Three distinct origins: the tropical climate, climate change, and your home's design. Separating them is what keeps you from spending money on the wrong fix.
The climate sets a hot, humid starting point (24.91 °C average). Climate change pushes it upward, especially at night. But how much heat ends up inside your house is largely determined by the roof and the building envelope. That's where an intervention pays off the most.
Panama has warmed by about 0.23 °C per decade since 1970 See evidence. National projections show that nighttime temperatures are rising the most, by at least +2.18 °C by 2070 See evidence. That explains why it's getting harder for the house to cool down at night.
Sources: World Bank (2024) and MiAmbiente (2024).
Panama's own standard sets comfort at 26 °C, with an acceptable range of 23.5 to 28.5 °C See evidence. This changes everything: every degree the envelope avoids gaining brings the house closer to comfort without turning on a unit.
The sun heats the roof, which can exceed 65 °C at the surface See evidence. That heat crosses the material (conduction), the inner face radiates it toward people (radiation), and the reheated air moves through the rooms (convection). The best solutions attack the earliest links in that chain.
Breakdown per Sharma & Sengar (2019), hot dry climate. See limits. This is an extrapolation: the robust conclusion is that the roof dominates.
A. What climate change is making worse (more hot days and nights). B. What's normal for a tropical climate (baseline heat and humidity). C. What depends on your house (roof, color, ceiling, shade). We don't blame everything on climate: part C is the most manageable.
Every important claim links to its evidence. Tap to see the source, its context and its limits: World Bank MiAmbiente Standard DOE Heat balance. Full bibliography in the evidence library.