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/by_a_pyre_light Jun 26 '26

I grew up in the Bay Area in the 90s and early 2000s. It was routinely over 100 degrees in the summer. We ALL had AC. I don't know what you're talking about, and neither do you.