Paris wanted an AC-free Olympics. Visiting nations had other plans.
PARIS - For all the steps Paris organizers have taken to put on the greenest Olympics ever, their boldest measure - the one they’ve touted again and again - pertains to the dorms in the Athletes’ Village. The rooms don’t have air-conditioning. Because of other cooling measures, organizers have...
There is big cultural difference between Europe and the US with regards to AC, European visitors to the US complain on occasion about ACs prevalence in the US, while the changing climate is causing Europe particularly cities having significant heat waves in predominantly buildings with no AC. Reportedly much of the city electrical grids and building feeders are undersized to support AC.
They do briefly mention in floor radiant cooling in the Olympics villages, but its tricky system to control unless the local dew point is very low, it the floor surface gets near dewpoint, water will condense, and the floor can get slippery or floor coverings can get damp and moldy.
The bummer is those portable AC units rarely are very efficient compared to permanent installation.