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The French are painting their windows with chalk to beat the heat(bbc.com)
16 points by geox 9 hours ago | 12 comments
poulpy123 8 hours ago | parent | next [-]

I would put mylar sheets on my windows instead, although the best is of course to have shutters The traditional shutters from south east France are great to block the sun but still allow light https://volets-thiebaut.com/modules/boixmultiblocs/images/7a...

nom 4 hours ago | parent [-]

emergency blankets works great and are cheap too

however, you get even better cooling with a coating that radiates the heat, it cools below the air temperature which feels so wrong

NighthawkInLight on YouTube has explored this and created recipes, the results still feel impossible to my intuition

tim-tday 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

It’s supposed to be yogurt.

SideburnsOfDoom 9 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

An acquaintance in London painted his windows with Yogurt. Based on this advice https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/paint-your-windows-...

He said that it helped.

kylehotchkiss 8 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Anything But A Heat Pump™

tim-tday 6 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Have you been to Paris? Go on google earth and poke around. Theres no place to put the condenser. Most people rent so even if there was they can’t drill holes for the lines and even if they could, most buildings are historic so they can’t. Central AC/heatpumps on some rooftops could work.

KingMachiavelli 4 hours ago | parent [-]

Window units can be added to basically any existing home. And like you said roofs are an option. France could afford AC with their relatively cheap power but it’s just culturally and politically unpopular despite heat related deaths being extremely high and loss productivity it’s certainly more than the cost to retrofit.

wolvoleo 8 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

If you live in a historical rental flat you often can't install AC.

Also we do tend to consider the environment here. All the heat kept out doesn't have to be pumped.

dcrazy 7 hours ago | parent [-]

You can do both

SideburnsOfDoom 7 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

It's not either-or

yownie 6 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

radiative sky paint

https://hackaday.com/2023/07/03/cooling-paint-you-can-actual...

netsharc 6 hours ago | parent [-]

Using CaCO3 which is calcium carbonate, like the article.

This science-lecturer-esque guy is using Barium Sulfate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNs_kNilSjk