On our recent city-break we spent a few nights in an air-conditioned room in a hotel.

It has been some time since we were in an artificially cooled space for so long.  We found it a difficult experience, but one that was unavoidable.

Quite sensibly in some respects, the hotel had made it impossible to open the windows so that the active air cooling would be allowed to work as efficiently as possible. The downside though is that you have no choice but to use the aircon, and endure everything that goes with it. 

We had forgotten, for example, how much our noses and throats dried out while in the cooled, dry air. Did I mention how noisy it is? And getting the temperature right was a nightmare. The first night we were frozen, the second we boiled. Our third and final night was the best of the lot, but overall the air-conditioning had not created a comfortable or peaceful sleeping environment. 

And all the time it is in use, the air-conditioning is drawing large amounts of electricity. It adds up to an expensive way to heat up an already warming planet. There has to be another way.

Passive air-conditioning

At Casa de Olivos sustainable apartments in Spain we don’t use noisy air-conditioners to artificially cool the indoor spaces. Instead, we rely on the construction of the building and other passive measures to keep the living spaces at a comfortable temperature throughout the year.

The hillside location of our sustainable tourist accommodation near Traiguera in Castellon is an asset, as we get welcome breezes most afternoons, and our night air is noticeably cooler even in high summer.

The house has been built using materials that keep the internal spaces insulated from the outside climate. In the summer, west- and south-facing windows have a tinted film applied which reduces the solar radiated heat entering through the glass.

For maximum comfort we encourage guests to close doors and windows in the hotter parts of the day. Keeping window coverings closed also helps to keep the suns heat out of rooms.

All windows have mosquito nets fitted so they can be opened at night safely, and all rooms have low energy floor and ceiling fans to aid air circulation.  As the sun sets and the air cools, open up windows and let the fresh evening air circulate. By bedtime each apartment is naturally aired and ready for a peaceful nights sleep.

Escape, and enjoy the natural air.  Keep cool, and be kind to the planet.

Casa de Olivos - Spanish summer holidays that won’t cost the earth.

Claire and Ed