Wasted Energy in Brazil

@bepmoht

Have you noticed any air curtains at the open doorways?

No air curtains, no vestibules and no automatic doors, just WIDE open.

03/11/25 @bepmoht.  Here in Manaus, the public buildings (federal, state, municipal, and museums) seem to be closed for the most part, if not air-tight.  If doors are open (as they are at the Teatro Amazonas, for example, where people are entering and leaving all day) they're relatively small in proportion to the span of the exterior walls.

Commercial buildings are another matter.  Department stores, furniture stores, appliance stores, shopping galleries, and any other store that sells items that are not easily pilferable or has security personnel in the doorways are wide open to the street.  This goes for the suspiciously large number of óticas, too -- we joke that either manauaras have the worst eyesight in Brazil, or óticas are a particularly good way to launder money.  Some pharmacies have sliding glass doors that close manually, Higher quality restaurants with table service are generally closed, and shops that sell expensive wares are usually closed and locked, and customers ring to be admitted.  But the sidewalks on major shopping streets are noticeably cooler than the roadways because of all the cooled air flowing out of the storefronts.

Few stores and restaurants have air conditioning in Ilhéus. Or closed doors.

Few restaurants even have indoor seating. I avoided indoor dining during the pandemic and haven't recovered from my (temporary?) claustrophobia. But I have no air conditioning at home and I usually eat outside on my veranda.

A nearby deli has a big airconditioner over the open door. And had a big portable fan in the indoor seating area this morning. It looked like a swamp cooler to me, but adding humidity in this climate makes no sense.

I'm of little help with air conditioning. Sorry.

Mar 12, 2025

I am not sure if this is a huge source of wasted energy at home but I have noticed from renting 2 apartments (1 in Rio and 1 in Recife) that air conditioning is only in the rooms while the rest of the house is left unconditioned and windows kept intentionally opened to get a breeze through.  The main issue here is that there was no way to seal the house so that you can cool the whole house because it is almost expected that air will need to flow through the house either via a louvered window or the top of a closed door...

So when I need to cool the whole house down, I just open the bedroom doors and a lot of the coolness just goes out the window....

Is there a way to seal a residence like it's done in NA?

Is there a way to seal a residence like it's done in NA? - @Pablo888

Sure, you can minimize the airflow in a building, but homes in Ilhéus are built to maximize the airflow.

Is there a way to seal a residence like it's done in NA? - @Pablo888
Sure, you can minimize the airflow in a building, but homes in Ilhéus are built to maximize the airflow.
- @alan279

Mar 12, 2025

If you have windows that can open and close, would that not be a good way to have both the airflow and the sealing when A/C is ON?

Is there a way to seal a residence like it's done in NA? - @Pablo888
Sure, you can minimize the airflow in a building, but homes in Ilhéus are built to maximize the airflow.
- @alan279

Mar 12, 2025
If you have windows that can open and close, would that not be a good way to have both the airflow and the sealing when A/C is ON? - @Pablo888

Sounds complicated. People in Ilhéus wouldn’t understand. The housekeeper opens all the windows when she arrives. A carpenter did the same when he replaced some interior doors recently.

Maybe I’ve lived a simple life by the beach for so long that opening and closing windows and fiddling with an air conditioner is beyond my abilities these days. 😀

A thought, though. A separate air conditioner in every room may be the way to go. I always had central heat and air in the US, but spit A/C units are what I see in Brazil.

Where do you plan to live? A split that also heats might be nice/required in the southern mountains of Brazil.