this post was submitted on 15 Jul 2026

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Someone put up a tent on their balcony to escape their heat-trapping apartment during the night. (discuss.tchncs.de)

submitted 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) by Multiplexer@discuss.tchncs.de to c/mildlyinteresting@lemmy.world

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Third extended heat wave within 6 weeks.

The previous one exceeded 40°C, and the buildings not yet had time to completely cool down from that one before the third wave hit.

I was considering putting up a tent in my garden myself, but as I own a ground floor flat, the indoor temperatures did, with the help of some additional cooling measures, thankfully not exceeded 27°C.

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[–] LovableSidekick@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago

Plot twist: that's just where they grow their weed.

[–] BurgerBaron@quokk.au 4 points 1 day ago

Jesus, they even have awnings! Brutal heat wave.

[–] Skullgrid@lemmy.world 37 points 2 days ago

Third extended heat wave within 6 weeks.

The previous one exceeded 40°C, and the buildings not yet had time to completely cool down from that one before the third wave hit.

No man, you didn't have 3 heatwaves in 6 weeks. you had 1 coldsnap in 6 weeks, where the temperatures were lower than the current normal due to global warming.

[–] Triumph@fedia.io 66 points 2 days ago (4 children)

That's not even a tent tent, it's a child's pop-up toy "tent". An adult can barely fit inside it and there's no way to stretch out and sleep.

Edit: Ooo, which means it is not vented, and so it likely gets very hot inside.

[–] albbi@piefed.ca 24 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I once lived in a basement one room suite, so no balcony or any outdoor space. During the summer it was hotter than the outside. I remember lying down in the bathtub running pure cold water to cool down, then trying to sleep for a bit but having to repeat cooling off every 2 hours.

[–] phdepressed@sh.itjust.works 21 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Basements are usually cooler unless theres a very inefficient furnace/boiler situation.

[–] albbi@piefed.ca 14 points 2 days ago

Must've been something like that. I was next door to the boiler room.

[–] Saapas@piefed.zip 8 points 2 days ago (2 children)

I have a tent like that. It's for two people. Probably the most common type of cheap tent I see in Finland

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[–] Multiplexer@discuss.tchncs.de 10 points 2 days ago (4 children)

I think it might be some kind of minimal beach camping tent, like this one:
https://www.ironsnow.com/products/ironrain-camping-tent-beach-play-tents-2-person-waterproof
Had to probably do with a tiny one, as it would be the only one to still fit the limited space.
The opening would be directed at the balcony door.
So no ventilation issue, but you might have do deal with some mosquitos (but those thankfully haven't been much of a problem here this year as it has been also exceptionally dry so far...)

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[–] Aceticon@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

In my own experience, you can do some amount of heat management with those shutters and the window by chosing when you have them open and when you have them closed - whilst without aircon the appartment tends towards the average temperature of the whole day, you can push it a bit more one way or the other by managing sun exposure and air circulation in favor of the hours when the temperature is more towards the end you want.

What I did were I live during the last heat wave (which around here had max temps above 40C) was to during most of the day keep the shutters down and the windows closed, and then during the night and in the early morning having the window open and just the holes of the shutters open (the shutters are made of strips and the are some holes between them, so when you pull them up they first just open the holes and only after all the holes parts of the strips are exposed if you keep pulling them up wil the shutters lift up - example)

In simple terms, during the hours when the sunlight would hit my windows it was hitting the shutters instead and either being reflected or converted to heat outside rather than inside (as those shutters are installed outside), and air was allowed to circulate between the outside and inside only when it was colder outside.

That said, for a couple of days I had to help the air circulation during the colder hours a bit with a fan, since just passive circulation through the half-open shutters wasn't enough.

This way I managed to keep the inside temperature mostly below 30C, with no aircon.

[–] ikirin@feddit.org 2 points 1 day ago

From my personal experience with (unfortunately) dark grey shutters facing south: Having just the holes open allows minimal airflow, which helps decrease the temperature between them and the window - because if the sun bakes the shutters, the air trapped behind them will get HOT - like hot enough that you can feel a difference when holding your hand against the glas.

For me it was better than having them completely closed, also it allowed a tiny bit of natural light in, but your mileage may vary

[–] freebee@sh.itjust.works 29 points 2 days ago (2 children)

27°C is still too hot to sleep in

[–] Multiplexer@discuss.tchncs.de 18 points 2 days ago

Well, much better than the constant 32°C the neighbour in the topmost apartment had at the end of the big 10 day heatwave!
Especially when you manage to keep the humidity in a lower range.

[–] lobut@lemmy.ca 4 points 2 days ago

I can do it with a fan but like, it's not a great sleep. I also forgot I turned on the timer and I woke up almost immediately when it turned off ...

[–] MrsDoyle@sh.itjust.works 7 points 2 days ago (1 children)

New Yorkers back in the day.

[–] mbp@slrpnk.net 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

The picture of them at central park looks like the Jonestown aftermath lol. Collapsing in suits, oxfords and glasses

[–] MrsDoyle@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 day ago

I thought that with the beach one - guys conked out on the sand with their clothes on, including ties.

[–] merc@sh.itjust.works 17 points 2 days ago (5 children)

Where is this? It has outdoor-style shutters and what I suspect are German-style windows behind them.

I love those outdoor shutters. Not only are they great for keeping the heat from getting inside, they also mean you can have a TV in a room with big windows. If you want to watch a dark movie, or any movie that would be ruined if things are too bright, you can also lower the shutters. They'd probably also be good in a violent storm.

[–] Multiplexer@discuss.tchncs.de 12 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Spot on, I live in Germany!
This kind of shutters are standard here and are actually great!
But during longer heat they still loose most of their advantage, as at some point the heat has just seeped through the massively build outer walls (and stays in the walls for a nice, cozy bedtime temperature of ~30°C on the upper floors...)

[–] Aceticon@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

You can kinda do some managing of when the shutters are open, half-open or closed as well as when the windows behind them are open or closed, to keep heating from sunlight outside and tilt air-circulation in favor of the colder hours but, yeah, eventually even that is fighting the wall of the building itself having warmed up.

Here in Portugal (were that kind of shutters are also very common) I did manage to, for most days of the one 40C+ heatwave we had, keep the indoor temperature below 30C, though it still creeped up (no doubt due to exactly that effect you mentioned of the building walls heating up) and after some days I actually had to use a fan to help air-circulation with the outside during early-morning and night when the air outside was colder.

[–] merc@sh.itjust.works 4 points 2 days ago

Yeah, I lived in Switzerland for a time, and they're pretty normal there too. When it got hot, sometimes I'd throw the windows wide open at night and let the place cool down to 20ish. Then, around 9am I'd shut all the windows and shades. I was also lucky because I had windows on opposite sides of the apartment, so I had good cross ventilation to blow the heat out.

When I'd come home it would be low-20s or mid-20s inside, while outside it was above 30. But, like you said, if the heat wave lasted too long, the concrete would heat up. I'd still throw open the windows at night, but once the concrete of the building was up to about 30 degrees, even if it dropped below 20 at night, it would still be 25ish indoors in the morning.

At that point, when it was 25ish indoors, below 25 outside (but heating up) and 30ish degrees in the walls, I wasn't sure if it was smarter to shut everything and try to keep the warm air out, or open things and hope that the ventilation allowed the concrete to cool.

Also, at night even though cross-ventilation was a good plan, and it cooled things off, I lived in a loud neighbourhood (by Swiss standards) and it was so much easier to sleep with the windows shut. Those windows reduce the noise from outside so much.

[–] freebee@sh.itjust.works 9 points 2 days ago

Yes it looks very German: the Rolladen, the Balkonsolar and also just the steel construction style of the balcony itself

[–] fritobugger2017@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago

Great for sleeping in with a hang over. Wake up ready for lunch.

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[–] Valmond@lemmy.dbzer0.com 23 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Be free, sleep on a mattress on the balcony!

[–] Multiplexer@discuss.tchncs.de 25 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Hammock would be the way to go!

[–] nullify3112@lemmy.world 10 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Mosquitos: “looks like meat is back on the menu boys!!”

[–] Multiplexer@discuss.tchncs.de 7 points 2 days ago

The only minor upside from the fact, that it also is one of the driest summers in my region so far:
No mosquitos.
Even the freshly imported Asian Tiger Mosquitos, which normally start roaming in July and need less open water, are almost completely absent (and they are only active during daytime).

[–] explodicle@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 day ago

The CBAM can't happen soon enough!

[–] Iconoclast@feddit.uk 13 points 2 days ago (2 children)

More likely for children to play in. A tent gets very hot in the sun - even more so than an apartment.

[–] Multiplexer@discuss.tchncs.de 23 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (8 children)

But it cools down again rapidly at nighttime, other than the apartment that essentially keeps on staying at the same temperature.
I assume that's what they are trying to profit from here.

While the sun is still up, it doesn't make any sense at all staying in the tent.
Better stay in the apartment with the blinds down and some fans running, as in most cases it will still be cooler inside than outside during daytime, and only switch to the tent during the night.

[–] P00ptart@lemmy.world 14 points 2 days ago

I work in a foundry, and this is what I've experienced. During a heat wave the building is hot the first day, hotter the second day regardless of difference in temp, then hotter the next day. It then levels out pretty much, because the extreme heat is fighting to change not the air temp, but the building materials temp, in this case concrete and steel. It takes longer for the materials to heat than the air but once it starts going, the building materials continue to warm, because they also cool slower. Then even at night, it doesn't really cool off because it takes a long time for concrete and steel to release heat. Honestly the furnaces don't make much of a difference unless you're right up on them.

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[–] Saapas@piefed.zip 11 points 2 days ago

You wouldn't be sleeping in it during the day

[–] dfyx@lemmy.helios42.de 9 points 2 days ago (5 children)

Some nights, I'm seriously considering sleeping in the hammock on my balcony. The only problem is that the sun would wake me up (and probably roast me) way before my alarm clock.

[–] Multiplexer@discuss.tchncs.de 6 points 2 days ago (3 children)

I sometimes do sleep in a tent outside in the garden (Not out of heat reasons yet, but because of fun events with the kids).
I wouldn't worry about being woken up by the sun, as what will actually wake you is not the sun, but the relentlessly enthusiastic birds chirping away at the top of their lungs almost an hour before sunrise already ;-)

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[–] CareHare@sh.itjust.works 5 points 2 days ago (1 children)

A couple of nights ago 2 riders in the Tour de France (from INEOS I thought) also slept on the balcony because their hotel rooms were too hot. Amazing that these athletes, who ride for 3 weeks at insane altitude (not all the time, but still) don't even get a good night's sleep.

[–] BlaestEgnen@feddit.dk 4 points 2 days ago

It was the Norwegian Halland-Johannesen twins of Uno-X Mobility that had the great idea.

All of the teams carry mobile air-conditioners and purifiers, but for unknown reasons Uno-X didn't bring any to their hotel

[–] apftwb@lemmy.world 7 points 2 days ago (1 children)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleeping_porch

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