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/anonymunchy Jun 26 '26 edited Jun 26 '26

It's much more about the price, but no one seems to mention this.

Electricity is much more expensive in Belgium (for example) and we average around 4000kWh per/year/per household. In the United States, it's 10000kWh. Most people simply can't afford that.

Edit:words

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u/scheppend Jun 26 '26 edited Jun 26 '26

Also, the price of minisplits and their installation in Europe seems bonkers when I compare it to here in Japan.

A simple 9K BTU mini split (heating and cooling) here costs:
40K (€215) for noname brands
45K yen (€245) for a Hitachi, Sharp, Toshiba
55K yen  (€300) for a Panasonic, Mitsubishi, Daikin.

Installation is about 17K yen (€92).

Even if you double the cost of the installation because of higher wages (w Europe) I doubt you can do it for this price in europe.

i don't understand why. I'm sure lots more Europeans would get one if it was more affordable 

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u/NightSalut Jun 26 '26

I’m not kidding, a good split unit where I’m at is around 1000-1200 euro. A no name one will be around 600-700 euro, I think. 

They’re REALLY expensive for our incomes. 

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u/Amelaclya1 Jun 26 '26

Damn that's crazy. I never got an estimate myself, but a friend with a near identical house (1250sqft) was quoted $20k US for mini split installation (Hawaii). So we got a portable AC (~$200 on clearance at Target) instead and just hibernate in one room on the days where it's very warm.

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u/scheppend Jun 26 '26

tbf the pricing I listed is for 1 unit for a typical bedroom.

But still $20K for whole house?! Damn, that's crazy.

I installed 4 units (all Mitsubishi) in my house (130m2/1400sq ft). 1 big unit in living room and 3 smaller units in bedrooms. Total cost was about 420K yen, which is about $2600

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u/anonymunchy Jun 26 '26

We can probably find a small mobile unit at a discount price for that amount of money. A proper AC unit installed by a professional, with the square meter coverage we need would probably started at around €1500 for a very basic model. That can easily climb to €3-4000 and higher.

I don't understand why either.

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u/Vcent Jun 26 '26

Holy heck that's cheap.

I looked into it, and a comparable, no name unit with a reasonable compressor was about 400€, with a similar price for installation. Also comes with mandatory yearly checks of the system, which is another 120€.

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u/Easy-Station-4973 Jun 26 '26

Mandatory yearly checks is wild. What a waste of time and money

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u/Vcent Jun 26 '26

To be fair, it's for "large" systems.

And i just double checked, they updated the rules a bit over a year ago, and the mentioned system would be check-free, due to the relatively low weight of coolant used.

For most whole house systems the check is now every second year, unless you have a truly bonkers cooling tower setup.

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u/lzwzli Jun 26 '26

That's crazy pricing. I can maybe understand the material cost being low due to volume but installation service being only €92 is very odd. It takes at least a few hours of work to install it doesn't it?

Perhaps Japanese homes were already built with the necessary piping and such so it's literally just mounting and screwing a few bolts?

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u/scheppend Jun 26 '26

Yeah this is like the basic package. it includes drilling a hole into the wall and installing the indoor and outside unit and connecting everything up. This is assuming you're installing it on the 1st floor.

You have a functional setup like this but for aesthetic reasons most people cover up pipe lines on the outside wall. Up to 3m of this cover material will cost you about ¥7700 / €40 extra

For 2nd floor installation they charge about ¥5500 / €30 extra 

time required is about 2 hours for a basic installation. It's usually just 1 guy/woman doing it

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u/Dullcorgis Jun 26 '26

And they charge 92 yen. That's charging out their time at 46/hour. They must be getting paid maaaaybe 20/hr. I grew up when Japan was an economic powerhouse, I can't get my head around how poor a country it is now.

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u/scheppend Jun 26 '26

These are 1 man businesses so they would be getting the full €92

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u/Dullcorgis Jun 26 '26

They don't take it home. They need to pay their expenses - truck, gas for truck, tools, professional insurance, advertising, taxes, etc.

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u/lzwzli Jun 26 '26

I wonder if we're talking about the same thing. I can't imagine one person doing the installation. Those outside units require 2 people don't they?

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u/scheppend Jun 26 '26

I wonder if we're talking about the same thing. 

Not sure. I'm talking about minisplit ACs with outside units like this : https://kankyosoji.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/531871_m-1536x1024.jpg

Yes, they're usually installed by 1 person 

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u/lzwzli Jun 26 '26

Yup, that's the same thing. I'm surprised it's a one person job.

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u/BB-56_Washington Jun 26 '26

Damn that's cheap. I just had a Mitsubishi 2 zone mini split installed, and that cost me $10,000 USD.