Cool advice greeted with teenage fandom
Palmerston North’s Youth Space has become cool enough for young people to play active games inside despite a history of over-heating in the westerly sun.
City council eco designer Nelson Lebo has transformed the atmosphere with a large-scale demonstration of his advice to turn the fan around to fight the heat.
Lebo said the door from George St attracted all the heat of the afternoon sun beating down on the street and the building, sheltered from any whiff of a breeze.
His solution, which he described as cheap and not particularly pretty, was a large fan in the doorway blowing the hot air out, pulling in cool air from the shaded side of the building in Coleman Mall.
Youth Space team leader Debbie Christian said in the absence of airconditioning, and with a lot of people quite active in the space, the room had become unbearably hot.
The technique of flinging the George St doors open did not help, and as soon as Lebo explained his approach, it made sense.
‘‘It’s created a draught through pulling cooler air in. It’s not solved the problem, but it’s made it a lot more bearable.’’
The temperature in Palmerston North reached 29 degrees Celsius on Friday. Lebo said the fan technique worked in homes as well as larger buildings as soon as the outdoor temperature dropped below the indoor temperature. People also sensed moving air as even cooler than it was.
For doubters, he likened the effect to what happened with cars without airconditioning.
Parking in the shade was the best defence against over-heating in the first place, but those spaces disappeared quickly.
When cars were parked in full sun, with no shade or screens, they quickly became much hotter than the outdoor temperature.
‘‘Everyone knows, you get in
‘‘Everyone knows, you get in the car, open all the windows and drive fast. I’m telling people, use that car thinking to drive your home.’’ City council eco designer Nelson Lebo
the car, open all the windows and drive fast. I’m telling people, use that car thinking to drive your home.’’
Lebo said shady, deciduous trees to the north and west provided ideal protection from the sun for houses – but not many homes had them. People should close windows, curtains and blinds against the sun as much as possible to control over-heating, then use a fan to create air movement as soon as it was cooler outdoors than in.
‘‘At night, treat your house as a wind tunnel, and by day, as a chilly bin.’’