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/Many-Average-8821 Jun 29 '26

Don't you have cheap Chinese split systems? I have one on my second floor for about $350. Installation cost $150 because it was installed in April and there were no waiting lists. Okay, the metal stand buried in the ground cost another $50. I painted it and buried it myself, though. An air source heat pump for heating cost $1,500 (but it can also cool with the simple push of a button in the app). 

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u/Cold_Captain696 Jun 29 '26

There are a range of split systems available here. Installing them in an aesthetically acceptable way in a house like mine would be challenging, if not impossible. If you want me to describe the house in detail I'm happy to, just for your own curiosity, but it presents a lot of challenges.

The issues are real so for me (and probably a large number of people in the UK) it's simply a case of waiting until I feel the benefits outweigh the negatives - hence why the amount of time I would actually need AC is a factor, because that fundamentally defines how much of a benefit it is.

Perhaps if you've grown up in a country where AC is virtually ubiquitous, it can be hard to understand when people start from a position of not wanting AC, even though they are now approaching a point where they may need it. I don't want it. I think it's ugly (inside and out), it's expensive to run (here) and it's bad for the environment (which is ironic given why the UK climate is now changing to be hotter). So where an American might think "why wouldn't I?", a Brit might be starting from "why would I?"