When we go to movies, my wife and I both wear extra shirts to combat the arctic blast that is the air conditioned atmosphere within the theatre. This is the case even in high summer. If a showing is popular, the large number of bodies can overwhelm an AC system, and the temperature slowly ramps up from very uncomfortably cold to pleasantly cool. By the time the movie has ended, the place feels almost nice. Perhaps a different approach to cooling a customer is required.
AC works great and will keep you cool, but even more effective is cooling the person directly. By running chilled water lines through the floor of the theatre - this idea works best if installed in new construction, retrofits would be difficult and expensive - and connecting said water lines to a small variable control mounted in the arm of the seat, thence to smaller flexible chilling lines in the cushions, the moviegoer could then command his seat to cool his back and thighs a little or a lot, according to his preference.
The benefits are these: the average cooling load would go down. Running chilled water would allow the cooling system to be modularized, and only the cooling units necessary to handle the present load would operate; the system would activate in stages according to how many people in seats were demanding cooling. If a showing draws very few people, then maybe only one small compressor runs to serve them. The air conditioning system (separate from the seat cooling system) could be made significantly smaller and quieter. Quieter would be really nice compared to the thundering huge units in use at moviehouses around here; they are loud enough to be noticed even during the movie - though they do add a nice background rumble during ominous scenes.
When the movie is over and the house lights come up, all the controls default to OFF and cannot be reset for, say, fifteen minutes, or however long it typically takes the cleanup crew to process the theatre. In this way, the seats don't get left on "FROSTY" all night, and saves the cinema owner a lot of money on utility bills.-- elhigh, Jul 13 2005 I originally read this as "Custard-cooled theatre"! Now there's an idea!! I agree that movie theatres are always too cold, Makes a good excuse to cuddle up on the back row though.......-- Minimal, Jul 13 2005 I'm just wondering if a thermal imaging camera might not be handy here - it could automagically see which people's skin temperatures shows they were hot, and just chill them. (welcome BTW - I missed your arrival).-- neilp, Jul 15 2005 How 'cool' would it be to have a theatre which ajusted seat temperature interactively with the film? A film scene based in the sahara would see seat temperatures rising, a scene in the arctic would have the opposite effect.-- Fishrat, Jul 15 2005 There's a concept I hadn't considered, making the seat an interactive element. With the addition of a few inexpensive gizmos, you could give moviegoers a big nasty poke in the arse when the bad guy gets shot...
No. Too much yelling. Then the jerk ejector systems would overload...-- elhigh, Jul 15 2005 //I originally read this as "Custard-cooled theatre"!// - You've really cottoned on to this place very quickly haven't you [Minimal]?
[elhigh] - [+]
Sp: "theatre"-- wagster, Jul 15 2005 Theatre is how we spell it here in the UK!! "#You say Theater we say Theatre lets call the whole thing off......#"-- Minimal, Jul 15 2005 [minimal] I think [wags] is referring to the spelling in the title and the first and penultimate sentences of the idea.-- coprocephalous, Jul 15 2005 I thought that was the US spelling? Both versions are certainlly correct according to Answers.com-- Minimal, Jul 15 2005 Both are correct depending on which side of the Atlantic you're on. What gets me is that one is used in the title, and another in the first paragraph. Just pick one and stick with it. (edit: thanks for picking one.)
Now that I'm done ranting, this is a great idea. [+]-- Freefall, Jul 15 2005 Done!-- elhigh, Jul 15 2005 <on a side note> [elhigh] you are one of only nine halfbakers to have used the word Thence. <oasn>-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Jul 17 2005 + And would have been one of eight, save the preceding anno.-- Zimmy, Jul 17 2005 Thence-- Minimal, Jul 18 2005 I'm too easily swayed by a well-turned phrase. How else could you explain writing like this coming from Tennessee?-- elhigh, Jul 18 2005 random, halfbakery