“Good evening, dear viewers.” During the legendary heatwave of 1976, now fifty years ago, our most famous weatherman eventually reached a point where he no longer knew what to write. For seventeen consecutive days, temperatures rose above thirty degrees, and in his weather report for the newspaper, he finally settled on four words: “The weather remains unchanged.” With that same sobriety, he observed the jet stream, which he believed determined the entire Western European weather, and explained the most complex phenomena as if they were logic itself.

This week, the mercury is pushing those limits again, and the daily records from 1976 are on the verge of being broken. In many care centers, government buildings, and offices, the same scenario is unfolding: the chillers are running at full capacity, people on the south side complain that it is impossible to keep cool, and consumption peaks at the most expensive time of day. The first thought is often that there is insufficient cooling capacity. Understandable, but rarely the correct explanation. Usually, the capacity is not too small. The control system is.

Cool or comfortable?

Comfort is more than just a number on the thermostat. At high temperatures, humidity also plays a major role. A room at 24 degrees feels stifling if the humidity is too high, and people then demand even more cooling while the real problem lies elsewhere. Those who only control based on temperature are missing half the story.

Every system for itself

In large buildings, the technology is usually already installed: external sun protection, ventilation with heat recovery, cooling, and sometimes windows that can open automatically. However, each system operates independently. The sun protection is linked to a fixed clock and closes too late, so the heat is already inside before anything moves. The ventilation brings in warm air during the day, while the cool night air remains unused. And the cooling has to compensate for a load that should never have been there. Three systems working against each other, and you pay twice: in comfort and on the bill.

First repel, then cool

The logic is simple, however. First, keep the heat out. Then, exhaust what is already inside. And only after that, cool mechanically. Most buildings skip the first two steps and start immediately with the most expensive one.

That is where the profit lies. Fixsus has been building open building management systems for these types of buildings for years. With TIBA3, you bring your existing installations under a single control system without replacing anything. You retain what is there and link it together. The sun protection closes per facade before the heat enters. Night cooling cools the thermal mass with outside air as soon as it drops below the indoor temperature at night, so you start the day with a cool building. And on a tropical night like the upcoming Thursday, when it remains 25 degrees outside and no weatherman can promise you relief, the system simply does not engage that night cooling, as you would be bringing in warm air instead of cool. The system weighs this itself based on measured temperatures. The cooling regulates per zone based on actual temperature, humidity, and occupancy, so an empty wing requires no cooling. And the chiller only kicks in when the rest is insufficient.

First measure, then control

The regulation is only as good as what you measure. That is why you place sensors in the rooms themselves, not just in the technical room or the hallway. A sensor per zone measures temperature, humidity, and presence, and adjusts accordingly where it actually matters: in the resident’s room, in the office, in the meeting room. This way, you regulate based on what people feel, not on an average that is never accurate.

Because everything converges into one system, you can also see what is happening. Which zones remain warm or humid, where the cooling starts too early, or whether an intervention is effective. No guesswork, but an installation that you can adjust purposefully. In a care center with vulnerable residents or in a busy office, that makes the difference.

The result: a better indoor climate, fewer complaints, and a lower peak on the toughest days. All on an installation that was already largely in place.

The heatwave as an honest test

A heatwave is an honest test. It is not the technology that makes the difference, but the control. We do not speak of smart buildings, but of technologies that work together smartly. That is what Fixsus stands for.

We cannot stop the weather. But as the weatherman already knew back then: there is still much to be said about a dry subject like the weather. Fortunately, there is even more to say about a well-managed building. “Good evening, dear viewers, and keep it cool.“