too cold.

AC technology in Europe has changed a lot in the last thirty years. Everything depends on what AC unit you're working with, and there are plenty of units that meet code requirements for older buildings. Good AC will always come down to money and who is willing to invest in it.

this is just a battle about pro/con of AC. Hope the OP has found another spot. Paris Perfect is not even called that anymore...it is Paris Made Perfect and in this case they really can't live up to that name.

NYC is not "typical" of the US in many ways. It seems that AC is another of them.

NYC is not the alien place that several Republican candidates would have you believe. There are plenty of pre-war apartment buildings and homes in cities throughout the U.S. that did not come with AC. The art-deco apartment building on Fountain Ave near Beverly Hills, where I once lived, was not originally wired for AC. At substantial investment, the building owner re-wired the building, adhering to strict codes which the city oversaw. Many hotels in Europe are located in designated historical buildings. Most have serious construction restrictions, however, I know from personal experience that many of these hotels offer ductless AC units throughout their historical buildings, and the AC is often much too cold for me.

NYCFoodSnob - do you own (and actually live in) property in Paris? I do.

You don't seem to have bothered to read the information I mentioned regarding the regulations of the co-propriete and the city's preservation rules regarding air-conditioning.

Nobody is asking about NYC.
The rules in NYC do not apply to Paris.
It's doubtful that how you feel about your personal body temperature would be a factor in someone's choice of an apartment in Paris.

If you may want/need a/c during a stay and you'd be miserable without it, best bet is to simply choose accommodations with effective a/c without restrictions.

Without a/c, if there's an unexpected spell of very hot weather or a heat wave, cannot imagine going shopping (at the worst possible time) for and purchasing several oscillating fans to blow very hot air around.

So, avoiding the pontificating and instead speaking from experience - especially at the rates commanded by PP, I would not rent this property in summer.

Mobile units can cool a room quite well. The one apartment we rented which had them but prohibited their use after 10 pm is not one we will recommend or re-use. It was during a warm July in Paris, and after the second night I told the manager to deal with whatever repercussions might ensue, I was running the unit all night to assure comfortable sleep. Yes, rather typical ugly American behavior but if a place is advertised as having AC I expect it to have it full time.