Summer Heat Survival
We’re muddling our way through our first Kiwi summer, and if I’m to believe the locals, this is an extremely hot, unpleasant summer. It is definitely hot. Remember my post back in December about climate control? Yeah, I really had no idea what I was talking about and that was all theoretical.
First off, the high temperatures this summer have been well above the average of 24ºc (75ºF). I pulled up the official temperatures, and it shows the highs around 27ºC (80ºF), but that is not what I’m experiencing. The reality of this summer is highs around 30-32ºC (86-89ºF). And let me tell you, that is a BIG difference in the heat of the afternoon. It is compounded by the fact that some days there is zero wind to help cool things off. So how are we staying cool this summer?
Open windows in the morning. The mornings are still quite pleasant, even cool. It feels wonderful to open up all of the windows and get fresh air until about noon, when the sun starts to bake everything.
No outdoor activities without cloud cover. The heat from the sun is extremely intense. So much so that even if is is in the mid-twenties, it feels like the sun is literally frying off your skin if you’re out for more than a few minutes. It is a given that if we go outside, we our lathering ourselves in sunscreen and wearing hats. It is best to simply choose indoor activities if the sun is out. In many ways this is what we did in Austin, too. Though if there is a cloudy day, it is much more pleasant. (In Austin, it didn’t matter if it was cloudy, it was still way too hot from June - September.)
Cover the windows. While we live in a relatively new build with double-glazed windows, the quality and insulation of the windows in New Zealand is not as good as it is in the US. The intense summer sun streams in to the north side of our house and turns our main lounge into an oven. In the afternoon, it is essential to roll down the shades and keep as much of the sun out to keep from melting and let the air conditioning do its job.
Fans, fans, and more fans. Every bedroom needs a fan. Unfortunately, our experience with housing here is that an overhead fan is a rare, though not unheard of, thing. Our house does not have overhead fans, so we stocked up on your basic run-of-the-mill fans at K-mart. Other stores like Briscoes, Mitre 10, and and Bunnings are all good places to purchase this summer time essential.
Turn on the mini-split. Thank goodness for air conditioning in the main room downstairs and in the master bedroom! There have been a few days when everyone piles on the couch, and no one moves because opening the door is like opening the door to a blast furnace. I was really concerned about the energy bill implications, but so far, our air conditioning usage only bumps up our electric bill by about $10 per week. And that, my friends, is the best $10 spent. In comparison, our house in the US, which was about twice the size of our current home and had two central AC units, used about US$300 more in electricity each month we turned on air conditioning.
Like I mentioned before, there is a much more manual approach to climate control in New Zealand. It takes a little getting used to, but soon it is another part of life. And I have to admit that now I really notice when air is recycled and air conditioned - and not in a good way. I’ve noticed that I feel better with open windows and turning on the air conditioning is a little depressing. Its an unexpected change that I’m still processing.
