Hacker News Reader

Comment by stefandesu | Hacker News Reader

I've never understood why (in some countries) public places are so cooled down in the summer and so heated up in the winter. In Japan, in the summer they put the ACs to what feels like 16ºC, so whenever you go from outdoor (very hot and humid) to indoor, you feel like you'll freeze (because you're dressed for 30ºC). In the winter, they put the ACs to 25ºC, so you move from outdoor to indoor, it's extremely hot and sticky (as you're dressed for 5ºC). Why not meet in the middle and use 21ºC or something all year round? (Or save energy and just change the temperature a little to make it a bit more bearable.)

View on HN

Myself and many others seem to find 21c too cold in winter and too hot in summer in some buildings. I think it's possibly due to radiant temperature: for example, the walls/roof/floor are hotter in summer so you need to cool the air down more to make up for that.

That said, Japan and some other places (Singapore!) take it to the extreme, and in a modern well insulated building, this is much less needed than it used to be. Maybe it's a hang-over from when wall insulation was terrible?

What I really don't understand is why, in London, the short distance commuter trains and buses are heated so warm in the winter. I'm only on the train for 10 minutes, why would I want to strip down!?

Could it be for driver comfort? I sometimes have the impression that buses have their temperature tuned for the driver, who's staying in the bus for hours and has everyone's safety at least partially related to their comfort. But I find it impossible to confirm this by asking the bus companies why their buses are set this way (e.g. when windows were closed during Covid at about 20°C).

The bus company doesn't set the temperature, the individual drivers do. That should explain everything.

Oh yeah, I was soaked in the rain in Singapore once and took the bus home, I was basically sure I'd catch a cold, it was like stepping outside in the winter at home after taking a shower...

In Singapore using a/c is still seen as a luxury so it's a selling point for the malls.

Possibly the engine is too inefficient so the heat is virtually free?

I saw a video about Hong Kong where colder shopping malls are considered more upscale. Waste is a Veblen good in that context, I guess.

I think we might have seen the same video.

It happens in other places in Asia as well, not only Hong Kong. It's quite uncomfortable to go from ~34C and 98% humidity, to an environment at ~20C and less than 50% humidity. I'm surprised people don't get more respiratory illnesses more often.

When I was in Asia, I experienced that also.

First it was hard for me and making me sick, but then I got used to it also.

For a westerner, it might be hard to imagine constantly living with high temperatures like that. And for example having to sleep everyday with such climate.

> For a westerner, it might be hard to imagine constantly living with high temperatures like that.

Plenty of "western" countries and regions have similar climates.

I've gotten faint simply exiting an air-con'd MTR to the full heat 100% humidity at an outdoor station.

It's a waste for the acclimatized locals.

I hate this about Japan too.

In Tokyo, you sweat to death on the subway, then get off with wet underwear into the cold street and yeah, summer trains feel so cold it's like having a high fever when sitting on the train.

It's very weird. In my university dorm in the common room, there was always a fight between the local students and the exchange students about the AC temperature.

JR commuter trains "solve" this problem by having some carriages on longer trains intentionally set to higher temperatures, signposted 弱冷房車 ("weak cooling car").

This is good if you have time to change cars

Pff, this is nothing try travelling by bus/minivan in Thailand, now that's freezer box.

Cooling a LOT significantly reduces humidity. Some places do this to avoid damage to goods.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com