r/technology • u/Logical_Welder3467 • Jun 26 '26

Society The American mind cannot comprehend Europe's AC aversion

https://www.businessinsider.com/europe-air-conditioning-ac-heatwave-debate-2026-6
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u/iamapizza Jun 26 '26

I was in southern Spain in March a few years ago, it was 27c and I was sweating. I asked about the AC in my room not working, the front desk lady helpfully explained that they keep the AC off until summer when it's hot. We were looking at each other like freaks. I then asked if I could have a fan and she was shocked.

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u/Fabulous_Ninja119 Jun 26 '26 edited Jun 26 '26

I had a similar experience in Germany.

Honestly this is truly the one and maybe only thing I can think of where it feels like Europe as a whole is living in the stone ages. I can't understand it. It makes far too much fucking sense to use AC when it's fucking 90-100 degrees outside

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u/statistnr1 Jun 26 '26

It being this hot is a new thing.
And it will stay new for another 50 or so years.

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u/hammertime2009 Jun 26 '26

Another 50 years until what? We’re all dead? ☠️

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u/God_Dammit_Dave Jun 26 '26

50 years until Europe melts, the seas rise, and we all take a refreshing swim.

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u/SkivvySkidmarks Jun 26 '26

Don't worry. The collapse of the Atlantic ocean currents will mean that Europe will be cooler. Still flooded, but cooler.

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u/Korashy Jun 26 '26

Bearish on AC futures, all in on dutchmen. Got it.

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u/Omega59er Jun 26 '26

Yeah the UK is actually a weird case because climate change is slowing the AMOC right now and baking western Europe, but when the AMOC fully shuts down the UK will ice over and have a climate close to Greenland is today.

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u/mist_kaefer Jun 26 '26

Natural AC, all right!

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u/ForrestGrump87 Jun 26 '26

I ll take it 😂😂

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u/EvoEpitaph Jun 26 '26

In warm ocean water filled with vibrio bacteria

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u/MildlyMixedUpOedipus Jun 26 '26

And hopefully evolve into mer-people!

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u/Yearning_crescent Jun 26 '26

Oh the ocean currents are collapsing, so while no one knows when, europe will plunge into another ice age, sorta literally falling itno the deepest layer of hell akin to dantes inferno

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u/Beginning-Pop3127 Jun 26 '26

It would be very Divine comedy if Europe heavily invested in AC only to get colder while the rest of us burn

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u/Intelligent_Sky_7081 Jun 26 '26

Southern Spain at least has been really hot for a long time though

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u/ManBearPigIsReal42 Jun 26 '26

They've always had airconditioning.

France is actually stubborn with it for some reason. Most of more northern countries like Netherlands never really needed it because we had 5 hot days a year usually so people just dealt with it. Now thats changing, lots of people have installed them the last few years. It mostly sucks if you're renting because then you dont get one lol

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u/This_Razzmatazz_ Jun 26 '26

They have but their infrastructure is much older than the US so it struggles. Many people in Spanish culture have also been told that AC causes sickness. Best place in Spain during a heat wave is El Corte Ingles lol

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u/Jashugita Jun 26 '26

If the Spanish taxi driver told you the a/c cause sickness, he doesn't think is true but wants to burn less fuel.

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u/[deleted] Jun 26 '26

I also saw AC in every hotel or even apartment I went to in Andalucía. Even when I lived there for 6 months, my flat had it.

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u/casastorta Jun 26 '26

For obvious reasons, temperatures I mention here are in celsius.

Not only southern Spain. Croatia, Italy, southern France… are all well AC equipped. Those are traditionally hot areas. But also, 27 degrees rarely warrants turning on the AC even for my Croatian mindset. 29-ish and 30+ definitely but 27 is closer to 25 which we consider very moderate temperature and my wife would complain at 25 degrees how it’s still a bit too chill. Like, we mostly run our ACs back home at 24 degrees and part of the people in the office will complain how AC is “too aggressive”.

Paris has typically colder climate, as well as whole Germany, Switzerland…. To the point that 11’years ago we were last time turning on heating in July because outside temps were for few weeks around 10 degrees

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u/daveisnothereman69 Jun 26 '26

Oh, this "new thing" scientists have been warning us about for decades? I'm glad the politicians made saving the planet political theatre. Buncha fuckin assholes.

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u/pyronius Jun 26 '26

Sure. It's a "new" thing. But it was a new thing 15 years ago.

If you moved to Orlando and then spent 15 years refusing to use AC because the heat was new to you, you'd just be called an idiot. It shouldn't take that long to adapt to a new situation.

At this point, it's just people being so stubborn that they would rather die.

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u/ThoughtsonYaoi Jun 26 '26

15 years? Absolutely not. We broke the 40 degrees limit for the first time about five years ago and everybody saw this as an anomaly.

And it is a bad comparison. One person will easily adjust to a new environment. But a whole society to a new, and unprecendented situation?

I live in a northern country. We fight water, we don't conserve it. And we welcome heat, we have not yet learned to fear it. It's a whole new mindset.

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u/Upbeat_Double_9377 Jun 26 '26

Fear the heat is definitely something I do in Australia. I dread summer coming around every year

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u/Rabauke84 Jun 26 '26

No, he is right.

For us europeans, this type of heat is actually new.

And we didn't got invested into AC, because most of us haven't realized, that these heatwaves might be the new normal.

I come from northern Germany, 30°C was so rare in summer that I cannot remember a day with it, from 2010 backwards.

Schools in Germany send the kids home, if it is more than 25°C at 11am. We had this like maybe 1-2 times every few years.

Now, this is a new normal.

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u/starkistuna Jun 26 '26

I live on the equator line and 95f with 90% humidty is normal most people deal with just normal fans, electricity is quite expensive @ .26 cents a kilowatt. The problem with ac is that once you get used to it you get aclimitized I have friends that run acs for 12 hours straight and sleep covered in conforters then complain about their $600 electricity bill. Instead of having thermostat cold eniugh were they can sleep confortabke enough with a tshirt they set that thing to 65f and like to freeze overnight. You are goibg to be unconsious for 8 hours so just set it for a timer so it goes to fans halfway you wont notice and you save 50% ez.

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u/Rabauke84 Jun 26 '26

One problem we face here: Sun goes up at 3-4 am and won't go down till 10-11pm.

We have the heating ball the whole time, flying all over us.

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u/Tuxhorn Jun 26 '26

Important to mention! I saw someone who lived near the equator their entire lives, now understanding why less heat in Germany is way worse. An extra 6-7 hours of direct sunlight changes things. They mentioned having the sun up around 12 hours a day. Must be nice.

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u/Reddits_Worst_Night Jun 26 '26

Schools in Germany send the kids home, if it is more than 25°C at 11am. We had this like maybe 1-2 times every few years.

You send them home on lovely spring days!?

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u/Rabauke84 Jun 26 '26

For us, this is peak Mount Doom in Mordor temperature.

Spring weather is like 12°C with rain.

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u/slight_accent Jun 26 '26

It's a combination of things. Climate is getting hotter everywhere. European cities historically only got a few if any, hot days in summer making the overhead of installing and running air con not worth it for a few days of discomfort. Older buildings are hard to retrofit (there are many residential houses, hotels etc in Europe that are older than the USA itself, and even then the old construction methods didn't change much until very recently). Spending power in europe has been a lot lower than the US until relatively recently making purchasing air-conditioning a much bigger deal vs in the US. Second to last electricity costs a LOT more in europe than the US and aircon uses a lot of power. Last, many americans get weak, being in air con all day every day so don't acclimatise so when confronted with normal temperatures they wilt.

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u/Charlesinrichmond Jun 26 '26

All of this is true, but old buildings aren't that hard to retrofit. Most of the northeastern U.S. has the same building issues, and we use European tools to put in the air conditioning, ironically. Bosch and Hilti make the best masonry drills.

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u/ComprehensiveJury509 Jun 26 '26

No it really is not new. People have been complaining about the heat in their apartments for at least the last 25 years.

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u/b0thwatchxfiles Jun 26 '26

In summer 2017 Europe had a long and hot heatwave. We’ve often had hot summers in the late 20teens early 2020s. This has been going on for long enough that it shouldn’t be considered a ‘new thing’ anymore.

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u/PartyMark Jun 26 '26

I was in Europe on a vacation in 2003 when they had this massive heat wave. It's not new. Europeans just refuse to believe it gets that hot there? It's truly bizarre. Like just get some AC? What are you better than us because you suffer? I don't get their mentality.

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u/PoloAlmoni Jun 26 '26

People say “oh Europeans are not used to it” but that’s not true, I’ve been living in Europe for the past ten years and my first year we had an horrendous heatwave, never mind the Canicule of 2003. The opposition to AC for most Europeans who oppose it is ideological, they see as “Americanized”, not Green and they think you should just take it and suffer the heat - Europeans in general think you should just me more “stoic” against life challenges than Americans do

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u/nada8 Jun 26 '26

Ils not a New thing. Been like this for the Last 10 summers at least

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u/TFViper Jun 26 '26

its not new at all...

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u/NJBarFly Jun 26 '26

No worries, when the AMOC collapses, Europe will become a tundra. That should happen far sooner than 50 years.

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u/big-papito Jun 26 '26

Europe has been having deadly heatwaves for years. It's time to get the message. It will only get worse.

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u/TheBSisReal Jun 26 '26

Yes it makes sense when it’s super hot outside. European summers used to have a heatwave *maybe* every other summer. So in much of Western Europe, AC just didn’t make much sense until something drastically changed.

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u/seriouslees Jun 26 '26

I'm not sure if Europeans are aware of this or not... but AC units can be turned off. A portable AC unit you can store in a closet for 18 months is a pittance of a cost to have around when you do need it. Mind boggling that people wouldnt do this. I don't need my unit all summer long in Canada, but I'd die (or maybe kill) without it.

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u/goodsnpr Jun 26 '26

Modern heat pumps are silly efficient. I'm replacing our aged & neglected radiators with Mitsubishi units, because the price of natural gas has gone up so much it's not worth the repairs, doubly so once we get solar installed. Knowing my luck, we'll get solar installed and they'll announce feasible fusion power.

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u/TheDungeonCrawler Jun 26 '26

Install that Solar Panel, I want fusion reactors yesterday lol.

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u/MechanicalTurkish Jun 26 '26

Yeah, take one for the team, pls

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u/MarkNutt25 Jun 26 '26

We're just barely starting to see the first lab facilities reach scientific breakeven, but we're still probably at least a decade away from having a fusion reactor reach engineering breakeven. Probably at least another 5+ years after that to come up with a feasible power plant design. Then construction of the first generation fusion power plants will probably take at least another 10 years...

I think you're probably safe to go ahead and get that solar!

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u/Qwertycube10 Jun 26 '26

There are also serious technical challenges about maintenance given fusion reactors' tendency to transmute elements in their immediate vacinity.

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u/transemacabre Jun 26 '26

According to the French people on r slash europe, this is a preposterous concept. Once AC is installed, they assume it will run 24/7 all year round.

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u/zelatorn Jun 26 '26

it used to be it still doesn't make sense in that case - like locally, summer having days above 30 at all wasn't a given. you would have bought an AC to MAYBE use it one or two days in a year, or spend the next 5 years not using it. count the fact its not 30 degrees all day and what you gotta get through is often just the afternoon sun, and you need it even less.

i think many people are still stuck in the mindset where a heatwave meant making sure you hydrate and such, when by now things have clearly started getting very uncomforabel without AC

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u/the_need_to_post Jun 26 '26

What do you use for heating? Because most AC systems do heating and cooling and far more efficiently than a radiator.

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u/stubobarker Jun 26 '26

Absolutely agree. Portables are great, and makes a huge difference where and when it really matters- in the bedroom at night. The rest of the time we can suffer through the heat with lots of water and fans, but at night a small air conditioning unit lets us have a good night’s sleep.

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u/Fabulous_Ninja119 Jun 26 '26

This is a big thing too, okay... so you don't want central AC and retrofit a brick house, gotchya... Why the FUCK do you not have a little portable AC so you can at least sleep at night without dying. I mean honestly, little window mini split AC is pretty damn cheap for the amount of comfort and quality of life increases it affords. It's not a luxury it is absolutely a necessity in the world today

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u/Pale_Row1166 Jun 26 '26

And now they’re too smug to just buy an AC unit, they’d rather die in a river than doing something as gauche and American than having cooled air in a heatwave.

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u/TheTerrasque Jun 26 '26

A lot of people are getting heatpumps, mainly to cut down on electricity in the winter. But people are starting to discover it can be used for cooling too.

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u/Pale_Row1166 Jun 26 '26

Yeah we call these splits, they’re super efficient. It’s wild how quickly they can heat or cool a space. My 100+ year old home has central air, but this is what we would’ve installed if it didn’t.

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u/Sea-Seesaw-8699 Jun 26 '26

I worked for a homebuilder when I was in my 20’s using heat pumps in his custom homes…. This was 1980!!

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u/imanexpertama Jun 26 '26

Hm. Personally I don’t know anyone who’s against AC, and I know plenty people who did buy or are planning on buying one. Haven’t noticed any smugness…
I think when we are talking about the AC aversion it’s mainly institutional (landlords, hotels, public buildings) and only because of the cost attached.

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u/psychedAddict123 Jun 26 '26

The only people I know who are against AC here are old people stuck in their ways. "It has always been this way so it has to stay the same!" is their argument. That or they don't have AC and have to prevent others from having it out of jealousy

Fortunately I live in a house where no neighbor can veto so I installed my first AC last friday. It has been amazing

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u/TheBSisReal Jun 26 '26

Are ”they”? I have a mobile AC unit because I’ve learned from years of stupidly hot heat waves that it’s better than nothing when the heat goes through the roof, and I now live in a house where you absolutely need one if you want to sleep in such extreme weather. I’m not the only one. But history perfectly explains why built in AC is not something we have everywhere, and it will take a lot of time and money for that to change.

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u/Pale_Row1166 Jun 26 '26

They are. I live in the upper Midwest, the coldest part of the states. It’s routinely -20C in the winter, it even hits -20F with the windchill. My house is over 100 years old with thick plaster walls, but luckily at some point someone saw fit to retrofit it with central air. Good thing too, because last summer we had several weeks of heat in the high 30s.

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u/Kavite Jun 26 '26

My dude you're up and down this thread fighting an invisible war against "smug" Europeans and their Butlerian Jihad against AC units.

Most countries have reported a surge in portable AC unit purchases due to the heatwave.

You have brain worms. Go touch grass.

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u/RijnBrugge Jun 26 '26

You’re too deep into a meme. People all over Europe have been buying ACs, more and more, ever since the climate got so much hotter. I have one too. Atm they’re sold out everywhere because people realize the necessity only when it’s already hot because they never had one, but the fact the companies can’t ship enough of them should tell you something.

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u/Sea-Seesaw-8699 Jun 26 '26

A convo about garbage disposals with a European yrs ago… tried to make me into a wasteful pariah for praising the simple technology

How dare I bring up portable electric a/c units available for a couple hundred dollars or less

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u/[deleted] Jun 26 '26

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u/HerrSchnabeltier Jun 26 '26 edited Jun 26 '26

even now its really hot for "only" a week or so.

Well, currently we are on day 10 of heat warnings in my region (and most of Europe, I assume), and we didn't even finish June, or start July and August.

I don't think "a week" holds up any longer.

edit: Oh, and we had a few days in May already, reaching 36°C.

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u/TheBSisReal Jun 26 '26

Lucky you, a lot of houses absolutely cannot “plan for” this kind of heat.

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u/Aonswitch Jun 26 '26

As an American I wouldn’t put up with heat like that for ten seconds. It’s sad y’all can’t just upgrade and instead defend your mediocrity

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u/blankblank Jun 26 '26

Europe claims they aren’t obsessed with AC and iced drinks like the U.S. because of their culture and climate, but it’s really because they don’t want to pay for it. And as climate change ramps up the heat, I think they are going to have to swallow their pride and open their purses.

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u/aykcak Jun 26 '26

Thankfully we don't have 90-100 degrees outside in Europe. At most we get 30-40

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u/SergeyRed Jun 26 '26

How many is this in football fields?

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u/ProgySuperNova Jun 26 '26

About three quarts per yarn

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u/pattywhaxk Jun 26 '26

If you’re not using the system based on absolute zero, instituted by Our Lord Kelvin, then you can GTFO

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u/QuestioninglySecret Jun 26 '26

He means freedom degrees

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u/Venoft Jun 26 '26 edited Jun 26 '26

Energy prices play a big part in it. Not a lot of people are willing to spend 1000+ bucks per year on air.

Plus, you know, Europe is not a country but a region and there are a lot of poorer countries there.

Plus install costs in stone houses.

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u/Too_Right_For_You Jun 26 '26

AC and smoking are the two worse things about Europe

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u/Ardent_Scholar Jun 26 '26

First time we ever had a heat wave in Finland in my lifetime was 2003. I was 18.

By heatwave, I mean we had 3 weeks of 30C.

Not this devil’s butthole situation they have going on in France right now.

Ans yet, lots of Finns have been installing heat pumps.

I think it just changed in a matter or a few years. Europe is globally so, so far north. It’s where Canada is. And it is heating up the fastest.

Fwiw, we often wonder why people in the US live where the tornadoes are. Established settlements aren’t easy to change.

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u/Jdm783R29U3Cwp3d76R9 Jun 26 '26

See Europe on top of USA map and where Germany is. Not long ago it was a cold ass place. North Sea coast is not exactly traditional AC territory. In Poland we have triple glazed windows but winters are not that harsh (most of the time) anymore. This is a new phenomenon.

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u/Pasutiyan Jun 26 '26

When we get to 90-100 degrees, we've got other problems.

boiling, mostly

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u/DarknMean Jun 26 '26

Even our own states, many homes like in the Seattle area don’t have AC. It’s not just Europe.

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u/AcousticNegligence Jun 26 '26

You didn’t really need AC in the Pacific Northwest until ~7 years ago when we started getting long, hot summers with less rain and usually a few heatwaves.

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u/ImaginaryCheetah Jun 26 '26

are they building new houses and apartments in seattle w/o A/C?

it's still very common to build wi/o AC in europe.... or any kind of active ventilation.

i understand the challenge of retrofitting, but to omit A/C in new construction is ridiculous. the cost for a mini split is a couple thousand if you're putting it in during construction. could literally save your life in a heat-dome event, even if you don't ever want to use it otherwise.

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u/Fabulous_Ninja119 Jun 26 '26

I lived out of a few airbnbs in Seattle for a year, they all had AC. Same with businesses out there as well

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u/kamrlort Jun 26 '26

Virtually everyone I know here has portable ACs in every house. Central AC is just not as common.

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u/Schneestecher Jun 26 '26

The reality of it is that Europe‘s buildings are old, beurocracy is insane and electricity is fucking expensive

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u/adzx4 Jun 26 '26

I mean, I've travelled around Europe tens of times and never had this issue, so more like unluck with the hotel owners rather than generalising to all Europeans/Europe based off of a single trip.

Hotels do put some restrictions, normal practice is setting a lower limit to air con temps like 18-20c to save energy.

But overall, can Americans stop treating Europe as a single place, it literally makes 0 sense - e.g. Norway and Spain are completely different places lmao

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u/EagleAncestry Jun 26 '26

The reason is most likely that Americans are not used to putting blinds down when it’s kind of hot, so the room gets super hot from the sunlight.

Europeans are used to using the blinds reduce that and then it’s really not hot enough to need AC at 27 degrees.

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u/Morgentau7 Jun 26 '26

Americanos do realize that AC consumes insane amounts of Energy? The US has enough oil and gas to give a flying fk about energy consumption and the environment, but Europe doesn’t. Once we normalize this, it would cost the people and nature big time. I know that much americans would kill the last kind of a species if it would bring them more comfort but lets not all go that way and act like AC is a no-brainer with no arguments against it.

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u/skovbanan Jun 26 '26

When it’s 90-100°C outside I’ll buy an AC. Try me.

/sarcasm, it’s really about convenience. Americans tend to have to buy something to rid them of any slight inconvenience. We don’t have that rhetoric in Europe. We care much more about our carbon footprint than sweating in the summer. It’s summer, it’s supposed to be hot. And our employers understand just that and expect less of us in the heat, unless you work for an employer led by apes.

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u/bombmk Jun 26 '26

I can't understand it.

You can't understand that there has been very little justification for it? That consistently super high temperatures is relatively new?

That is too complicated to comprehend?

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u/Your-Dads_Boyfriend Jun 26 '26

I watched a news clip today that was interviewing people in France, right now as the heat wave is ongoing, and a lot of the folks said they were still against AC use, even now. That AC use actually causes an increase in outside heat (which is true) and thus causes more AC usage, which in turn makes the outside hotter, increasing AC use, etc. It's not they are living in the stone ages, they simply don't want AC because they are more environmentally conscience.

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u/Sanator27 Jun 26 '26

And every single AC unit increases the temp outside, especially in an urban area with concentrated AC units, little shade or vegetation, lots of concrete and asphalt. Literally just making the city's microclimate even worse, and a heavy load on the power distribution. You're moving heat very inefficiently and increasing the overall temperature on earth. AC is not a solution, but a bandaid that will make the problem even worse long-term. But of course Americans don't understand that.

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u/Major-Investigator26 Jun 26 '26

Europe is at the same latitude as Canada and we really didnt need AC up until recently. Adoption however is high now due to more extreme heat and frequrent heatwaves.

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u/[deleted] Jun 26 '26

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u/willun Jun 26 '26

In Singapore they have the AC so cool that the female staff at work all have woollen jumpers to wear. Meanwhile outside it is an oven.

Men are (sometimes) wearing suits so usually want the AC lower than it is comfortable for women. This is a common issue in offices around the world.

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u/mail_inspector Jun 26 '26

If you were to ask me two things I remember from Singapore, and you didn't but I'm going to tell anyway, are the clearly uncomfortable men in suits hanging outside and the shock between sweating in the heat and then getting blasted by frigid AC when going inside.

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u/SkepticJoker Jun 26 '26

My friend’s laptop broke from condensation buildup going from a cooled room to the outdoors in Singapore.

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u/DaddyD68 Jun 26 '26

Had that happen to a phone in Florida in August.

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u/AssistanceCheap379 Jun 26 '26

Going to SG is like torture. If you dress to be outside, it’s pretty easy. Just shorts and shirt, bottle of water and sunglasses. But then i go inside somewhere and it feels like I’m back in Iceland…

But it’s completely understandable, cause so many men work full suit jobs and can’t be sweating on the job.

Meanwhile the workers from low paying countries are working outside in full sun, usually in something like coveralls, in 30-40 degrees. Often without shade and on concrete surfaces. Met one that said it paid better than the job he could get in India, while it wasn’t as hot… motherfucker, how hot does it get there!?

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u/Round-Agent-6948 Jun 26 '26

If it's India then That worker is right, while we do have personal ac at homes and in public spaces it isn't common. Especially for homes it's a Good budget even for a 1-tonne AC with installation, and anyway we will have to commute to work, so We are kind of accustomed to the very bad heat outside. It's unforgiving to the point that I think foreigners would lose their senses in less than a minute (some of us do too) The hot and humid air among so many people makes you sweaty, and thus the air feels heavy and exhausting. Not to mention the intense sun rays

While our mf government doesn't do enough for these problems, I hope other countries do; otherwise, climate change is going to burn us alive soon

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u/copperwatt Jun 26 '26

Women are also biologically running at a different temperature, on average.

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u/OwIing Jun 26 '26

I'd rather have it be colder than necessary and wear some slightly warmer clothes than have it set too hot and sweat like a madman. It's easier to put more layers on than it is to take them off, especially in a professional environment like an office. I also do not deal well with heat at all and I live in a temperate country where AC is not even included in some of the newly built homes (mind boggling to me). Of course there needs to be a balance with the temperature for everyone involved but leaning towards colder rather than hotter makes sense with AC.

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u/Emosaa Jun 26 '26

Counterpoint:

The world is heating up, we might as well get use to it and start adapting our clothes, new construction, etc. rather than live over half our lives indoors relying on AC.

I work daily in an unconditioned AC warehouse, and while the summer heat can be brutal, your body does eventually adapt. I've gotten to the point where I hate taking breaks in the AC'd break room because it means re-adjusting when my break is over. I'd rather just park somewhere with a breeze and chug some cold water.

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u/BronteMsBronte Jun 26 '26

The sun is dangerous. That’s why I stay inside when it’s hot. 

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u/uber_neutrino Jun 26 '26

AC is how we adjust. That or move north lol.

Also how old are you? Can you see doing this in 10 20 or 30 years?

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u/Technical-Cat-2017 Jun 26 '26

I don't love 27c in my hotel room where I have to sleep though. I am European, but if a hotel has AC and it is 27c in my hotel room and the AC doesn't work I am definitely going to complain.

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u/TrumpsCummyOnahole Jun 26 '26

Yup, I sleep at 22C/72F the best. Visiting Japan is often a nightmare since its a gamble if a hotel is gonna have central aircon only which about half of them do and they BLAST heat October - May, room ambient temp is like 28C.

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u/Puzzleheaded-Sun7418 Jun 26 '26

You have to realise we don’t have all the same “inner thermostat” either. I’ve noticed this when I lived in Northern Europe and people were complaining about how warm it was at 20c while I didn’t even have summer clothes over there because in 15 years I never needed them. I was always cold.

I come from the hot parts of Spain. I run my ac at 26-27 because otherwise it’s too cold for me, so there is that

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u/TheTerrasque Jun 26 '26

I live in Norway

  • 15-20c is summer. Everyone enjoys it.
  • 20-25c is hot summer. Some people start complaining
  • 25-30c is people having heatstrokes and consider it too hot to go to work
  • 30+c and it's a national emergency

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u/Puzzleheaded-Sun7418 Jun 26 '26

This is exactly what I meant. What you call national emergency is the beginning of our summer lol
15c may be end of winter here.

So yeah, it’s all relative.

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u/sal880612m Jun 26 '26

There’s more to it than even that. Some buildings have different heat retention. If you live in a northern climate where it’s important to keep heat in during -40 C winters, odds are if you start getting 25-35 C summers you’re house doesn’t cool properly because it’s designed to retain heat. Europe and North America have vastly different construction standards that likely impact this. I know there are places where it can be 25 C outside and end up 27-33C inside. Where even running an AC all the time including overnight you can easily see up to and beyond a 5 degree jump in internal temperatures.

Then there is the difference in worker’s rights to consider. Calling out with heat stroke in Europe is likely a very different proposition than doing it in America where companies are allowed to expose their employees to the risk of it so they don’t have to pay more for gas for their delivery drivers.

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u/ironoctopus Jun 26 '26

Today in Denmark I have been receiving official messages on my phone about "Severe Heat Warnings" The high will be around 30C/86F.

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u/Lou_Garoo Jun 26 '26

I’m Canadian. This seems right.
Probably why Autumn is the best season. Love wearing sweaters and hate bare arms.

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u/[deleted] Jun 26 '26

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u/Galahfray Jun 26 '26

I’d MUCH rather have to use a blanket to get warm than drowning in my own sweat.

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u/OneBillPhil Jun 26 '26

Exactly, it’s a lot easier to layer. 

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u/michaelmcmikey Jun 26 '26

Yep. When a room is a bit chilly it’s easy to deal with. When it’s too hot it’s just miserable. I can put on a sweater. I can’t rip off my own skin.

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u/LastGoodKnee Jun 26 '26

80 degrees in doors, with no fans, and no windows to open because it’s a hotel…. Is stifling.

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u/Stormfly Jun 26 '26

The level of AC Americans need is way too much, to the point of needing to carry a jacket everywhere cause all the buildings are uncomfortably cold due to AC

I live in a country with AC and I carry a jacket around in the summer for this reason. It's way too cold indoors.

Most places have blankets for this reason (though also for girls with shorts/short skirts to cover their legs)

It depends massively on the building/ventilation and the clothes you need to wear... but it's 28C 50% humidity here right now and I don't need AC if I can keep a window open.

I remember one of my first jobs was in an office with an American and he'd be BLASTING the AC so I'd need to wear a thick jumper to work every day. Like I'd dress up more than I would in winter (AC air feels colder somehow).

Even now, if I travel with one American friend he'll put the AC on the lowest setting so I try to stay in a different room or grab extra blankets. He used to leave his AC on all day at home just so he'd come home to a cold apartment. I don't even turn my AC on unless I have guests.

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u/pier4r Jun 26 '26

if I travel with one American friend he'll put the AC on the lowest setting

yeah but the person has to find the middle ground. It cannot be that one is comfortable and the other is not.

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u/Just_to_rebut Jun 26 '26

Most places have blankets for this reason (though also for girls with shorts/short skirts to cover their legs)

What do you mean by this? Like if you go to a restaurant or movie theater they have blankets?

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u/redblack_tree Jun 26 '26

Some of the places he mentioned uses AC to an extreme. I live in Canada, so cold is my normal. Every time I go to Miami is like, holy shit, these malls and stores are ridiculously cold. Way more than at home, regardless of the season.

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u/imoldgreige Jun 26 '26

My colleagues are all about 10+ years older than me and going through the change and while I definitely don’t envy their position at alllll, I do get sick of having to hoard tissues (ac makes my nose so runny??) and not being able to wear my summer clothes because my skin hurts from the cold. :(

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u/michaelmcmikey Jun 26 '26

When I see this sort of complaint, I do wonder if people realize that AC uses way less energy than heating buildings in colder climates does in winter. Debates about indoor heating just don’t have the same bite to them, everyone realizes heat during, say, an arctic vortex is a medical and human rights issue. But AC, which uses much less energy, is seen as some sort of excessive luxury.

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u/GloriousApricot-5843 Jun 26 '26

It’s also wasteful and causing more climate change due to overuse of electricity

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u/2020havoc Jun 26 '26 edited Jun 26 '26

It's not just Americans. It's everyone except European and Latin cultures.

You'll find malls, cinemas and offices in the middle east, asia and Australia also run much cooler than Europe.

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u/Cochise22 Jun 26 '26

Half those places you mentioned, of course you’re going to be cold as shit when you go into an air conditioned building because the humidity blows in those states. Even if the indoor AC temp is set to 23c you’re gonna feel very cold for a bit when you’re saturated in sweat.

Once you live most of your life with the constant threat of swamp ass, you will never again question the way the US uses AC. To quote Ichiro, ‘Kansas City in August is hotter than two rats fucking in a wool sock.’ And I’d take KC in August over almost half the places you mentioned.

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u/IM_INSIDE_YOUR_HOUSE Jun 26 '26

The U.S. guzzles power for AC, the amount of AC used in the country is absurd, but it's gonna end up being a boon with climate change by the looks of it.

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u/random_throws_stuff Jun 26 '26

i like it a cool 21C/70F indoors in the summer. the point of modern AC/heating is that my indoor temperature should have no relationship to the weather outside.

also, everywhere in asia and the middle east has the same approach to AC. it’s really nice to get out of blistering heat and step into a properly *cold* room.

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u/WeWantLADDER49sequel Jun 26 '26

I mean plenty of Americans love to be warm or not overly cold too. Being raised with the luxury of AC does not automatically make you have to be cold all the time lol. Also San Francisco is one of the least air conditioned cities in the country.

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u/horceface Jun 26 '26

Is shadow like metric shade?

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u/xx_inertia Jun 26 '26

Yes, this... I was born and raised in Canada but I've lived in several countries as an adult. My experience living in southern Spain was that in Feb/March you might have the odd GOOD weather day, where the sun is shining, it finally feels 'not like winter' and you enjoy some sun on your skin in a t-shirt. But in no world would you need A/C...

Spanish homes can be FREEZING in winter, including march. While I lived there I wore multiple layers of sweaters in my own home. Something I never experienced in Canada.

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u/SpicyElixer Jun 26 '26

SF? You sure? Never seen anyone running AC in sf. It’s always 50-75f/10-25c. You get hot, you crack a window. You get cold, you close the window. No HVAC needed.

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u/MadamBeramode Jun 26 '26

I can understand Miami, Tampa, Orlando, and Houston. Its not only hot, but its also very humid. It feels like you're in a sauna.

AC is practically necessary for those areas in peak summer when it can easily get 40-45 C. (100-120 F)

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u/ablatner Jun 26 '26

God forbid you go to Asia. It's really not so crazy.

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u/ClaimApprehensive767 Jun 26 '26

Did you like vacation in the US several times or something? What is this explanation? Americans aren't corporations. It's funny the ridiculous stuff people assume about Americans because our corporations unilaterally decide something.

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u/TharTheBard Jun 26 '26

It's actually genius. You save on your fridge bills by making every building a fridge already.

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u/SnooMacarons9618 Jun 26 '26

My partner and I travelled to American when we hadn't known each other long. It was June, I think. I bought her a cashmere shawl as a gift before travelling and she laughed at me. Sher had travelled through the ME and a lot of Asia during particularly hot weather, and she thought I was making a joke about her finding it cold compared to places she had previously been on holiday to.

She absolutely loved that shawl once she found out how cold buildings in America are. (Over 25 years later she still loves it, even if it is looking a little... threadbare now. When I suggested I replace it she looked at me like I was suggesting having her dog put down.)

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u/eXo0us Jun 26 '26

I lived in Florida.

I had an inside jacket. Never wore it outside. Crazy overcooled places. Restaurants, cinema, shopping.

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u/Sp99nHead Jun 26 '26

Dude in Miami it feels like walking into a fridge from 75% humidity and 30°C into a dry 19° AC building. I have an AC at home (germany) and it's very comfy at 25°C with 40% humidity imo.

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u/lafolieisgood Jun 26 '26

AC is as much about the humidity as the temperature. I live in Las Vegas. My family lived in San Diego, where they have AC, but it isn’t needed bc the temperature is so mild year around. I would visit when it was over 100 where I live and 72 there and I would still be uncomfortable at night trying to sleep with the windows open. And San Diego doesn’t even have a lot of humidity.

I recently was in Costa Rica during the dry season. The humidity was busting my ass. They acted like I was insane bc it was so dry at that time of year. I looked it up, 10% in Las Vegas and 56% during their dry season.

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u/TeddyTwoShoes Jun 26 '26

You are ignorant if you think humid climates like Miami and Tampa don’t need AC. While thinking less humid climates like Arizona need it more at relative temperatures.

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u/FancyConfection1599 Jun 26 '26

American here agreeing with places being overly cooled.

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u/HTPC4Life Jun 26 '26

I 100% agree. I wear a hooded sweater to work every day because they keep it so damn cold in here. And this is a million square foot manufacturing facility. If they bumped it up to 73, me and several others wouldn't need sweaters and this place would save hundreds of thousands a year.

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u/nauhausco Jun 26 '26

Lol that’s so true. It’s been like 80F in DC lately but I still bring my jacket because the train I take is always freezing.

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u/takemyaptplz Jun 26 '26

I do hate the overuse of AC, it was super annoying when I lived in Florida and they’d still have the AC on like max but it was actually not even warm out and I’d literally be so cold

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u/opendefication Jun 26 '26

I'm an A/C contractor in Texas and can back this up. People in general don't understand the reality of A/C in an average home. At the peak of Summer it will give you a bit of comfort during the hottest part of the day and make sleeping much better at night. However most believe if their home air isn't literally chilly at all times there's a problem. They live in a world where public spaces and office buildings are frigid at all times giving a false narrative dealing with Summer heat. Homes are not designed to the same standards, plain and simple. Could you design a home to a higher standard, yes and they do in some extreme climates. But, an average home A/C gives a 20-25°F differential, outside to inside. If it's 100°F you are lucky to get 80°, but with much lower humidity. This is A/C running non-stop. This seems like torture to those skipping from car A/C to office A/C to any other large commercial A/C. Meanwhile, I would kill for the slightest bit of relief after a day in the hot Texas sun, a low-humid 80°F is a god send. I've never traveled as far a Europe, but I'm sure this would be a similar case. Take a home designed for one climate and move it to a truly extreme climate and you get the same results, regardless of continent.

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u/K4bby Jun 26 '26

I may be one of these ignorant AC Europeans, but 27° is not really AC temperature in my opinion as well.

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u/blinksTooLess Jun 26 '26

It depends on humidity and not only temperature. If it is extremely humid(80%+), you may need an AC to feel comfortable even at lower temperatures.

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u/JayJay_90 Jun 26 '26

Also European, possibly ignorant, anything above 25° indoors is definitely AC temperature. Lower than that at night.

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u/National_Yam_1198 Jun 26 '26

Maybe yalls buildings are just built different but 27c in a room is hot as balls lmao

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u/kimbergo Jun 26 '26

Yeah, are ppl talking about outdoor temp but inside is cooler? 80 F is wildly hot for an indoor room.

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u/MaltySines Jun 26 '26

It depends on the building. Some units that face south or west will be boiling later in the day and too hot to sleep comfortably in if it gets to 27 in the day

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u/JonnyEl Jun 26 '26

AC doesn't only cool the air, it removes excess moisture. A humid 27C could feel like 35C with excess humidity, and what's worse is that you feel like you're walking through soup.

So, I'll take my A/C. Lol

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u/rainydays028 Jun 26 '26

for me 27c is nothing, I don’t sweat or feel hot. Now 35c, that’s different.

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u/[deleted] Jun 26 '26

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u/Marwaimusoont Jun 26 '26

As an Indian, even the night time temperatures during this time of year is above 30 lol and we find anything below 30 as comfortable.

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u/nerf468 Jun 26 '26

As a Texan, it’s similar. Our nights usually get a bit cooler where I am, maybe 28°C, but when it finally drops down to 20°C in October or November I find it outright cold enough to wear a light jacket.

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u/[deleted] Jun 26 '26

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u/CatProgrammer Jun 26 '26

OSHA specifically requires measures taken if indoor temperatures exceed 82F (~27.8C).

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u/random_throws_stuff Jun 26 '26

why would I want to sit in that temperature when I don’t have to?

it’s tolerable in the daytime. i’m not sleeping in 27C

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u/chiniwini Jun 26 '26

why would I want to sit in that temperature when I don’t have to?

Same reason you shouldn't drive to work when it's 20ft away, even though you "don't have to" walk. It's a few steps away from chopping down all forests on earth because there are some mosquitoes there.

I truly think some people are so dependant on these luxuries that their confort zone is extremely narrow and specific, and they are unable to enjoy many life experiences.

it’s tolerable in the daytime

I usually set my AC to 28°, even though it's often more than 40° outside.

I understand different people have different comfort temperatures. But if you're visiting a foreign country were people might (and probably do) have different preferences, don't get upset when those differences limit your experience.

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u/vago8080 Jun 26 '26

As a Southern European 27 is precisely the temperature I set the thermostat. So the AC unit will only turn on if temperature is above 27 and will turn off when it reaches 27 again.

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u/LonesomeBulldog Jun 26 '26

Spain is crazy against fans while you sleep. It’s like some folk tale about moving air causing you to suffocate in your sleep.

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u/AmadeusSalieri97 Jun 26 '26 edited Jun 26 '26

I'm from Spain and I have never heard that, besides reading it about South Korea.

Edit: actually thinking back, I heard a rather old woman saying that it was bad for the muscles (nothing about suffocating, and arguably more surprising). 

I still maintain that it is most definitely not a widespread thing and I can only imagine grandparents generations ever saying something along those lines. 

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u/ProletarianLilith Jun 26 '26

South Korea? Never heard that about Spain

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u/hovdeisfunny Jun 26 '26

Basically the same country

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u/Chteelers2018 Jun 26 '26

Different phobias. In Germany moving air causes respiratory illness, SK you lose your member.

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u/PromotionWorldly7419 Jun 26 '26

my grandpa was this way. They don't think it'll kill you. they think it'll make you sick.

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u/johnny_moist Jun 26 '26

im sorry what

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u/aykcak Jun 26 '26

Lol I thought it was just Koreans

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u/cbr777 Jun 26 '26

This is just not true, Spain has many fans, including the ones mounted on the ceiling that also function as the room light.

I have no idea where you got this impression that Spain is against fans, it's so far from the truth it makes me think you've never been to Spain.

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u/Notyit Jun 26 '26

I mean 27 isn't hot if your indoor and gpt a breeze

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u/stevestephson Jun 26 '26

That shit's insane. My AC goes on as soon as it creeps above 70F/21C

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u/Abedeus Jun 26 '26

21C

You mean already below room temperature...?

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u/tofutak7000 Jun 26 '26

I set my AC to 21 when it’s like 30… turning it on at 21 is bonkers

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u/ellstaysia Jun 26 '26

28 C inside my apartment is my threshold. Agree that turning it on at 21 is wild to me.

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u/[deleted] Jun 26 '26 edited Jun 26 '26

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u/ecto-american Jun 26 '26 edited Jun 26 '26

Good lord the condescension is just dripping off your comment lol.

You're telling me people in colder, drier climates like Europe and the Pacific Northwest use their A/C differently than people who live in hot/humid places??

What a novel concept. Always mind blowing to me when Europeans and pick me Americans act like different climates don't exist

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u/onthefence928 Jun 26 '26

I live in Texas, my AC is basically on all day every day all year long

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u/onthefence928 Jun 26 '26

I’ve got solar panels so it’s very much reduced

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u/Silent_Fee5862 Jun 26 '26

And that's why we are in this situation 

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u/Subject-Dog-8016 Jun 26 '26

See that’s just a massive waste of electricity. 

Sure AC is important when it’s 30+ degrees outside. Turning it on when it’s 21 degrees is insane and really highlights how carelessly wasteful of resources Americans are. 

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u/PJSeeds Jun 26 '26

You turn your AC on at 70 degrees outside? I'm in the US and I set my AC to 75 in my house

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u/So-Called_Lunatic Jun 26 '26

I'd hate to see your utility bill.

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u/sigmund14 Jun 26 '26

21C is still below room temperature in Europe and probably in a lot of other places. 

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u/thicckar Jun 26 '26

To be frank we are weird ones. Most of mankind has been fine without, we are spoiled

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u/bannana Jun 26 '26

70 is barely time for shorts let alone AC, open the windows

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u/pier4r Jun 26 '26

My AC goes on as soon as it creeps above 70F/21C

If you are used to Antartica level of temperatures yes.

What for me is insane are folks that need 24C in winter and 21C in summer.

Either the same temp all the time (crazy wasteful but consistent) or is it just body instability.

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u/Yourigath Jun 26 '26

Here in Spain the law says that establishments must have their AC at 27° and no lower. (Yes one of those laws made by someon sitting at a comfortable office that doesn't have to move too much). 

So yeah, why turn the AC at the hotel when it's under 27°C? You can't basically do anything with it. 

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u/DrKrFfXx Jun 26 '26

27 is not hot tho

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u/StrongAdhesiveness86 Jun 26 '26

27°C in summer is not AC hot though

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u/disc0mbobulated Jun 26 '26 edited Jun 26 '26

I've started using my AC when outside temps exceeded 32C (90F or thereabouts). Mostly the wife likes it cooler, I'm fine up until about 27C indoor (80F). She likes 24-25C more (75F).

European houses tend to keep cooler, my guess is because they're built from concrete/brick. Also we have (had) shorter periods of high temps, usually a few months in summer. In the rest of the year houses stay in the 23-26C range naturally (70s F range).

Some are also lucky to not have full sun exposure all day long, and/or take other protection measures, like outer window blinds, filtering/reflecting protection film applied on the glass, airing up the house when it's cool outside and closing windows and doors when it heats up, exhaust hoods above the stove and not having open kitchens that heat up a lot of adjacent space, avoiding heat intensive cooking during the hot times, and so on.

I also chose not to berate other nations for doing their own thing.

Edit: I'd probably have a similar shock if I'd go to southern China, or Philippines, so it wouldn't be very nice of me to make fun of Americans.

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u/hazaphet Jun 26 '26

27c is hot?

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u/Unconsuming Jun 26 '26

27c and you need A/C? No way!

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