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Alternative to Air-conditions?
(lemmus.org)
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this post was submitted on 22 Jul 2026
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Extremely good insulation, possibly building things underground, and then air conditioning. You said people with health issues. If you need to make sure something is a a specific temperature because of health concerns, you need air conditioning to be certain. Really making sure you've got incredible insulation is really all you can do. Tall trees that block the sun around the building can help. Using blinds and curtains as well instead of letting the sun in.
Building anything underground is extremely expensive and energy intensive, as you have to constantly pump ground water and pour concrete to keep walls from breaking under pressure of tons of soil.
So yeah, underground could work, but better used sparingly when benefit outweighs the costs, like maybe in areas that could go literally uninhabitable on the surface. Otherwise not worth it.
Most of North America built bungalows after WW2. All your dramatic concerns were addressed 50 years ago, and no, they were not extremely expensive and 8" concrete walls with French drains and sump pumps work well.
@JackbyDev @turip Problem with insulation is that there isn't a good way to retrofit old buildings with it without mold building up, as old buildings were designed to breathe.
Not true.
There is not a magic solution that is perfect in every scenario. Air conditioners decrease humidity as a side effect, though.
You can ventilate periodically, air doesn't hold that much thermal energy. You can also use heat recovery ventilation, should work in reverse to keep the heat out too.