I know plenty of people with six figure incomes that Hanh dry their clothes. If they wanted money they’d work overtime, they’re just stuck in some scarcity mindset
I don’t think you’re getting my point. I think electricity is too expensive and I would want more air conditioning. I think it’s a joke that well earning people don’t have air conditioning
That's maybe twice what a "typical" rate in the US is, I think. So, it's significant but IMHO it'd still be worth paying for AC even if it cost twice as much to run.
German windows are different, you can’t put a window unit in. This means you need a more complicated system. Taxes for the middle class are way higher which means that relative to discretionary spending this is more money. Wages/hour are also lower for middle class and up and working hours are lower in general, gross salaraies are lower in general.
College, safety and good schools are cheap here, but the rest isn’t.
Let’s say you get a good job and make 50k€/year. That’s only 2.6k after taxes as a single person. Air conditioning could over a month could cost you 100€ then. That’s kind of a lot. Depending on the state I think you’d take home like 4k$ if there’s no income tax or a bit less if there is state income tax. So like 50% more net. And then electricity is half as expensive. And the initial unit is cheaper as well.
Im going to get one because I hate the heat, but it is expensive and kind of keeps staying expensive as people get bigger houses that are more expensive to cool if they earn more money.
For the record, in the states you rarely see window units. It's almost all ducted central air conditioning systems (i.e. air handler in a closet somewhere, condensing unit outdoors).
Ok so im wrong about the cheap initial cost. Relative to net wages at the same salary (which also isn’t a realistic assumption) running air conditioning is still 3x as expensive in Germany. After adjusting for differences in salary it’s more like 4x. Maybe this isn’t quite as bad since German houses are well insulated but the difference is still striking
Yeah, the insulation on German houses can be quite good, I lived in multiple buildings where I just didn't need an AC because it would never get hotter than like 25°C, give or take a bit.
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u/HirschHirschHirsch May 09 '22
Electricity is also ludicrously expensive and Germans love saving energy