People in Europe are in a very bad spot because they’ve never really invested in cooling systems because they didn’t have to. It’s going to take a massive effort to address.
Window AC units exist, and are extremely easy to install. They’re nowhere near as effective as a central AC unit, but they don’t need to be. Just strategically cool the small rooms where you’ll spend a lot of time, like the bedrooms and office. The rest of the house can stay hot, because you’re intentionally not spending a lot of time there (because it is hot). That’s how lots of people in the US live, because lots of places in the US don’t have central AC but have been dealing with the high temps for far longer than Europe.
“But my windows don’t work with a window unit” I can already hear some people typing. Great, heat pumps and mini-splits exist. A single hole drilled to the outside, and you now have the ability to independently heat and cool each room.
It’s even more complicated than that. Firstly Europe is a bit very big place, it’s comparable to the size of United States but with much more temperature fluctuation because it’s slightly further north as a unit.
At least for a lot of countries in Northern Europe the UK Germany Poland etc our houses aren’t built to be air conditioned, we don’t have air ducts, and we don’t have the slidy windows that are in US buildings so we couldn’t install window units. So even if I can find an engineer who knew how to install an air conditioning unit there wouldn’t be a lot of point anyway. Going forward houses are going to have to be re-engineered so that they can support air conditioning, I have no idea what we’re going to do with all the old stock.
It’s really not that complicated though. Our houses easily support air-conditioning, what the hell are you talking about? If anything, our houses are better suited as they are insulated really well. Just cut a damn hole through the wall and install a split unit.
We’re just not used to it and until now it was considered a waste of energy. That’s it.
The house I live in is cold as fuck by the way. And I don’t have an AC unit. I just don’t open the doors and windows during daytime. At night I let the cooler air in. I do live in the northern part of Germany though. That may not be viable for you.
You drill a single hole into an exterior wall and you mount a mini split system. You don’t need to do central air systems to have AC, in fact I think the consensus is they’re less efficient for individual homes and flats.
In Germany, and I assume everywhere else, the largest issue is landlords have no incentive to take care of their properties past maintaining it from a sellable perspective. Never in my lifetime has one of my landlords voluntarily made the living conditions of their property better. The moment it goes into law that homes have to be cool able down to 24° (like we mandate for heating in the winter) or landlords are outlawed (thus allowing everyday citizens to improve their homes) AC becomes a very solvable issue. I’d have installed AC in my last two flats if my landlord had let me even just take it out of rent. But no, absolutely no reason to reinvest in a home you don’t live in and plan to use to supplement your income.
People in Europe are in a very bad spot because they’ve never really invested in cooling systems because they didn’t have to. It’s going to take a massive effort to address.
and that massive effort, unless based on renewable energy supplies, will only exacerbate the issue.
Window AC units exist, and are extremely easy to install. They’re nowhere near as effective as a central AC unit, but they don’t need to be. Just strategically cool the small rooms where you’ll spend a lot of time, like the bedrooms and office. The rest of the house can stay hot, because you’re intentionally not spending a lot of time there (because it is hot). That’s how lots of people in the US live, because lots of places in the US don’t have central AC but have been dealing with the high temps for far longer than Europe.
“But my windows don’t work with a window unit” I can already hear some people typing. Great, heat pumps and mini-splits exist. A single hole drilled to the outside, and you now have the ability to independently heat and cool each room.
It’s even more complicated than that. Firstly Europe is a bit very big place, it’s comparable to the size of United States but with much more temperature fluctuation because it’s slightly further north as a unit.
At least for a lot of countries in Northern Europe the UK Germany Poland etc our houses aren’t built to be air conditioned, we don’t have air ducts, and we don’t have the slidy windows that are in US buildings so we couldn’t install window units. So even if I can find an engineer who knew how to install an air conditioning unit there wouldn’t be a lot of point anyway. Going forward houses are going to have to be re-engineered so that they can support air conditioning, I have no idea what we’re going to do with all the old stock.
If it must change it might be cool to have a blade runner vibe where old buildings are retrofitted with futuristic technology.
It’s really not that complicated though. Our houses easily support air-conditioning, what the hell are you talking about? If anything, our houses are better suited as they are insulated really well. Just cut a damn hole through the wall and install a split unit.
We’re just not used to it and until now it was considered a waste of energy. That’s it.
The house I live in is cold as fuck by the way. And I don’t have an AC unit. I just don’t open the doors and windows during daytime. At night I let the cooler air in. I do live in the northern part of Germany though. That may not be viable for you.
You drill a single hole into an exterior wall and you mount a mini split system. You don’t need to do central air systems to have AC, in fact I think the consensus is they’re less efficient for individual homes and flats.
In Germany, and I assume everywhere else, the largest issue is landlords have no incentive to take care of their properties past maintaining it from a sellable perspective. Never in my lifetime has one of my landlords voluntarily made the living conditions of their property better. The moment it goes into law that homes have to be cool able down to 24° (like we mandate for heating in the winter) or landlords are outlawed (thus allowing everyday citizens to improve their homes) AC becomes a very solvable issue. I’d have installed AC in my last two flats if my landlord had let me even just take it out of rent. But no, absolutely no reason to reinvest in a home you don’t live in and plan to use to supplement your income.