Does Europe really have bad AC?

[Anonymous]

[Maybe_Maybe_not]

I don't see a need for AC when temps fluctuates from -10° to 30°, that must look like that for 🇬🇧, 🇩🇪 and 🇫🇷. But I'd expect a lot more ACs in 🇮🇹, 🇪🇸 and 🇵🇹.

That said, last summer heatwaves looked longer and harder than usual, to me, and I don't believe it will get cooler, given the popularity of AI, at home, at work, and at school. So give it a couple of decades and we'll all probably become nostalgic of the times where we had a cheaper power bill.

@queenofcardio tell me again why 🇨🇦 needs AC lol?

[queenofcardio]

Haha I wouldn't survive without it 😅

[Asker]

Need and want are two different things and the thing is many countries can live without AC but why would you want too, a few hundred dollar investment for years of comfort sounds like a good deal to me, even if its just through a certain time of the year, imagine that not being a problems for years to come because you invested a few of your hour salary on an AC unit.

[queenofcardio]

@ChicoFromThe305 Exactly 💯

[Asker]

The facts are facting

[Maybe_Maybe_not]

I don't think it's a few hundred euros investment lol, a quick look at it tells me it costs between 1200€ and 10000€. And after that, it'll regularly consumes power you'll have to pay for, when people already grumble about their power bill in winter? That doesn't sound like a good deal, but as I said, if heatwaves continue to strike, AC will look more sexy

[queenofcardio]

@Maybe_Maybe_not. I didn't realize it was gonna be that expensive 😳 Even then , I'd still rather pay however much to not be miserable

[Asker]

Well yea but if y'all only need it once or twice a year it's only a bit extra in power a year, and have you tried looking for the window units? I'm not talking about the complete house units, I meant the ones of those small ones that cools a room lol

[Asker]

You only have to cool the room you know you are going to spend most of your time in lol

[Maybe_Maybe_not]

For reference, 1200€ fills up your fridge with food for almost a year, providing you don't eat like a lumberjack

[Maybe_Maybe_not]

1200€ is the minimum price for the simplest AC, just one room cooling

[queenofcardio]

@Maybe_Maybe_not. Hmm, maybe I won't visit Europe in the summer. I haven't gone their yet but I've been to hot places and a fan barely does anything..

[Asker]

Well an AC unit should last you more than 2 decades so I suppose it depends if you find it worth it or not, the house unit in my apt came with the apartment and this building has been around since the late 1800s or early 1900s and we only had to replace one part of the unit within that time frame so I recommend, but maybe if you are curious start with a small room unit that's mobile and you can move it around and use it whenever you don't want to sweat or be uncomfortable, it might cost you less to buy one from the US and have it shipped than it would to buy it locally from the sounds of it tho 😂

[Asker]

Or do the transaction in the states, so have an American buy one and send it to you through a DHL carrier, you'd probably get it far cheaper than paying 1200 euros for one

[Maybe_Maybe_not]

And you have to own the flat/house ofc to install that stuff, which means, here, that 45% of the population could not do that. Tenants would have to count on their landlord for AC, and I assure you they shouldn't count on that lol

[Asker]

For a big one yea, I totally get that, it would be a pain in the ass to get it done, but luckily they have the ones you plug into an outlet, that cycles the air and cools it down before ejecting it into the room, I will say it will require research tho because I don't know the brands and reliability and how good it is and all that so it will need some looking around but if you are tired of your balls being all sweaty throughout a certain part of the year, it's an idea 😂

[Maybe_Maybe_not]

Well, offer and demand I guess, when demand will rise, offer will be cheaper.

Shipping fees in the US? Oh no, no no haha, sending a mug to someone costs like 10 times the price of the mug, abort the mission !

[Asker]

Here they actually have service brands and stuff for AC units which y'all probably don't have if AC is scarce there or uncommon, here people open businesses that work on AC units, kinda like you see mobile car detailers or you call a plumber to work on pipes, we have people that come in a van or small truck that have contacts for parts and that have their tools and stuff and they do what they gotta do to the AC units to get it running again

[Maybe_Maybe_not]

Plus you're not sure the package will be delivered, it can be held in custody, randomly, by border authorities because customs duty are weird when it's not inside EU

[Asker]

Yea I don't know why everything is so expensive here, you are probably better off sweating balls, and here you are better off dying than getting that ambulance ride to the hospital lol

[Maybe_Maybe_not]

Eh, at least ambulance ride is free, hospital care as well.

However TV in your hospital room isn't.

It's fine, I'll keep using fans and drinking more water

[Asker]

Ambulance is not free, one ambulance ride is like 3k additional charge to your hospital bill 😂

[queenofcardio]

Haha I was just gonna say.. Nothing is free in Merica 😂

[Asker]

Not even the freedom is free 😂

[queenofcardio]

Haha I'm dead 💀

[Asker]

😂😂

[Jewelmyth]

Europeans don't use air conditioning to avoid polluting the environment; in some places, it's also banned because it makes the building's exterior look bad. Furthermore, this is ridiculous; if I'm going to die from sweat and heat, then to hell with nature. Also, if they were intelligent people, instead of banning air conditioning, they should ban Taylor Swift's jet planes. But anyway, these rules only apply to the lower classes; we shouldn't pollute the environment, but big corporations or celebrities can pollute, no problem.

[Asker]

They acting like AC is bringing all the air pollution, but run combustion engines 24/7, they should just buy an AC 😂

[lilBigPotato]

Europe isn't a single place. Even within a single country can be big differences. You will find AC in regions that have hot weather over many months every year.

[Asker]

I just say Europe so the people that don't have AC answer, but if you have AC that's fine too lol

[Just_Ken]

Europe largely doesn't need it. Most Americans i know that need it are obese.

Buildings in Europe were built to stay warm in winter and cool in summer. Long before electrical technology existed. You look at American houses they are often left exposed in the summer.

I rarely use the air con in my house.

[Asker]

That's called insulation and every building has that, but if your place is hot when it's cold outside that insulation is going to keep the heat in. Same if it's hot outside and cool inside the insulation will keep the cool in, but that's not cause the insulation causes it, it's just meant to keep the temperature, like a thermal cup

[Asker]

And I'm not Obese and I still sweat but to be fair the temperature here is worse lol

[Just_Ken]

No you miss my point. Look at how European houses especially in the Mediterranean are built, look at how they shutter their homes during a hot summer day, bushes and trees strategically planted, verandas, gazebos, court yards, water features, whitening windows, night time ventilation, cross ventilation, thick stone walls giving thermal inerti.

But you are right about the insulation. In Britain over the last 20 years there was a big push with government funding to give older houses some of which had little or no insulation more modern insulation in walls and roof spaces. Problem is now with hotter summers and very mild winters the insulation is working too well and though saving on energy in terms of heating now that energy that is saved is spent trying to cool houses down.

[Asker]

So wouldn't a good solution be an AC unit that cools the house down, you use the power to run the units, I will say the AC + insulation works pretty well, and I think it only slightly higher your electricity bill if you aren't playing around with it too much, I'm not sure how it would work in European countries tho

[Just_Ken]

I dont bother too much with the AC. I do some of what they do in Europe and it works well

[Asker]

You mean like the feet buckets of cold water type of thing? Lol

[Just_Ken]

The wife does that when she's pregnant. You get used to the heat, AC softens people. there's also a link to AC and obesity rates.
I've created areas of shade in the garden. I let air ventilate the house at night and close the window shutters by day.

[Asker]

Cause people don't wanna go outside so they get fat when they do less, but that doesn't mean the answer is to suffer with heat 😂

[Staximus]

Spend a few July or August days in Florida or Phoenix/Yuma/Lake Havasu Arizona and you’ll be begging for air conditioning, fat or not

[Just_Ken]

Air-conditioning contributes to weight gain by keeping our bodies in a comfortable thermal zone, which reduces the energy needed to regulate body temperature and can increase appetite.
How Air Conditioning Affects WeightReduced Energy Expenditure: When exposed to extreme heat or cold, your body burns extra calories to maintain thermal homeostasis (a stable internal temperature). Air conditioning buffers us from these extremes.

Increased Appetite: Natural heat often acts as an appetite suppressant. Cooler indoor temperatures wake up the appetite, leading to higher calorie intake and more frequent snacking.

Thermal Sedentary Lifestyles: Spending most of the day in climate-controlled indoor spaces reduces metabolic rates and aligns with more sedentary behaviors.

[Asker]

I will say that's the best excuse I've heard for not having an AC unit 😂

[Just_Ken]

Its a real question of chicken vs the egg.

Are they obese because they have air-conditioning or have air-conditioning because they are obese

[Asker]

Maybe it's both 😂

[tiredpanda]

Wouldn’t call it bad. In some European countries, having AC isn’t standard because they don’t really need it due to the climate while in others almost every household/building has one.

In my country. Well at least in the coastal part… AC is pretty much a necessity during summer. Most indoor places have it. Cafes, restaurants, pharmacies, shops, etc…

[FreyaRed]

In southern Europe most houses have AC, In central and northern Europe you don't need an AC. European houses are mostly very good insulated because of cold winter, this helps with heat as well. Usually it's not that hot. around 30C at noon in hottest summer month, at evening or night it's 20C or below.

[midnightmoon05]

Europe is huge. Just Italy … south is hot.
north is nice in the summer time. Same with France.
Norway doesn’t need AC in the summertime.
so what do you want to ask?

[Asker]

Are you ever even home? 😂

[midnightmoon05]

Hubby asks the same… me a nomad.
I used to talk to older and wiser… we never talk about work lol… it’s like I don’t have e a job either… so that makes me unemployed and himelsss based on the gag community lol…

[Asker]

I thought you were a teacher? 🤔

[midnightmoon05]

Were? Still is… was in first grade now left back to kindergarten oh well…
Yes I am all over the place.
At my mom’s now.
Summer - other countries.
Holiday breaks… somewhere else…
Hubby is right… once I get to one place… I look to get to the next place…
Oh well…
Now you know why I told you to come to NY? Yes it’s safe!

[Asker]

I'd just be going there for no reason, once I get there you'll be in on the biggest mountain in Narnia 😂

[midnightmoon05]

It’s land of opportunities… so many make big bucks here

[Asker]

Sure thing midnight lol

[DryGermanGuy]

We have neither bad AC nor bad DC. Also why do you try to paint 40 different countries/600+ million people with the same brush?

[Asker]

Cause it offends sensitive people 😂

[rgb008]

When I visited, it was bad lol. I had a portable fan to take with me on my site seeing. You also gotta pay to use a public bathroom, at least where I went.

[Asker]

You mean one of those that basically blow hot air? 😂

[rgb008]

hahaha essentially but better than still hot air!

[Asker]

Blown hot air does indeed sound better than hot air 😂

[Iron_Man]

It’s so cold. It has his own air conditioning. It’s called mother nature

[Asker]

From what I heard they have heat waves 😂

[Iron_Man]

In the summertime, but it gets very cold in the winter

[Asker]

I can only imagine, sometimes it gets decently cold here, I use it as free AC, we open all the doors and turn off the AC 😂

[Iron_Man]

Exactly that’s what I do here

[Asker]

Lmao

[Iron_Man]

I saved some good money on my air-conditioning bill by doing that

[Anonymous]

Mm

It depends where you go. I have only been to Europe in the winter. I have heard from some people over there that they don’t have AC.

I do truly believe it depends on the area. Every country is different. 🤔

[laryipelss]

yeah. they were complainin a lot this summer about 90 degrees being scorching hot

[Account]

Well in Greece almost every household has AC

[Asker]

That's good, AC makes sure you aren't sweating 24/7 lol

[Account]

True, it is quite hot here in the summer tbh and it is a necessity but what I noticed is that for example in UK not many places have AC perhaps due to the fact that is not much needed there

[Asker]

From what I heard it only gets really hot one month a year or whatnot, I guess, I don't know how they are doing with the humidity tho.

[Staximus]

Do they even have a/c? Haha

[Asker]

Apparently some do, only the rich ones apparently lol

[4ngelic]

Yes. We don't have AC typically