Florida v. Bangkok air conditioning

Florida test house for air conditioning studies.

Seeking some comparisons between Bangkok and American cities I came across a collection of studies of typical residential air conditioning use in southern Florida, by Danny Parker and colleagues at Florida Solar Energy Center, probably the best single source that I have found for good contemporary research material available for southern US practices and potentials.

 This particular study focussed on several houses in South Florida, and I set out to compare the A/C use there with my own condo here in Bangkok. The structural properties of the two structures are not vastly different, though the Florida houses have to handle a significant heat load from the roof which does not affect us here in Thailand because we are on the 17th floor of a 23 floor building. On the other hand we get some free cooling from the cool party walls between us and our neighbors, who keep their place cold.

I earlier made some comparison of local cooling demand (based on my own high thermostat set point recommendation) as shown following. 

Cooling degree days per month for one year

Bangkok is clearly the queen of heat and humidity, but similar to Houston later in the summer. Miami comes in at about half the daily demand in late summer. The studies by Parker et al are for a group of single family tract houses with about 1000 square foot air-conditioned area, typically four or more residents, and about twice the air-conditioning capacity (2 to 2.5 ton) as my condo here in Bangkok. The Florida homes air-conditioning power use is typically 15 to 20 kwh per day with interior temperatures of 24 C, very close to Bangkok for air conditioned space in residences here (though I beg to differ).

For comparison I have earlier described our minimal condo use of air conditioning – one 250 ft.² bedroom with night use only at 25C, at an energy price about 10 kwh per day. In the Florida houses the more extensive use and larger area of the houses pushes the energy up to about 20 kwh per day. In both cases, Florida and Bangkok hot-season energy use amounts to about half of the electric bill, with a premium cost in the hot season (Bangkok) at about about ten cents US per kilowatt hour, in the range of about $1-$2 per day. On the other hand some of our well-to-condo neighbors reportedly have hot season electric bills of up to $30 per day because they air condition their spaces (some sun-facing, see previous entries) 24/7! 

Ref: Monitored Energy Use Patterns In Low-Income Housing In A Hot And Humid Climate. Danny S. Parker, Maria D. Mazzara, and John R. Sherwin 

Florida v. Bangkok air conditioning

Florida test house for air conditioning studies.

Seeking some comparisons between Bangkok and American cities I came across a collection of studies of typical residential air conditioning use in southern Florida, by Danny Parker and colleagues at Florida Solar Energy Center, probably the best single source that I have found for good contemporary research material available for southern US practices and potentials.

 This particular study focussed on several houses in South Florida, and I set out to compare the A/C use there with my own condo here in Bangkok. The structural properties of the two structures are not vastly different, though the Florida houses have to handle a significant heat load from the roof which does not affect us here in Thailand because we are on the 17th floor of a 23 floor building. On the other hand we get some free cooling from the cool party walls between us and our neighbors, who keep their place cold.

I earlier made some comparison of local cooling demand (based on my own high thermostat set point recommendation) as shown following. 

Cooling degree days per month for one year

Bangkok is clearly the queen of heat and humidity, but similar to Houston later in the summer. Miami comes in at about half the daily demand in late summer. The studies by Parker et al are for a group of single family tract houses with about 1000 square foot air-conditioned area, typically four or more residents, and about twice the air-conditioning capacity (2 to 2.5 ton) as my condo here in Bangkok. The Florida homes air-conditioning power use is typically 15 to 20 kwh per day with interior temperatures of 24 C, very close to Bangkok for air conditioned space in residences here (though I beg to differ).

For comparison I have earlier described our minimal condo use of air conditioning – one 250 ft.² bedroom with night use only at 25C, at an energy price about 10 kwh per day. In the Florida houses the more extensive use and larger area of the houses pushes the energy up to about 20 kwh per day. In both cases, Florida and Bangkok hot-season energy use amounts to about half of the electric bill, with a premium cost in the hot season (Bangkok) at about about ten cents US per kilowatt hour, in the range of about $1-$2 per day. On the other hand some of our well-to-condo neighbors reportedly have hot season electric bills of up to $30 per day because they air condition their spaces (some sun-facing, see previous entries) 24/7! 

Ref: Monitored Energy Use Patterns In Low-Income Housing In A Hot And Humid Climate. Danny S. Parker, Maria D. Mazzara, and John R. Sherwin 

Everyone complaining about the heat

Even my long-time expat friends -- three in a row today -- describe this week's weather as being miserable. Most mention the humidity but of course the Thai say simply "hot" -- and give you a blank smile when you say "humid"!

Objectively, I must be scientific and measure the wet bulb temperature, which I do by using the wet rag technique. It hovers around 28 C, even as my condo interior surfaces and floor are 30-31 and the afternoon temperatures outside hover around 37.

A strong fan and minimal clothing make 30 C in my condo perfectly comfortable during the day, but we use the bedroom air conditioning, set to 24-25 C, for sleeping. This doubles my electrical bill from about $35 to $70 per month. A dollar a day for comfortable sleeping. A fan works for the Thai but doesn't do the job for us because of our higher body mass index and soft foreign bed that impedes heat transfer from the body and leads to the dreaded wet pillow syndrome.

Late mornings are the worst in May, a bit of a breeze makes it more tolerable in the afternoon. My luxo Japanese-style massage place, normally overbooked, is oddly empty today; I'm told that the heat is just keeping those rich customers at home

Everyone complaining about the heat

Even my long-time expat friends -- three in a row today -- describe this week's weather as being miserable. Most mention the humidity but of course the Thai say simply "hot" -- and give you a blank smile when you say "humid"!

Objectively, I must be scientific and measure the wet bulb temperature, which I do by using the wet rag technique. It hovers around 28 C, even as my condo interior surfaces and floor are 30-31 and the afternoon temperatures outside hover around 37.

A strong fan and minimal clothing make 30 C in my condo perfectly comfortable during the day, but we use the bedroom air conditioning, set to 24-25 C, for sleeping. This doubles my electrical bill from about $35 to $70 per month. A dollar a day for comfortable sleeping. A fan works for the Thai but doesn't do the job for us because of our higher body mass index and soft foreign bed that impedes heat transfer from the body and leads to the dreaded wet pillow syndrome.

Late mornings are the worst in May, a bit of a breeze makes it more tolerable in the afternoon. My luxo Japanese-style massage place, normally overbooked, is oddly empty today; I'm told that the heat is just keeping those rich customers at home

Bangkok heat stopped my heart

Failure to drink enough water over two hot days made my heart stop for 4 seconds. 

Sounds preposterous, right? I always thought that this water drinking business was an old wives' tale. Or rather, a new wives' tale, since it's mostly young people one sees toting around plastic water bottles.

But last year I learned something new about my body. Dehydration can be serious business especially if you are a bit older. Buildup of salts affects the body electrical circuits including those that produce the so-called "sinus rhythm" that times the heart rate. The result: a static-like and alarming condition called atrial fibrillation, which often leads to "sinus arrest", temporary stopping of the heart (see illustration). This is not as dangerous as it sounds, since the heart has backup beat sytems that usually refire the circuits. But the danger is that you are very likely to pass out for a couple seconds which could result in your falling down the stairs or other accident.

Result? I now have a pacemaker, which gaurantees 60 beats a minute. Effective, but a couple of extra bottles of water would have been a lot cheaper!

This is 4 seconds. How about 6 or 8 seconds? You'll mostly come out of it, but don't fall down the stairs in the meanwhile. Otherwise, a nice way to go.

Bangkok heat stopped my heart

Failure to drink enough water over two hot days made my heart stop for 4 seconds. 

Sounds preposterous, right? I always thought that this water drinking business was an old wives' tale. Or rather, a new wives' tale, since it's mostly young people one sees toting around plastic water bottles.

But last year I learned something new about my body. Dehydration can be serious business especially if you are a bit older. Buildup of salts affects the body electrical circuits including those that produce the so-called "sinus rhythm" that times the heart rate. The result: a static-like and alarming condition called atrial fibrillation, which often leads to "sinus arrest", temporary stopping of the heart (see illustration). This is not as dangerous as it sounds, since the heart has backup beat sytems that usually refire the circuits. But the danger is that you are very likely to pass out for a couple seconds which could result in your falling down the stairs or other accident.

Result? I now have a pacemaker, which gaurantees 60 beats a minute. Effective, but a couple of extra bottles of water would have been a lot cheaper!

This is 4 seconds. How about 6 or 8 seconds? You'll mostly come out of it, but don't fall down the stairs in the meanwhile. Otherwise, a nice way to go.

Invented in Thailand: world's best tropical hat

World's greatest hat for hot weather. Perfect shade and ventilation. Additional bonus factor: the layered structure of the hat provides an extra R value of about 0.5, so that significant temperature drop occurs between the outside and inside of the hat. Example: today with an air temp of 30, the outside of the hat had a temp of 38 (from solar heating) and the inside surface was 33. Would addition of a little foil on the underside of the hat improve things?

Invented in Thailand: world's best tropical hat

World's greatest hat for hot weather. Perfect shade and ventilation. Additional bonus factor: the layered structure of the hat provides an extra R value of about 0.5, so that significant temperature drop occurs between the outside and inside of the hat. Example: today with an air temp of 30, the outside of the hat had a temp of 38 (from solar heating) and the inside surface was 33. Would addition of a little foil on the underside of the hat improve things?

Down with democracy! Wear a hat!

It might surprise urban Thai, some of whom know more of cellphones and expensive cars than they know of the country’s history and traditions, that the village tradition is quite relaxed when it comes to bodily exposure. Many older women went bare-breasted even when I came here in the 1960s. The traditional “commoner” dress shown here suggests that the top may have been put on only for the purpose of the picture. Given that the face, neck, and chest is the hottest part of the body, exposure meant more comfort in the warm weather.

It is amusing to me that this old style was banned by pseudo-fascist political leaders in and during WW2 who aspired to a Mussolini  style of government within what they expected would be an Asian Japanese empire. Ironically “Proper” western style was required of women according to this government edict in 1941:

The people of Thailand must maintain national prestige ... by not dressing in improper manners which will damage the prestige of the country,e.g., wearing loose-ended sarongs, wearing only underpants, wearing sleeping garments, wearing loincloths, wearing no blouse or shirt, women wearing only undershirt or wrap-around ... and must maintain proper etiquette [by refraining from] unnecessary noise or improper language or behavior which ridicule those who try to promote national customs.

Some Thai history professors are claiming that the current call for "peoples government" is very similar to the call by Benito Mussolini in 1938, much copied and admred by the Thai Prime Minister Phibun in those same years.. What might the impact be in Thai fashion?

Dress required by law by royal decree in 1941. Bangkok Thai were to wake up one morning to face a government command that all women were required to wear hats like these. This is the same time as Thai were instructed to greet each other with "Sawatdee" an entirely made-up phrase previously unknown in the country.

Down with democracy! Wear a hat!

It might surprise urban Thai, some of whom know more of cellphones and expensive cars than they know of the country’s history and traditions, that the village tradition is quite relaxed when it comes to bodily exposure. Many older women went bare-breasted even when I came here in the 1960s. The traditional “commoner” dress shown here suggests that the top may have been put on only for the purpose of the picture. Given that the face, neck, and chest is the hottest part of the body, exposure meant more comfort in the warm weather.

It is amusing to me that this old style was banned by pseudo-fascist political leaders in and during WW2 who aspired to a Mussolini  style of government within what they expected would be an Asian Japanese empire. Ironically “Proper” western style was required of women according to this government edict in 1941:

The people of Thailand must maintain national prestige ... by not dressing in improper manners which will damage the prestige of the country,e.g., wearing loose-ended sarongs, wearing only underpants, wearing sleeping garments, wearing loincloths, wearing no blouse or shirt, women wearing only undershirt or wrap-around ... and must maintain proper etiquette [by refraining from] unnecessary noise or improper language or behavior which ridicule those who try to promote national customs.

Some Thai history professors are claiming that the current call for "peoples government" is very similar to the call by Benito Mussolini in 1938, much copied and admred by the Thai Prime Minister Phibun in those same years.. What might the impact be in Thai fashion?

Dress required by law by royal decree in 1941. Bangkok Thai were to wake up one morning to face a government command that all women were required to wear hats like these. This is the same time as Thai were instructed to greet each other with "Sawatdee" an entirely made-up phrase previously unknown in the country.