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I think this whole heat wave crisis has been shocking to the rest of the world to see that apparently Europeans refuse to install AC even in new-build homes and

• colechristensen 3mo ago
  Collective cultural delusion? Koreans think leaving a fan on while you're sleeping is deadly... people are weird.
• jltsiren 3mo ago
  Things are already much better than they used to be. The 2003 heatwave killed ~70k. This year's heatwave was worse, but the number of deaths probably didn't go much beyond 20k.
  • 4gotunameagain 3mo ago
    We also recently had COVID to cull the herd. I imagine many people are missing from the stats because of it.
• bryanlarsen 3mo ago
  Even in new build homes? IIUC, many people in Europe were taking advantage of the incentives to install heat pumps as a back door mechanism to install A/C. After all a heat pump is essentially just A/C with a reverser switch. But that only works in homes with forced air heating. Most of Europe doesn't use forced air heating. You can replace a boiler with a heat pump, but if you do you don't magically get A/C too. In 2026 it seems silly to do new builds in a cold climate with anything but a forced air heat pump.
  • vrganj 3mo ago
    It also works in homes with wall heating. My parents now have wall cooling, which is much nicer than any forced air AC.
    • weberer 3mo ago
      >wall cooling That sounds like a big mold risk if its causing condensation in the walls. Wall heating, on the other hand sounds like a great idea.
      • vrganj 3mo ago
        Their walls are autoclaved aerated concrete, which is pretty good at both insulating (so less cooling needed) and absorbing/diffusing humidity, so I think in their case it's fine. It's a pretty cool material!
      • ben_w 3mo ago
        We have underfloor heating/cooling; the only mould we see anywhere now is a small amount on the skylight, and previously some in the bathroom that was due to a leaking roof the builders have since made good. Condensation needs humidity, not just a lower temperature. In summer, this is rare, even though we're in Berlin which is essentially built in the middle of a huge area of low-lying marshy woodlands.
• zarzavat 3mo ago
  It's nothing new. In 2003 there was a huge heatwave and thousands of people died: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_European_heatwave https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_European_heatwave The reason is simple to understand. For the majority of the time the AC would sit idle. Some years AC is not required at all because the summer is mild. It's hard to get people to spend money on things that they don't need most of the time, it's like buying insurance.
  • iso1631 3mo ago
    There were 2-3 days a year above 30C in London from 1995 to 2015. Since then it's been about 6 days a year, and this year has already broken that
  • mysterydip 3mo ago
    or (to put it in an IT context) backup and DR services/hardware.
  • alex7o 3mo ago
    Ok but you can use AC in the winter as well, you've an use it only to dry the air in your apartment. So this is not a real argument to me once you know what it can do and how it does it, there is no reason not to have one. Outside it is 25°C but I still run my AC at 22°C and it is super efficient as this is the case where AC excels at efficiency when the diff is small. It is a heat pump, sometimes I would run it when outside is colder and inside is veru warm as it moves heat faster than opening the window and waiting. I know not AC are/were heat pumps but I don't know of any that are not anymore
    • loloquwowndueo 3mo ago
      You can still buy a cooling-only unit no problem. Slightly cheaper than a heat pump.
      • alex7o 3mo ago
        Yes but still, I don't think it is worth it when you can heqt with it more efficiently than burning gas or coal.
• vrganj 3mo ago
  It's mostly about the perception that AC is a band-aid that doesn't just stall fixing the root cause of climate change caused by excessive energy consumption, but actively makes it worse.
  • globular-toast 3mo ago
    Why is this "a perception"? It's true isn't it? I'm going to get AC but the situation is quite worrying.
    • vrganj 3mo ago
      Indeed. It is true. However, it's not exactly helping if the other side of the pond burns gas turbines to power their AI dreams and tells us to "just get AC bro". AC does make the problem worse, the issue is just that climate change is mostly out of Europe's control.
    • Muromec 3mo ago
      It isn't necessarily true. Here (bottom of the sea) it's only hot when the there isn't any clouds, so solar energy that produces the heat is also producing the electricity to run the AC. It's also a misdirection of guilt. It's not the accumulated CO2 from the decades of burning all kinds of shit that is driving the weather, it's your personal AC unit.
      • estearum 3mo ago
        You're describing a very new and not-yet-realized state of affairs where large amounts of power comes from solar. In that world, then yeah obviously the initial concern isn't valid.
        • Muromec 3mo ago
          Not realized? I live in the world where I do have 1 KW/h of solar panels on my roofs and I know some people who have 4 times that. That should be able to run the split system (which I don't have, so I'm not the best informed here). It's fair to criticize this from the social equality perspective, but there are times when the network is saturated with zero emission electricity. But then again, should I also not use the electric oven (I don't have the actual gas oven for the same reasons I have ) after dark when it's not windy?
• rwmj 3mo ago
  Which bit of Europe are you talking about? Italy and Spain have AC everywhere. Further north it hasn't been necessary until very recently, and now people are fighting in shops to buy portable units and there are going to be loads of permanent installations once things settle down later this year.
  • swiftcoder 3mo ago
    > Italy and Spain have AC everywhere Southern Spain may, but it's virtually unheard of up here in Galicia/Asturias/Cantabria. Even many businesses in these parts don't have AC, and our Ourense region has pretty regularly had 40+ C days the last ~5 summers
    • mjorgers 3mo ago
      In the Canary Islands, where it’s not just hot, but also humid, you’ll be pressed to find a restaurant with AC. Some businesses do, but frankly it’s quite rare, and often times I’ve entered a business and felt a slap of heat in the face. Quite different from Madrid
• exe34 3mo ago
  We'll just sweat it out and complain. It's more fun!
• Al-Khwarizmi 3mo ago
  The south already mostly had AC. The north was too busy criticizing the south for things like closing shops in the afternoon, using blinds, eating late, and of course using AC. Now I guess they're beginning to realize that maybe it's not that the south is "lazy" but just adaptation. Toning down the snark, to be honest, most places in countries like France and Germany didn't have AC because up to a few years ago, maybe they'd seriously need it one week per year or so... it didn't make sense for them to have it just to keep it turned off 99% of the time. I'm sure they will adapt, but it always takes some time to change the old ways.
  • 4gotunameagain 3mo ago
    When the temperature in Berlin is higher than 30degC, it becomes the south. People start to shout, honk, argue in the streets, stay up late. We are affected by the weather much more than we'd like to admit.
    • deleted 3mo ago
      [deleted]
  • DicIfTEx 3mo ago
    This reminds me of a very interesting book called “Southern Thought and Other Essays on the Mediterranean” by Franco Cassano: https://academic.oup.com/fordham-scholarship-online/book/20869 https://academic.oup.com/fordham-scholarship-online/book/208... In short, he argues that Mediterranean countries must reject the northern European denigration of them as backwards, old-fashioned and workshy, and instead reclaim their cultures as vitally human and a necessary corrective to an over-focus on 'efficiency'.
• globular-toast 3mo ago
  How would installing AC help if your job is outside? It would actually make it worse!
• jonwinstanley 3mo ago
  If you only need it for 4 days a year, it’s still a big expense that needs some thought
• Tade0 3mo ago
  I think this was overhyped in the media. I live at 51°N and apartments in my building that face the south largely have AC. I've seen a lot of AC company vans in my neighborhood lately, so I guess many people pulled that trigger this year. Personally I went to the mountains as it's a 2h drive and naturally cool, moist air beats AC every time. The people who refuse to install it and make up the majority of deaths are simply old - older than the average life expectancy in the US - and thus typically pinching pennies - especially that for the vast majority of their lives it wasn't necessary. My father had AC installed a several years ago due to his health and it was probably working overtime this season. My mother lives in a commie block that is well insulated and surrounded by green spaces, so the heatwave didn't affect her nearly as much. My college friend discovered his heat pump is actually reversible, so now instead of heated, they have cooled floors. Unfortunately the device wasn't smart enough to on one hand use the heat to heat up tap water and the cold to cool the surroundings, but I guess you can't have everything.
• r_lee 3mo ago
  because "in ze yurop we don't need ze AC!" and here we are now....
• mrkeen 3mo ago
  Work is outside. Workers are demanding to stay inside (with their AC) instead of going outside.
• apexalpha 3mo ago
  Theres no such thing as “Europeans”. Where I live almost 70% has aircon, all new homes have it too or a proper heatpump.
  • Freedom2 3mo ago
    It's kind of similar how there is no such thing as "Americans". Basically every state is as diverse as it's own country!
  • snootypoot 3mo ago
    europeans are the native inhabitants of the region known globally as europe. glad to help.
• coldtea 3mo ago
  >I think this whole heat wave crisis has been shocking to the rest of the world to see that apparently Europeans refuse to install AC even in new-build homes and it is causing enormous numbers of deaths. What is the reason for this? Because the Northern Europe didn't historically need it (average summer warm weather was like 75 degrees or less), so it was mostly seen as environmentally unfriendly and more of a stupid US indulgence, like being able-bodied but still going to the supermarket on a motorized wheelchair. The South that did need it, has already had it for the most part.
• deleted 3mo ago
  [deleted]
• lemontheme 3mo ago
  I can only speak for western Europe. New-builds prioritize energy efficiency, because energy is expensive and, depending on the region, involves burning fossil fuels. There also tax incentives. The lucky new builds have reversible floor heating attached to a heat pump. That can keep the temperature around 26 celsius. Still on the warmer side but not unbearable. Anyway, AC is (or at least was) seen as a last resort, hardly worth it for the ten or so actually hot days we get a year. Obviously, that counter has been steadily going up, so the mindset is changing.
• tempodox 3mo ago
  > and energy costs are so high So we have climate change with concomitant heat waves caused by our energy consumption, and the obvious solution for this is … to consume more energy?