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41 sats \ 7 replies \ @grayruby OP 9 May \ parent \ on: What's something your significant other believes that you find ridiculous? AskSN
i think this only holds true if it was a small space and the AC vent is pointed directly towards the window. I still think it is unlikely as vents in a forced air system merely allow air that is being blown through the ducts by the blower to escape into the room and circulate with the existing air. If there is a breeze from outside the outside air would be entering the room at a rate quicker than the inside air is exiting. If there is no breeze, it is a small space and the vent is pointing directly towards a window I suppose it could aid in some warm air being pushed out.
If the room had an individual air conditioning unit and not central air it seems more plausible.
Convection is orders of magnitude more efficient than other forms of heat transfer, though, so even if you can only generate a little exchange, that'll offset a decent amount of AC.
Maybe we're quibbling about what "blowing out" the heat means, but I maintain that this can be a worthwhile thing to do.
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opening the 2nd floor windows allows cool air to settle in the bottom floors, displacing & pushing less dense air around in the process.
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That's less blowing hot air entirely out of the house, than it is giving it somewhere else in the house to go.
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Do I understand correctly that you think the colder & lower pressure air will expand out of the house faster than the warmer & lower pressure air ?
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I'm saying the circulating colder air will push the warmer air out of the upstairs window, if the air outside that window is cooler than the air inside.
It's an efficiency improvement, because the AC system is basically inducing convection, which is a very efficient form of heat transfer.
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AI disagrees with you but there is a heated debate on physics stack exchange about it that doesn't seem to reach consensus other than to never open your windows when it is warmer outside than inside which is likely the case most of the time in the summer when you would be running your AC.
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Full disclosure, I really struggled in my thermodynamics class and still think magic is the simplest explanation for refrigeration.
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