Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers achieved the first 50/50 in major league history. Until last year, the words 40/40 and 50/50 were not very familiar to casual baseball fans, but they represent the number of home runs and stolen bases, and it is a significant achievement in that it has achieved a high level of power hitting and good base running, which are difficult to overlap in terms of attributes (power/speed).

By the way, did you know that around the same time, Kyoto City also achieved 50/50 “season”, the first in Japan’s history. This 50/50 is about the number of extremely hot days and tropical nights. It is not something that everyone would be happy about, like home runs or stolen bases, because there were more than 50 days of extremely hot days with a daytime high of over 35°C and more than 50 days of tropical nights with a low of over 25°C from the evening to the next morning.

With the recent heatwaves which continue day and night, turning on the air conditioner has become a necessary action to protect lives. This also brings back memories of the “energy-saving era” when people were told to “turn up the temperature of the air conditioner.”

I’m not an expert on weather, so I apologize for not having any scientific evidence, but it’s hard to imagine that the heatwaves will ease and the earth will cool down in the next few years or decades. It seems like the hot, uncomfortable summers will continue for quite some time to come, so what we need to think about is the choice of housing.

Earthquake resistance standards have evolved over the years, from old earthquake resistance to new earthquake resistance, but now insulation standards are becoming stricter. It all started with the so-called “Energy Conservation Law” enacted in 1980. It was revised in 2000, 2022, and 2024, and the standards have been raised even further.

Compared to earthquake resistance standards, insulation standards have not received as much attention from the average consumer. Insulation standards are for “energy saving” and “comfort,” so it may be inevitable that they have less impact than earthquake resistance standards, where living in a building that does not meet the standards can directly put your life at risk.

However, in these current extreme heat waves where elderly people have died because they spent the night without turning on their air conditioners, insulation of a home is not only a matter of life and death, but also an economic issue which reduces running costs when considering air conditioning efficiency. Also, while a highly earthquake-resistant building is a “preparation for emergencies” whose merits and demerits can only be felt during disasters such as earthquakes, the effects of a highly insulated building can be felt every day.

Generally speaking, newer properties have better insulation than older properties. The same can be said for condominiums and inexpensive detached houses. Considering that home buyers’ literacy about architecture is increasing year by year, won’t more people choose newer properties over older ones, and condominiums over detached houses, after considering insulation performance in the future?

I hope that Ohtani will continue to break records and provide some good news, but please stop setting records for midsummer days and tropical nights. Of course, what is desirable is a home that has achieved a high level of earthquake resistance and insulation performance.

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