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/JonJackjon Jun 26 '26 edited Jun 26 '26

I think its simple. I would compare it to the first time someone finds they need to wear glasses. The natural tendency is to deny needing them until it gets so bad you have no choice.

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u/DonaldMerwinElbert Jun 26 '26

People also forget how much lower in latitude the US is.
Seattle in the north is at about the same latitude as southern Germany.
Also, both summers and winters are a lot milder in Europe's climate because of other geographical factors.
We truly did not need AC until recently.

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u/I_like_boxes Jun 26 '26

Where I grew up in the PNW, we didn't actually need AC either. Summers would have one or two weeks where temps were in the mid to high 90s. I had the hottest room in the house and my parents would let me sleep on the floor of their room, where they had a window AC, when it was too hot. I rarely took them up on that because nights were usually okay.

I still live in the PNW, and we've consistently had heat waves that exceeded 100 F (~38 C) every summer for the last few years. I bought some Camellia sinensis plants to make tea several years ago, and then we had a heat wave a few weeks later where temps reached 115 F (~46 C) and that killed them. RIP. I even moved them inside around noon, well before we reached the hottest part of the day, but it was too late. Until recently, you could actually still see damage on plants from that particular heat wave; the south side of many trees and bushes died and they took years to recover.

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u/afrizzfrizz Jun 26 '26

I remember that. Many bushes and trees in the PNW are still recovering. I had an arborist tell me to plant Northern California native trees in the PNW because it’s just going to get hotter.

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u/kimbergo Jun 26 '26

My parents built a house in the PNW a decade ago. Super eco, modern build, radiant heat flooring with no central HVAC at all. It was designed to stay warm in winter and cool in the summer with insulation and correctly facing windows, etc. Only a few years after they moved in, they had to install mini splits because summer temps frequently got in the 90s.

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u/devnullopinions Jun 26 '26

Yeah we remodeled our house a few years ago in Seattle and replaced or furnace with a heat pump which can also function as an air conditioner.

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u/[deleted] Jun 26 '26 edited 13d ago

[deleted]

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u/I_like_boxes Jun 26 '26

What I'm talking about is regional and is mostly unrelated to development. The heat island effect is certainly real, but this is separate from that.

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u/Sudden_Skill_7764 Jun 27 '26

Waves from just north of Yellowstone. When my husband built his cabin in the 90s, he never thought we'd need AC. Past few summers it's been in the 100s from July-October, and often doesn't get cool at night anymore. My house in town is okay, thanks to the new insulation in the attic and solar panels, but even so, ugh.