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Comment on I've been using this simple trick to keep cool in the heat wave (UK)

I can have the windows closed all day with no AC and not worry about rising co2 levels

That’s the thing about co2, you don’t really notice it unless at extreme levels, but it definitely affects you, at pretty much all levels.

split device with an outside unit, it does actually bring in fresh air

That’s the common misconception. The lines running between minisplit units are for refrigirant, not air. It’s essentially a fridge without a box, with the room where theyre mounted becoming the box instead.

Why would it be different with this device running and circulating air? It’s not like it emits co2.

It doesn’t. It’s just that people who run AC’s usually shut everything closed and then exhale all that co2, which in an ordinary room with just 1 person in takes <1hr to reach noticeable impairment levels. AC or not, ventilation is important.

The only point of concern would be if you have a gas heater for water etc

You’re probably thinking about carbon monooxide, not carbon dioxide?

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Burray_Mookchin@lemmy.ml ⁨3⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

That’s the common misconception. The lines running between minisplit units are for refrigirant, not air. It’s essentially a fridge without a box, with the room where theyre mounted becoming the box instead.

You’re right I was wrong about that, sorry lol.

It doesn’t. It’s just that people who run AC’s usually shut everything closed and then exhale all that co2, which in an ordinary room with just 1 person in takes <1hr to reach noticeable impairment levels. AC or not, ventilation is important.

You might be right but I am certainly not opening my windows once an hour during winter, if that’s the standard then we’re all screwed by the time we go to bed with the windows closed. I don’t think this problem is significant enough to justify running and Air Conditioner with the windows open…

You’re probably thinking about carbon monooxide, not carbon dioxide?

Yes, I am. As that is the only “real” concern I see with AC’s and gas buildup. As I said co2 is just not a big enough issue to justify not getting an AC or letting it run out the window. Regularly airing out should be common sense, but I think once or twice a day is regular enough for the average apartment

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- drath@lemmy.drath.ru ⁨3⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
  
  You might be right but I am certainly not opening my windows once an hour during winter, if that’s the standard then we’re all screwed by the time we go to bed with the windows closed. I don’t think this problem is significant enough to justify running an Air Conditioner with the windows open…
  
  Just to be clear, I dont mean wide open, just a litte slit to let some air in, which should be totally enough to keep levels below 1000ppm. If you’re just airing twice a day you get to 450-ish briefly but it jumps back in an hour or two and you spend the rest of the time somewhere in the 1500-3000ppm range. And I feel that about winter, yeah, it’s either warmth or fresh air, gotta choose one. Not even heaters can spare one from annoying cold breeze. But in summer it’s at least avoidable. Whole point is, even right now where I am, whenever I go anywhere, I see AC’s set to some stupid low settings, like 18C or lower, so the places are colder than they are during winter, but the air is so stale I feel like I could swim in it, which is arguably even more wasteful than running AC straight out the window, but it’s so hard to get the point across to people, especially the oxygen-deprived ones inside those places…
  
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