Technical note · Delhi NCR
A farmhouse sauna in Delhi NCR: winter in the cabin, May in the pool
A Delhi NCR farmhouse is a two-season property. From November to February the garden is the best room in the house, and the cabin is the reason to sit in it after dark; from April to June it is too hot to stay out in the afternoon, and the cold pool is the reason to. This note follows one plot through a year, and says where the equipment is asked to do the most.
In this note
What the climate tables say
At Safdarjung, the India Meteorological Department's 1991-2020 climatological table puts the mean daily minimum in January at 7.5 °C and the mean daily maximum in May at 39.9 °C. Rain is about 760 mm a year, mostly from July to September. The extremes sit well outside those means: IMD's station records show 48.0 °C at Palam on 11 June 2019 and -2.2 °C at Palam on 11 January 1967. A farmhouse suite therefore meets nearly the full range of what a heater and a chiller can be asked to do in one calendar year.
Winter: the cabin evenings
From November to February an outdoor cabin on a farmhouse deck is used at dusk and after dinner. The cabin reaches working temperature, 90-110 °C, in about 40 minutes under normal conditions; a cabin that has soaked in a cold night is the slowest to start, so the controller's timer is set to switch on earlier, and the glass cabin's heater is checked against the glass, as the glass-front saunas page explains. A warm pool at 38 °C beside the cabin makes the cold-night routine a loop of three stops rather than one.
Summer: the pool days and the plant
From April to June the cold pool is the suite. A larger round pool, 2.0 m across and 1.0 m deep, holds about 3,140 litres; taking it from 30 °C to 4 °C removes about 95 kWh of heat, and on a hot afternoon the pool is also gaining heat from the sun, from the paving and from every bather. We size the plant for a 45 °C ambient, start a new pool days before it opens, and draw a pergola over the water because shade removes more heat than a bigger compressor costs. The cold plunge pool page gives the arithmetic.
The generator question, in one sequence
A farmhouse may run on a mains supply with a diesel set behind it. If the cabin must run during an outage, the set has to carry the heater, which is why we add an interlock so that it never starts on the set by accident. If the cold plant must run, the set has to carry the compressor's starting current, which a soft-start reduces. The owner's electrician makes both decisions; the Delhi farmhouse profile shows how they were drawn.
Smog days and outdoor use
On days when the air quality is poor, households may stay in, and an outdoor cabin and an open pool are as exposed as the garden. A cabin draws its ventilation air from outside; it is not an air-filtered room. We make no health claims, and the household's doctor is the right person to ask. If this matters to you, ask us about a cabin inside an indoor wellness room, where the room's own air handling applies.
A calendar for the caretaker
| Months | What happens in the garden | What the caretaker does |
|---|---|---|
| November to February | Cold nights, cabin evenings | Switch the cabin on 40 minutes ahead; warm pool on a timer; cold plant in stand-by |
| March | Warming days | Annual service visit; clean the plant's coil; check the pool's filter |
| April to June | Heat builds to its May peak | Cold plant at full duty; pool covered by shade; water log daily |
| July to September | Monsoon rain | Check drains after every storm; cabin run weekly with the door ajar afterwards |
| October | Clear days return | Dry-out run of the cabin; service the plant's coil again |
A winter evening, hour by hour
| Time | What happens | Who does it |
|---|---|---|
| 17:00 | The cabin's timer has started the heater, about 40 minutes ahead of the first session | The controller |
| 17:45 | The family walks across the lawn; the warm pool is at 38 °C, the cold pool at 4 °C | Nobody: it is already set |
| 18:00-19:00 | Cabin, cold pool, rest, repeat; towels from the niche; a shawl on the bench | The family |
| 19:15 | Cabin door left ajar; the heater is switched off from the panel outside | The family or the caretaker |
| Next morning | The caretaker checks the water log and wipes the glass | The caretaker |
Before the first winter: a checklist
- Confirm the supply: single or three phase, and the DB way reserved for the heater.
- Confirm what the generator carries during an outage, and what the interlock allows.
- Test the make-up water for dissolved solids and hardness, and set the filtration accordingly.
- Walk the lawn path in the dark and fix the lights and the stepping stones.
- Brief the caretaker: switch-on, daily check, stand-by and who to call.
- Book the first service visit for March, before the heat.
Is a sauna sensible in a hot city?
In the Delhi winter, yes: it is the season when the garden is the best room in the house. In summer the cabin is for the contrast with the cold pool, not for the heat.
Can one suite do both seasons?
Yes. A glass cabin and a hot and cold suite are sized for both: the heating loop and the cabin for winter nights, the cold plant and the shade for May and June.
What does the owner do in a three-week absence?
Leave the plant in stand-by and the circulation on its timer. The caretaker card says which.
Further notes
Technical notes that continue this one
Timber and steel in the monsoon
Which timber, which stainless grade, which gaskets and which routines keep a cabin sound in Mumbai and Goa.
Open the page
Specifying a tub with a chiller
Litres, pull-down energy, design ambient, placement and power: the six numbers behind a chiller order.
Open the page
Spec-sheet checklist for consultants
Thirty-six lines on geometry, loads, electrical, water, air and safety, for a sauna and cold plunge package.
Open the pageFrom note to drawing
Send photographs of the farmhouse plot and the DB; we draw the suite for both seasons
Send the plan; the layout comes back
A floor plan or three photographs, the location of the distribution board and what you intend to build. The reply is a 3D layout, an equipment schedule and a range in lakh.
Open WhatsApp with the briefSpecify the suite first