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Comment by moneywoes | Hacker News Reader

Does the AV help?

(Assuming you mean AC) - HVAC systems are generally designed to keep air flowing through the building optimally, which may include control systems for attenuating fans, exterior building air intake, and whatnot as a function of sensor measurements. I'm not sure how often CO2 is taken into account during building design or operation to be honest, aside from rough targets on designed occupancy rates and volumetric estimates of airflow.

In the UK, most buildings are naturally ventilated. There's no mechanical ventilation moving air around automatically, you gotta open your window if you want airflow. In the winter this generally puts people between a rock and a hard place: either you are slightly cold and sitting in a stuffy roof, or you open a window and are REALLY cold and also go broke from the energy bills :P

What's AV?

I assume it's meant to be AC

Just in case, to answer the question: The vast majority of private, let alone public housing in the UK have no AC.

that does not answer the question

To make explicit: There is no AC therefore the AC doesn't help.

I considered the original question to mean: "Does / would the use of AC help?"

to which tangential, interesting information was provided but left the original question unanswered.

Are we to assume literally nobody has an AC nor is it possible for AC to even exist in those situations? Because if it helps, then maybe something productive can come out of this conversation where we can aim to improve some of these living conditions through use of AC's - which would kill 2 birds with one stone.

It seemed like a genuine question that should be actually answered. I want to assume "yes" they would help, but I'd be guessing.

AC alone wouldn’t make any difference whatsoever. You need a modern HVAC system that exchanges air with the outside with something like an ERV or HRV. And even before doing that you have to make sure the building is sealed and insulated properly so the air is going where you need it to go. It’s actually a fairly complicated problem that starts with the design, building materials, and construction processes of the building itself.

To be precise, there is AC in almost every home in the UK - approximately two-hundread-and-forty volts AC!

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