Just one in 10 households in Europe has A/C, far below the rates in China, Japan, or the United States, where 90 percent of households have a cooling system. Why have some of the world's wealthiest countries been so slow to adopt hot-weather climate control?
The average temperature in Germany is 10 degrees Celsius. Because in most European countries, people simply don't need a/c. It hardly ever gets hot enough in most countries to seriously warrant the purchase and cost of running a/c.
Unlike the U.S., European countries don't rely on air conditioning to cope with high temperatures. Fewer than 10% of households in Europe owned air conditioners as of 2016, according to the International Energy Agency.
Europeans may not view AC as essential, which is why it hasn't always been a standard feature in vehicles. For example, older Mini Cooper models, older Volkswagen Beetle models, and older models of the Peugeot 205 typically do not come with AC. Fortunately, most newer European vehicles include AC as a standard feature.
The current household penetration rate for air conditioning is above 90% in Japan and the US, but it is just 60% in China. It's below 20% in large, hot countries like Mexico, Brazil, Indonesia, South Africa and India.
Air-conditioned offices are commonplace in Europe, but it is exceedingly rare to find AC units in homes. According to one industry estimate, just 3 percent of homes in Germany and less than 5 percent of homes in France have air conditioning.
Just one in 10 households in Europe has A/C, far below the rates in China, Japan, or the United States, where 90 percent of households have a cooling system. Why have some of the world's wealthiest countries been so slow to adopt hot-weather climate control?
The way Brits heat their homes is another obstacle to installing air-conditioning. “British housing is heated primarily through water-based radiators, or 'wet heat,' and a smaller proportion of electric heating,” says Ian Hamilton, a professor at University College London's Energy Institute.
Suffice it to say when it comes to “comfort cooling” or residential A/C, we simply do not have enough hot days each summer to justify expense of installing, operating, and maintaining A/C. In Germany we need over 650 hours with a dry-bulb temperature above 26.7 degrees Celsius, or 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
“We are a heating-dominated country, not a cooling-dominated country,” said Tadj Oreszczyn, a professor of energy and environment at the University College London Energy Institute. He added: “We haven't designed our homes historically to cope with overheating. We've designed them to keep ourselves warm.”
For non-administrative areas such as residential housing, the policies allow for air conditioning only in locations where the dry bulb temperature is 80 degrees Fahrenheit or warmer during the warmest six months of the year for 650 hours or more.
Air conditioning demand in European countries in 2021
Russia lead the European demand with more than 1.9 million units, followed by Italy at around 1.5 million.
READ MORE: How can you save on your household energy bills in Switzerland? In order to save energy, the installation of conventional air conditioning systems is generally banned. Local ordinance requires all applicants for authorisation to prove that the air conditioner is particularly energy-efficient.
South Australia has been found to be the state that relies on its air conditioning units the most with over 77% of the population turning them on over the summer. Western Australia was a close second with over 73% of the population utilising their units during the summer.
The top two reasons cited were energy costs and environmental impacts. When I asked a French friend why her compatriots resist A/C, she explained: “It pollutes, it's often too cold, the air is fake.
Whether your property needs planning permission depends on the location and size of the air conditioning units. Noise pollution may also factor in, especially if the building is in a heavily populated area. Your local council can provide more information on planning permission for your project.
There are no heat and cooling ducts anywhere in French buildings, even in brand new ones. Today's French Building code includes requirements for fiber optic internet cables (invented in 1952 and popularized in the 1990s) but still no air-conditioning ducts (invented in 1902).
Electricity is expensive in Italy, so hotels try to minimize the use of air conditioning. They may not turn it on until a specific date in late spring, even if temperatures are unseasonally high beforehand.
The Queen's official residence, Buckingham Palace, does not have air conditioning. In addition to its location in the temperate climate of Britain, this city provides natural ventilation by having open windows that allow it to cool down and breathe.
American households are far more likely to have AC than their European counterparts in part because cool air has always been a necessity in some regions of the U.S., like the humid South and the desert Southwest.
Almost all indoor spaces in Greece have air conditioning. The quick transition between environments of different temperature can prove punishing to the body.
The weather has also given travelers a harsh, or at least hot, reminder: Not all hotels (or rental properties) in Europe have air conditioning. Unfortunately, some travelers probably did not make this discovery until their arrival in Europe.
Spain announced last week that public places such as shopping malls, theaters, train stations and airports must set air conditioners at or above 27 degrees Celsius (80.6 degrees Fahrenheit) starting Tuesday, and private homes are recommended but not required to do the same.
Most hotels in Ireland do not have air conditioning. The climate in Ireland usually isn't hot enough to warrant air conditioning. In periods of prolonged warm weather, hotels that don't have air conditioning will normally install fans in the bedrooms.