Today, in the age of skyscrapers and skyscrapers, the question is more relevant than ever: is it harmful to live on high floors? To understand this issue and be sure to the end, in this article we will give you all the pros and cons of housing above the 7th floor.
The prospect of the development of high-rise buildings
Today, the technology of building houses has changed a lot - in the last century there was a completely different approach: the longer the house, the bigger it is. In million-plus cities, there are still long old houses. In Russia and the CIS countries, such buildings were built mainly in the Soviet years. At that time, the apartments were basically of the same plan, and the height of the houses reached a maximum of 12 floors. But now the situation has changed dramatically - it is more convenient for builders to build houses up, because such "house-points" take up little space, compared to analogues. Buildings begin to reach 25-30 floors, and some of them even become skyscrapers 50 floors high.
Is it harmful to live on high floors? This question concerns mainly those who decide to buy an apartment in such a building. And these are young families with children, for example.
Benefits
But first, let's talk about the benefits of living in a high-rise building.
- You have a magnificent panorama, a beautiful view. On the aesthetic side, such buildings offer the owner of apartments on the upper floors to enjoy the impressive view from the window.
- Many insects (mosquitoes, wasps, midges) do not reach high floors. If you do not like flying insects, which are many in the summer, then an apartment in a tall house is your choice. Not only can most pests not reach you, statistics show that the likelihood of spreading cockroaches and other insects is much less (especially if you do not have pets in your apartment).
- The air is cleaner as you move away from the earth. This is a scientific fact. Heavy metals settle below the 7th floor. Emissions from factories and enterprises greatly affect the state of the environment in big cities. So far, no better solution has been found than to live as high as possible so that harmful substances do not enter your body.
- Relative silence: cars, trains or loud music from the street will not hurt you. Probably, each of you met in the evening with a loud alarm from a car or other extraneous noise on the street during your vacation. An apartment on a high floor will provide more silence from such inconveniences than an apartment on the first 5 floors.
disadvantages
Now it’s worth talking about the shortcomings of life in high-rises. About whether it is harmful to live on high floors, you will learn from the following disadvantages:
- nebula;
- increased fire hazard;
- stale air;
- likelihood of breakage of elevators;
- power lines;
- inability to open windows;
- inconvenience of pet care;
- high cost.
But first things first.
Nebula
So, perhaps it’s worth starting with the fact that an ordinary person does not quite understand that with a high probability of a nebula, he will be very uncomfortable. The higher the floor - the more foggy, if we talk about this phenomenon without going into details. Is it harmful to live on high floors during fog? In some cases, yes.
In big cities like Moscow or St. Petersburg, a phenomenon like smog is often observed. It is formed from many factors, and all of them are often associated with ecology. During smog, air becomes toxic and can cause asthma in asthmatics as well as more serious problems even in healthy people. If you are going to buy an apartment on a high floor, first look at the weather news in the city you are going to live in - this will allow you to make the right choice.
Increased fire hazard
This category of harm relates more to skyscrapers or very tall houses. The fact is that they are faced with glass or its derivatives. Glass transmits light, but it also has the ability to reflect it. And so intense that some glare can heat a nearby tree, for example. Like a magnifying glass, the skyscraper itself can heat up, and if its builders did not count on it, force majeure can happen. Is it harmful to live above the 7th floor if the house heats up? Yes, of course. Hot walls increase overall fire hazard.
It is also worth paying attention to the fact that with a real fire, evacuating from a tall building is much more difficult. The high floor is harmful from the point of view of fire safety - the closer the apartment is to the exit from the building, the more likely it is to leave it in an emergency if it is not damaged. This should also be considered when choosing a tall building for an apartment.
History knows many cases when, due to fires in high-rise buildings, not everyone managed to take the right measures to evacuate.
Stale air
Is it harmful to live on high floors? A medical opinion and assessment suggest that as you move farther from the ground, the air becomes stale. Oxygen is formed from the foliage of plants, and the highest plants in the city are trees. From an environmental point of view, the most comfortable floor for housing will be the one that is at the same height as the crowns of trees. In general, a house located next to a park or a forest belt is a great combination for the younger generation. Children perceive clean air and the environment much better than adults, so if you have a child, first of all think about his future.
When a person consumes oxygen, the air becomes stale and lighter, heading higher and higher. Thus, if you live too high, only stale air will reach you. It is less useful and unsaturated. High floors are unhealthy.
Today this problem is being solved by building high-rise buildings on the outskirts of the city: creating artificial parks and reserves, as well as digging river beds. As new residential areas are populated, trees and bushes are planted. But then again, a lot of people live in modern residential complexes , and after a while a lot of cars appear. This explains why it is harmful to live above the 7th floor. To people living too high, non-exhausted air practically does not enter. But if you leave your house every day and take a walk, then the artificial park will help to get enough of clean and fresh air.
Lift Breakage Probability
Imagine that you live on the 25th floor. There are several elevators in your house, as expected, but suddenly it happens that all of them at once become inaccessible, or simply malfunctioning. What to do? That's right, there is only one way out - to go home on foot, on the steps. Naturally, many will consider hiking even a plus - training for the body, but not all people run in the mornings and go in for sports. Therefore, it is impossible to definitely say above which floor it is harmful to live for health, from the point of view of such force majeure.
Fortunately, today in each new high-rise building, elevators are duplicated, and in some front rooms 3 and 4 elevators are installed. It all depends on the means and desire of the builder to make his home more comfortable.
Power lines
Few people know, but power lines adversely affect health. High-voltage portals, power lines and substations create an electromagnetic field of a certain radius during their operation. This is confirmed by many studies. Is it harmful to live on high floors if there is a power line nearby? Definitely yes. You do not notice, but the electromagnetic field influences you constantly in different situations: telephone network, wireless Internet, antennas - all these devices create a field around you. True, it is worth making a reservation, because the fields emitted by these devices are normalized and, even when working together, can not cause particular harm to health.
But with the power grids and towers next to the houses, the situation is different: as a rule, if there is a power line next to the new building, this means that the developer simply decided to save on the construction site. And people living on high floors can actually be in danger. The electromagnetic field affects the human psyche. You become more annoyed and depressed. For a long time, the effect of the field can even lead to infertility, so when choosing an apartment in a high-rise building, you need to pay attention to such a seemingly invisible, at first glance, problem.
Can't open windows?
The main problem in skyscrapers, which no real estate seller will tell you about, is that windows above the 30th floor are simply impossible to open. That is why the lining of at least the upper floors is made panoramic, and instead of air vents, air conditioners are used. In general, as you climb in a house, many factors change, one of the most important is the atmosphere. Air from the air conditioners helps to maintain balance, and at the same time provides a favorable temperature for people and rooms. Air conditioners themselves do not do any harm, but the inability to open windows for some becomes a good reason not to buy an apartment in a high-rise building.
The disadvantages of pet care
This problem applies only to pet lovers who go for walks daily with their pets. If you, for example, have a big dog that you need to walk every day - first think about buying an apartment in a high-rise. After all, you will spend enough time just to leave the house. Together with idle elevators there is a chance to go down and climb the stairs on foot.
Moreover, some animals are very sensitive to the environment in which they are located, this suggests that the high floor can only harm them. As a rule, it is more convenient to live with pets if the apartment is closer to the entrance, therefore it is definitely worth considering that caring for a pet on high floors is a rather difficult task.
High cost
And of course, the main drawback for residents of such houses is that, as the floor grows, so does the price per square meter of the apartment. This is due to the fact that tall houses are harder to build and many would prefer to buy apartments on the upper floors than on the first. The rent here is also higher than the first, because the pressure of water, for example, requires more for the upper floors.
Conclusion
Despite all the shortcomings, life on a high floor may seem more comfortable for many, for some it is generally a luxury. The vast majority, according to polls, choose the option of living high than on the first floors. Each for himself will decide where he lives less harmful to health and more safely.