Yesterday was officially the first day of Riding the Subway Sucks. The condition does not merit a more clever appellation. I christen the day when I first note the absurdity of the way the subterranean work spaces are cooled: namely, with wall units that exhuast into the public spaces. I never cease being amazed at how few people understand how air conditioning actually functions. The short version is, you need heat to make cool. You need more heat. So in order to cool the (relatively small) workspaces in a subway station that have wall units, you generate (incidentally) a larger amount of excess heat that must be shed (which is why half your air conditioner sticks outside the building). In this case, it all goes into larger public spaces of the station, quickly adding to the heat given off by people and the trains. Now, everyone should have a comfortable workspace, but given the large number of people negatively burdened, couldn’t they find another way (perhaps to vent the exhaust, or require buildings in the vicinity to support air handlers)? Just something to muse on while you are thinking positive thoughts, perhaps that the next train is so late, someone better have died to cause the delay (that’s a hell of a thing isn’t it? We all think that sooner or later, except for some people, that was actually the case). Otherwise, you can try these tepid suggestions:
1. Know where the vents are, and stand as close to them as you can. All stations have some connection to the outside world, to allow for passive ventilation. When a train exits the station it creates a vacuum that will pull air in, provided the air outside is cooler (mostly in the mornings). Conversely, arriving trains will push air around, but it won’t feel as much like a breeze.
2. If you are in a station near the end of a line, or where a connection forces a one train to wait regularly (Chambers Street or 2nd Ave, for instance), don’t forget that you can hang out in the delayed train.
3. This is a minor point, but once you are on the train, on the IRT, (1/2/3/4/5/6/7/9), the older models (the R-62’s; all the ‘Redbirds’ have been taken out of service) are much cooler in the center of the car. There are two vents that run the most of the length of the car, but stop well short of the ends.
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But what do you do when you take the kitchen to work?
Yesterday was officially the first day of Riding the Subway Sucks. The condition does not merit a more clever appellation. I christen the day when I first note the absurdity of the way the subterranean work spaces are cooled: namely, with wall units that exhuast into the public spaces. I never cease being amazed at how few people understand how air conditioning actually functions. The short version is, you need heat to make cool. You need more heat. So in order to cool the (relatively small) workspaces in a subway station that have wall units, you generate (incidentally) a larger amount of excess heat that must be shed (which is why half your air conditioner sticks outside the building). In this case, it all goes into larger public spaces of the station, quickly adding to the heat given off by people and the trains. Now, everyone should have a comfortable workspace, but given the large number of people negatively burdened, couldn’t they find another way (perhaps to vent the exhaust, or require buildings in the vicinity to support air handlers)? Just something to muse on while you are thinking positive thoughts, perhaps that the next train is so late, someone better have died to cause the delay (that’s a hell of a thing isn’t it? We all think that sooner or later, except for some people, that was actually the case). Otherwise, you can try these tepid suggestions:
1. Know where the vents are, and stand as close to them as you can. All stations have some connection to the outside world, to allow for passive ventilation. When a train exits the station it creates a vacuum that will pull air in, provided the air outside is cooler (mostly in the mornings). Conversely, arriving trains will push air around, but it won’t feel as much like a breeze.
2. If you are in a station near the end of a line, or where a connection forces a one train to wait regularly (Chambers Street or 2nd Ave, for instance), don’t forget that you can hang out in the delayed train.
3. This is a minor point, but once you are on the train, on the IRT, (1/2/3/4/5/6/7/9), the older models (the R-62’s; all the ‘Redbirds’ have been taken out of service) are much cooler in the center of the car. There are two vents that run the most of the length of the car, but stop well short of the ends.