Keeping cool in Cuba

I have just returned from a much-needed holiday in Cuba. While relaxing on the veranda in Havana I gave a little thought to what we could learn from the Cubans when it comes to sustainability and reducing CO2 output.

Cuba was the first country to win an award for sustainability from the UN in 2006. Havana is famous for its old cars recycled over and over again to keep them going. The horse drawn cart is very common, every bus is full to bursting point and people walk. But it was in the area of air conditioning that I found the most interesting observations.

So here is my blog from cuba (well Guildford)

In the new funky bars and hotels there seems to be a competition on to see how cold the areas could be maintained to maximise energy use.

But in the hotel rooms where the choice of unit seems to mainly be dominated by the window rattler from china these units are hardly used. Despite the 30C ambient and 60 per cent rh. We never saw any point in turning the air con on, Havana is a windy place and a nice breeze was all we needed to keep cool and sleep, well that and 12 mojitos.

I have never been a fan of the rattler, I always thought of them as the electric bar fire of the cooling world, noisy ugly and crap, but I have found their real Achilles heel. In a multi-story building the condensate from one unit falls onto the unit the floor below making a very loud dripping sound, Chinese water torture indeed.

Viva Fidel…

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