r/Rotterdam • u/Ok-Win7980 • 4h ago
Anyone in new-build high-rise apartments here? How reliable is AC in summer?
I am a University of Amsterdam student, originally from New York, and I could see myself living in Amsterdam or Rotterdam full-time in the future. Rotterdam really appeals to me even more than Amsterdam because it has a bunch of modern skyscrapers, which I love, but also has a much more walkable human scale than NYC. However, very few of the apartments seem to have proper central AC, which is very common in NYC. Instead, what I've seen is that most of these high rise apartments in Rotterdam seem to have something like floor cooling, which doesn't seem nearly as reliable enough, especially on a hot summer day. It was around 34˚C on the day I last moved into Amsterdam and I couldn't get my apartment, built in 2017, but with no AC, down to any temperature below 28˚C. In contrast, I'm used to indoor temperatures around 22-24˚C in my NYC apartment on a hot summer day. For those of you who live in buildings that have it, can the floor cooling get that cool? If not, could a portable AC be an option? I really do not want to close the blinds because I care a lot about views and natural light and would really like to be in a building with floor-to-ceiling windows or as close to it as possible. While it doesn't normally get very hot in Rotterdam in summer, heatwaves are not uncommon, and even one day without reliable AC would be too much for me. Can anyone please figure this out for me, because I've not been able to find reliable information about how reliably cool these apartments in Rotterdam can get, and this is the biggest thing holding me back from wanting to move there full-time, because other than that, this is a great city and I really see myself wanting to live here. Also, for anyone knowing, I know how hard it is to get an apartment here, but I have also been vigorously looking at listings, and I found a few apartments that I like. I think BaanTower is my favorite building here right now, as I really like the apartments, amenities, and views. While the rent is a bit expensive, it is still more affordable than a similar building in NYC, but I'm not sure what type of AC system the building uses. Other buildings I like here are the Zalmhaven complex, New Orleans, CoolToren, and similar buildings here.