This is the tropics, it’s hot. Yes, I’m adjusted to heat and I’m comfortable at a lot higher temps than others. Still, when it is over 100°F or 38°C it is hot. How comfortable you are in the heat is dependent on air moving and heat rising away from you. We have the benefit of really high ceilings, they average about 18′. What also works is that air moves through the house easily, leaving the rooms high and taking the heat with it. We have a lot of options for controling the air flow and by opening the high windows in the doors at night and closing them in the heat of the day the inside of the house stays 15 to 20 degrees cooler than outside. That brings even the hottest day into my comfort range.
Terrace
afternoon nap hammock
We’ll see if we spend more time inside once the rains start. We are hardly ever in the living room right now. I do go in there and nap in the hammock on a hot afternoon. It’s always much cooler in there and I love that hammock. It’s double woven and soft as silk, plus it is extra wide so I can pull half of it over me and sleep in a cool, dim cocoon. I had to raise it higher than is usual to keep dog noses from waking me up. Tita loves hammocks, she jumps up and naps in it with me.
Hall
The long hall from the front to the back of the house moves air from all the rooms and pulls it out. The space over the inside pond that goes up to the sky lets the hot air rise up and out. It keeps the kitchen cool as well as pulling hot air from the transom windows of the living room and office. The house just stays cool, it’s amazing how well the design works. The garage is always at least 10 degrees hotter than the rest of the house because it is closed off from the hall.
So far, mosquitoes haven’t been a problem. That could change with the rains. If it does, I think we will be inside more in the evening since we have no screening on the terrace. Right now, we leave most doors upstairs and down open during the day but close them at dusk and then reopen them when it is dark. I am glad that the deck off the bedroom is screened because I would not like sleeping with it open at dawn.
entrance to master bedroom
We sleep with just a sheet but there have been a few times that I had to get up and get a blanket. This is what I am most surprised about, I thought I would need AC for sleeping. I’m usually comfortable in the daytime but when we were living in the RV last summer I got used to sleeping with AC and under a big comforter. I didn’t think I’d adjust so easily to the warm nights. I’m enjoying it though and it is nice not to be cold when I first go to bed. I’m the one that always had to have a hot water bottle for my feet, not now.
doors open to private patio
master bath
The layout of the house has proven to be one of its best attributes. We live and sleep in the back of the house, thus I rarely hear traffic noise. Of course, it’s a Mexican city so we hear the bar at the corner, the dogs down the block, the kids in back and the guy yelling “paleeeeetas” from his trike, but we don’t hear or smell the buses and cars.
bedroom patio
The room behind it was originally a bedroom but when Henry suggested we add a floor for bedrooms, it became an office. Thus the first room that we would use often, the living room, is well back from the street and insulated from sound and heat.
I’m working on a few more of these, I hope it is helpful to others.
Thanks Jonna, for such a great blog. I’m fascinated by the perfect ways a colonial home in Merida is designed for it’s climate… I love the architectural essays of your building/designing/decorating… and this lengthier blog, with the enlargeable pictures is just a gift, otra vez, mil gracias.
Great posts. Thanks. I very well may need the information.
I meant to mention fans, we put fans everywhere we could fit them in and that was a good decision. Some are not often on but they are available. For instance, there are small fans in both the downstairs half bath and the bodega (storage room). I leave the one on in the bath but only turn the one in the bodega on occasionally. I imagine that when it rains, I will leave that one on more to counter the humidity.
I have them in the closet, all bathrooms and the terrace in front of our bedroom, of course they are in both bedrooms, 2 in the living room, 2 on the downstairs terrace, 2 in the kitchen, one in the hall and one in the office. They aren’t cheap but they make such a difference.
We used outdoor fans, a house brand from Hunter Douglas called Hurricane, everywhere. We’ve had bad experiences with the cheaper Home Depot fans at the condo in Akumal, they rust and go out of balance very fast. Using outdoor fans inside helps against the humidity, we now have these fans over in Akumal too and they are holding up much better than previous ones.
If the air isn’t moving, you will get mold. I keep the one on in the guest bedroom and the office most of the time for that reason.
I was just thinking about ventilation and how important it is…we stay pretty comfortable most of the time, and I think good airflow and fans are the key.
The humidity here really spikes in the very early morning so we do sleep with the air on 29 dehumidify and we’re good.
I loved everything about your house but I could tell right away with the high ceilings, fans, and the openings to the roof that you would be very comfortable there. I think the colors you chose contribute to it feeling cool, though. That blue in the kitchen, for example!
Jonna, I just love looking at pictures of your house, and am so glad you found such a talented architect. Although I’m basically happy with my house, I know now there are things I would have liked that were never considered, and someone like Henry probably would have pointed it out to me. Your house is beautiful, I love the designs and the colors. Sounds like you are learning how to live in it, I remember one post you made about it not feeling like home yet. I knew you’d get there – hammocks and terraces always help.
Great place! I wonder what kinds of electric bills do you generate there? How did your budget versus reality workout?
Thanks Nancy.
Sue, it did take a while for us to get used to living here. It felt like too much house, especially since we’d been living in an RV for years. I think we’ve adjusted now, it seems like home.
John, I’ve only gotten one CFE bill since we moved in and part of that was during the last of the construction. I hope that some of the use was from the welders installing the garage door. Otherwise, we’re not doing very well. We used 1730kwh during that last bill, 30 kwh over the DAC limit and that is more a problem than anything. I am hoping we will do better on this next bill, we’ve gotten rid of the big sump pumps they had running in the ponds, switched out a lot of light bulbs, and try and turn things off. However, we have a bigger pool pump installed. The old one wasn’t strong enough to pull from the skimmer and push to the roof for the passive solar. Plus it has become apparent that in this intense sun, even though our pool is shaded much of the day, we just can’t keep it clear only running the pump for a couple hours a day. So, it is on longer as well. I’m a bit nervous about this next bill but we will see.
Mic, I’m having a problem with your comments getting caught in the spam filter. I tried to approve them and thought I had and then deleted all the rest of the spam but I don’t see yours. Maybe they got deleted too. I’m sorry, I’m looking for a way to put your provider in an OK file but haven’t found it yet. Please comment again if you can remember, and I’ll look for it and this time I won’t delete anything until it shows up.
Hey, I’m just glad it didn’t come thru multiple times
At least you got that I thought your place was fabulous and look forward to reading your interesting posts of life in the Hot Zone……. 88 doesn’t seem so bad. Not sure what to make of that Merida -999F reading.
Well that post showed up…..progress. Maybe the difference was I left out the website. I’ll put it in this time and see if that is what gets caught.
What a interesting post! As someone who designed and built our house here, it’s interesting that we live so close, yet our climates, and thus our home needs are different. We don’t get those cool mornings that you seem to get and we must have a greater humidity/mosquito problem.
I would love to see more of your house, and am especially interested in the pond!! Please post more!
Oh good, these comments didn’t end up in the spam filter Mic, so it must have worked.
It’s hot today, the little gizmo above says 109°F right now and I rather believe it. It has been much cooler this last week but, the heat is back.
Laura, we also have a condo over in Akumal and the temps are usually cooler there but more humidity. The sea breeze does make it a lot nicer. Once the rains start, we will have the humidity and mosquitoes as well.
The ponds are one of the things that did not work. I am trying to make lemonade out of a very bad design and it’s not going as well as I’d like. I will post about them, it’s been a sore point pero ya estoy mas tranquilo.
I can’t get enough of these types of posts! Please keep ‘em coming!!! Your home is gorgeous – I love how old and new are blended so seamlessly, so naturally. We are planning on a renovation similar to yours within the next few years. I’m going to stash this info. in my files for a reference when we get further along in the planning process. I know finding a place with a grandfathered garage will be a challenge. It’s the one condition that TJ has, he’s not moving unless he has a garage!