'de kempen': 37°C, 50% humidity

Keith W wrote:
"Gregory Morrow" wrote in message
oups.com...

NovaProspekt wrote:

Gregory Morrow schreef:

NovaProspekt wrote:

Gregory Morrow wrote:

Do you have air conditioning...???

Don't really know about the rest of Belgium, but over here in Limburg
(hottest part of the country - nearly 38C in Hasselt yesterday, and
45C+ on the sandplains of Mol & Lommel) more and more of the newly
constructed houses have built-in airco, and more than half of the
people I know have bought portable airconditioners. I bought mine 3
years ago, and never looked back.


Good for you, you are one of those SMART and PRACTICAL Europeans :-)

Finally, someone who recognizes my greatness


:-)

[The following is for the benefit of all you Yanks out there...]

Per this subject I was looking online at the selection of air con units
that some UK retailers (Dixons, Comet, etc.) offered. They were all of
the "portable" type, e.g. the type that Mixi has in his flat etc....

These units are *expensive"* several hundred Pounds at least for the
very cheapest units...

That's not what a quick Google shows me

B&Q sell a 9,000 BTU unit for £180. They have a much
nicer split unit 9000 BTU machine for £350

There's also a Sumatsu 9000 BTU unit available for £150
from Eclipse

Amazon have a range of units around the £220 mark

These prices are pretty much in line with those for similar
units in the USA when you deduct the VAT component


here in the states you can commonly buy a cheap
5000 BTU Chinese - made window unit for as little as $75.00, this is in
range of most all budgets...this is a huge reduction in price from
years ago, an a/c unit was once a major purchase (like a color TV set
used to be decades ago).


Again Google seems to indicate that $150-250 is a more realistic
price


Of course most European windows are of a different configuration, these
window units by - and - large would be difficult to fit. Also zoning
ordinances in historic districts prohibit the unsightliness of a box
hanging out a window, you probably couldn't get away with such a unit
in central Paris or wherever...


Which is why you wont see any window units on sale in the UK
or most of Europe.


So cost is still a factor in Europeans buying airco, it's not quite in
the "cheap and disposable appliance" category yet...


Its cheaper than an Ipod Video and there are no shortage of
those around. If and when I do decide to fit an AC at home
it wont be noisy window or portable unit, it would be a
split system where the compressor can go outside. But
even in recent years it would only get used 2-3 weeks a year.


Keith

and for sleeping I prefer a fan

On 21 Jul 2006 05:45:10 -0700, "Gregory Morrow"
wrote:

"Swamp coolers", e.g. evaporative cooling units pre - dated airco in
hot and dry climes in the US, they are still used in Arizona, etc. But
they are only viable if the humidity is very, very, low...

I know a chick who had one in Adelaide, where indeed it is very dry.
It made a hell of a racket, and didn't really lower the temperature
much.
--
---
DFM - http://www.deepfriedmars.com
---
--

Gregory Morrow writes:

So cost is still a factor in Europeans buying airco, it's not quite in
the "cheap and disposable appliance" category yet...

As in so many cases, technology costs far more in Europe than in the
U.S. European distributors don't understand the notion of volume
sales, and anything that incorporates technology is consider a luxury
that should have a caviar price. And European consumers are stupid
enough to pay it. This is one reason why the standard of living in
Europe is often lower than in the U.S.

--
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Delirium Tremens writes:

any solar powered ones in the states ?

Solar power can't provide enough power to run an air conditioner with
any reasonable amount of collection area.

--
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Mxsmanic wrote:
Gregory Morrow writes:

So cost is still a factor in Europeans buying airco, it's not quite in
the "cheap and disposable appliance" category yet...

As in so many cases, technology costs far more in Europe than in the
U.S. European distributors don't understand the notion of volume
sales, and anything that incorporates technology is consider a luxury
that should have a caviar price. And European consumers are stupid
enough to pay it. This is one reason why the standard of living in
Europe is often lower than in the U.S.

--
Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail.

I think they should cost more to reflect the environmental damage we
cause.

Mxsmanic wrote:
Delirium Tremens writes:

any solar powered ones in the states ?

Solar power can't provide enough power to run an air conditioner with
any reasonable amount of collection area.

--
Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail.

prove it !

Martin wrote:
On 21 Jul 2006 07:40:41 -0700, "Delirium Tremens"
wrote:


and for sleeping I prefer a fan

gRunge?
--

Martin

androids need not apply.
I was in Leiden today, nearly ran over a cyclist who thought he owned
the road

On Fri, 21 Jul 2006 18:07:47 +0200, Dave Frightens Me
wrote:

On 21 Jul 2006 05:45:10 -0700, "Gregory Morrow"
wrote:

"Swamp coolers", e.g. evaporative cooling units pre - dated airco in
hot and dry climes in the US, they are still used in Arizona, etc. But
they are only viable if the humidity is very, very, low...

I know a chick who had one in Adelaide, where indeed it is very dry.
It made a hell of a racket, and didn't really lower the temperature
much.

Odd. When I've had swamp cooled flats here in Tucson they would
cool the air by 30F/17C in May and June when the humidity hovered
around 5%-10% at the hottest times of day.

************* DAVE HATUNEN ) *************
* Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow *
* My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps *

Delirium Tremens wrote:
Mxsmanic wrote:
Delirium Tremens writes:

any solar powered ones in the states ?

Solar power can't provide enough power to run an air conditioner with
any reasonable amount of collection area.

--
Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail.

prove it !

ok I will

http://www.partsonsale.com/solacool.html

Delirium Tremens writes:

prove it !

You need a couple of kilowatts of electrical power to run a
medium-sized portable A/C, and even at the equator with 100%
efficiency you're lucky to get 1 kw per square metre from solar power.

--
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