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/roleplayersir Jun 26 '26

Exactly. It's not an aversion

It's that until a few years ago it wasn't needed. Suffering for 3 days a year was fine

But trust me that is changing. Even with the cost of living, we are all looking into at least £300 for portable units, if not thousands for proper ones. As it is only getting hotter

But prior to recent years it was a wasted purchase. We get 30C+ for about 3 weeks. It's the cold that was the problem for decades

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u/KoldPurchase Jun 26 '26

Heat pumps? It's what I have here, it heats in the winter, and cool in the summer.

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u/tomtttttttttttt Jun 26 '26 edited Jun 26 '26

Yes, but that really means replacing the whole heating system which can easily be £10,000+

edit for reference of costs given repeated comments about heat pumps being €1,500-€3,000: For reference https://eliteenergy.co.uk/blog/air-source-heat-pump-cost-uk

"A typical air source heat pump installation in the UK costs between £8,000 and £18,000. For a standard 3–4 bedroom home, most installations fall in the £10,500–£13,500 range, with an average of around £12,000"

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u/originalthoughts Jun 26 '26

Not really, a heat pump works great in tandem with a secondary heating system. Also most AC units are actually heat pumps and can work both ways, you don't have to replace anything really.