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This is true, Europe is behind in AC installations. Here in Greece most houses have AC as well as other means of cooling (shades, heat shielding, natural means.

This is true, Europe is behind in AC installations. Here in Greece most houses have AC as well as other means of cooling (shades, heat shielding, natural means...) but this is not so in Central/Northern Europe. I’ve also heard about AC installation companies expanding business up north where demand is growing year by year. See below a small paragraph from [0]: “Europe accounts for just 6 percent of the global share of air-conditioners, compared with 23 percent for the United States and 35 percent for China, according to a 2018 report by the International Energy Agency. More than 90 percent of Japanese and American households have an air conditioning system; fewer than 10 percent of Europeans’ have one. In Germany, the figure is below 2 percent.“ [0] https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/25/world/europe/heatwave-record-temperatures.html https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/25/world/europe/heatwave-rec...

ses1984 7y ago
In Poland the delay to get an air conditioner installed for this season was measured in months sometimes.
- jefftk 7y ago
  Why not install a window unit?
  - tgsovlerkhgsel 7y ago
    European windows open on hinges, they don't slide. This makes it hard to install such an unit and keeping the window airtight. It's also hard to get agreement from landlords (most people rent), so many people get portable units that blow hot exhaust air out via a dryer-vent style hose. That get stuck out the window, and the window is poorly air-tightened using a velroed-on barrier. The advantage is that it requires zero "modifications" and thus you can just do it. The downside is that they're horribly inefficient.
  - cylinder 7y ago
    Window units are not common outside of the US (thank God). Much more common overseas are split systems.
blattimwind 7y ago
> This is true, Europe is behind in AC installations. That's because historically you simply didn't need AC in Central and Northern Europe. Also, only recently residential buildings ("zero energy house") have begun to use air-based heating which makes central AC feasible. (Obviously when you use AC you can forget the "zero energy" part). So for the huge majority of the existing buildings retrofitting AC is only feasible for a select few rooms due to cost.
dTal 7y ago
>Europe is behind in AC installations I do not like this wording. It implies that progress entails an inevitable march of more and more air conditioning, and that this is a good and desirable thing, and that Europe needs to get with the program and start installing more AC. I see AC installation as a net bad: it indicates that temperatures are exceeding comfortable levels, it burns energy (which will exacerbate the temperature problem in the long run), and it relieves the need to design buildings so that they maintain a comfortable temperature without AC. The fact that demand for AC is rising is extremely alarming.

ses1984 7y ago

In Poland the delay to get an air conditioner installed for this season was measured in months sometimes.

jefftk 7y ago
Why not install a window unit?
- tgsovlerkhgsel 7y ago
  European windows open on hinges, they don't slide. This makes it hard to install such an unit and keeping the window airtight. It's also hard to get agreement from landlords (most people rent), so many people get portable units that blow hot exhaust air out via a dryer-vent style hose. That get stuck out the window, and the window is poorly air-tightened using a velroed-on barrier. The advantage is that it requires zero "modifications" and thus you can just do it. The downside is that they're horribly inefficient.
- cylinder 7y ago
  Window units are not common outside of the US (thank God). Much more common overseas are split systems.

blattimwind 7y ago

> This is true, Europe is behind in AC installations. That's because historically you simply didn't need AC in Central and Northern Europe. Also, only recently residential buildings ("zero energy house") have begun to use air-based heating which makes central AC feasible. (Obviously when you use AC you can forget the "zero energy" part). So for the huge majority of the existing buildings retrofitting AC is only feasible for a select few rooms due to cost.

dTal 7y ago

>Europe is behind in AC installations I do not like this wording. It implies that progress entails an inevitable march of more and more air conditioning, and that this is a good and desirable thing, and that Europe needs to get with the program and start installing more AC. I see AC installation as a net bad: it indicates that temperatures are exceeding comfortable levels, it burns energy (which will exacerbate the temperature problem in the long run), and it relieves the need to design buildings so that they maintain a comfortable temperature without AC. The fact that demand for AC is rising is extremely alarming.