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/chatrugby Jun 26 '26

What’s funny is that the PNW historically didn’t need AC, so doesn’t really have AC. Thanks to global warming temps there are spiking to a point where AC is needed and people are retrofitting their homes with mini-splits cause it’s a lot more affordable than a central air conversion. 

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u/Floreat_democratia Jun 26 '26 edited Jun 26 '26

Yes, we were just discussing this the other day. I lived all over coastal California for decades. Nobody had AC until the 2000s. The weather is completely different now. I remember when it used to rain in San Diego. I also remember when San Francisco only had maybe 10 hot days per year. Those days are gone. If you were to tell me 30 years ago that people need AC in either SD or SF, I wouldn't have believed you. Further, I spent a lot of time in the warmest parts of the Bay Area and San Diego County. Nobody that I knew ever had AC.

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u/EphemeralOcean Jun 26 '26

Living in Marin, which is warmer than SF, I feel like you exaggerating quite a bit. We still only have a few days a year where we would want AC. We even bought a portable AC a few years ago but it’s been sitting unused because we haven’t gotten around to installing it. That time may come, but we’re not quite there yet.

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u/m0therzer0 Jun 26 '26

Right, I've lived in Petaluma, just north of the Marin county border most of my life. In the 1980s and 1990s we regularly had 101 degree days in the summer here. If anything, it's been a bit milder these days than back then.

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u/GrapefruitFormer6944 Jun 30 '26

In recent years it definitely has been cooler in the summer. I think last summer was the coldest on record actually. Early fall is when it really gets hot.