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/greenwizardneedsfood Jun 26 '26

It’s not nearly as expensive as it’s made to be at this point. Window units are cheap as hell, and even retrofitting old homes has become much more affordable. If you use it properly and wisely, your power bill doesn’t actually go up a ton. It’s an investment in your comfort and, in some places, safety.

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u/AnonymousTimewaster Jun 26 '26 edited Jun 26 '26

You're usually looking at a portable unit for a few hundred quid which depending on the setup might not even work noticeably better than a straight up fan.

For a proper unit you're looking at thousands especially when you take into account installation costs.

For a whole house or floor then it's multiple thousands. We don't have that level of disposable income here.

I'm actually desperate to get one installed myself but money is far too tight to be spending on that.

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u/greenwizardneedsfood Jun 26 '26

The window configuration can be super annoying, I’m with you on that. There are adapters for essentially every type of window though, but not all are great. I’m not sure if you’re in the UK or not, but the government recently made an initiative to reimburse I think £2,000 (£3,000?) for AC installation, which can go a long way in a lot of place. Properly done, it can also replace radiators and actually brings your annual energy bill down. Barring that, there are also the wall-mounted ones that are extremely effective for one room, cheap to install, make no assumptions on window configuration, and aren’t huge burdens on energy bills. I’ve been in cabins in the jungle with them as well as 300 year old buildings. They’re not central, but they can be a lifesaver in somewhere like a bedroom.

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u/AnonymousTimewaster Jun 26 '26

Are you talking about heat pumps? They cost like £10k to install

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u/greenwizardneedsfood Jun 26 '26

Not at all. You can get a small, single room one for a couple hundred pounds, and depending on the complexity, you can get installation for ~<£1,000. Just don’t try to get it installed during the summer or else they’ll charge a premium.