Won’t dispute that European housing is sturdier. And yes insulation works both ways - however, you need good ventilation. And shading etc. AFAIK insulation optimised for heat retention is different to that optimised for keeping cool.
If you have a study or something that compares Mediterranean vs other European house designs, please send it to me and I’ll change my mind if I’m wrong.
As a German you should know that heatwaves have killed thousands of people in Germany as well.
Swedes, Germans, and French are also wealthier and have less extreme heat to deal with than Italy, Spain or Greece. You can’t attribute that to house design. Again, if you have a study comparing these, send it to me and prove me wrong.
My comparison on housing insulation is purely based on my experience. Italien housing is not much insulated. Insulation is usually driven by the need to reduce cost when heating in winter.
That’s a problem Italiens face not so much. Therefor in comparison to
Northern Europe, Italien housing is far less insulated.
And because insulation goes both ways, I came to the conclusion that Northern European housing is better suited for warm summers.
But anecdotal evidence isn’t very convincing. I’ve had the opposite experience; found being in Greek and Spanish houses during a heatwave way more tolerable than UK ones, even without AC. Idk about Germany but some older Czech houses feel like ovens when it gets too hot. Lovely for winter though.
Won’t dispute that European housing is sturdier. And yes insulation works both ways - however, you need good ventilation. And shading etc. AFAIK insulation optimised for heat retention is different to that optimised for keeping cool.
If you have a study or something that compares Mediterranean vs other European house designs, please send it to me and I’ll change my mind if I’m wrong.
As a German you should know that heatwaves have killed thousands of people in Germany as well.
Swedes, Germans, and French are also wealthier and have less extreme heat to deal with than Italy, Spain or Greece. You can’t attribute that to house design. Again, if you have a study comparing these, send it to me and prove me wrong.
My comparison on housing insulation is purely based on my experience. Italien housing is not much insulated. Insulation is usually driven by the need to reduce cost when heating in winter. That’s a problem Italiens face not so much. Therefor in comparison to Northern Europe, Italien housing is far less insulated. And because insulation goes both ways, I came to the conclusion that Northern European housing is better suited for warm summers.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10199188/
Found this paper ^ Haven’t read it yet though
I think you may be partly right
But anecdotal evidence isn’t very convincing. I’ve had the opposite experience; found being in Greek and Spanish houses during a heatwave way more tolerable than UK ones, even without AC. Idk about Germany but some older Czech houses feel like ovens when it gets too hot. Lovely for winter though.
Thanks for sharing the paper.