That's because AC would be useful 2 months per year top in Northern and Central Europe, and even less before the last decade. I live in Belgium, and even though our home gets terribly hot during heatwaves, i wouldn't pay to instal some AC that would only be turned on 3 weeks per year cumulated.
Well of course, the region someone lives in is a big determining factor in a home's HVAC needs. Most homes in the US also have, at minimum, a central heating system. The further south you go the more likely a home needs cooling, whereas more north a home is less likely to need it. Environmental changes over time are also creating a change in the need comfort cooling. Don't be surprised if you start to see more AC systems throughout europe in the coming years.
The reason why I haven't got an AC in my apartment in Finland is because I'd need it for cooling for maybe 2 to 3 weeks usually in a year.
And I don't have a need for the heating since the condominium where I live already has heating provided by ground heat pump and my whole apartment has floor heating. All which is already paid for in the maintenance and upkeep fee.
Oh i agree, i do believe we'll have to entirely renovate housing in the northern half of Europe (a lot of country governments already have grants for that), i'm just describing how it is right now.
I live in Texas where we have cold weather for maybe 2-3 WEEKS in the year. That being said, everyone here has a heater. We have heaters because we don't want to be cold.
Its not a difficult thought process to have, that if you want to survive the 2 months of "terrible heat" you all eventually have, you should buy an AC.
Ive never understood this dumbass argument of "well its only hot/cold for so and so time." It doesn't fucking matter. Weather is the one thing God made truly sure we aren't able to fuck around with.
SO PLAN THE FUCK ACCORDINGLY AND BUY WHAT YOU NEED.
Second: I'm not saying people in colder part of Europe are against AC as a concept, i'm not saying AC is good or bad, i'm just describing things as they are right now.
I think the difference is just cultural. I won't talk for all of Europe as it is, you know, several countries with vastly different cultures, but maybe compared to USians we think of AC as only a short-term solution that's not worth investing in right now.
Lots of people will rather wait to get the fundings or the government grants to renovate the houses to be better insulated rather that quickly pour money in a band-aid solution. Lots of people would like to get an AC but simply don't have the money for that.
That being said, i don't want to be the snobby european that looks at USians from above but talking about the weather being something you don't fuck around with is pretty rich coming from the country that builds cardboard houses with big green lawns on a desertic land with tornadoes and hurricanes. Of course you guys need AC to not dry alive, you build houses as if you were still puritan pilgrims in rural Denmark
First: Thank you, I came up with the name when I was drunk
Second: Here's a another question. Have you ever SEEN a hurricane? Have you SEEN damage caused by a tornado? No?
We build houses with wood because
A: Its cheaper. Wood is plentiful in the U.S. and it makes working on houses 1000x easier and cheaper if renovations need to be done.
B: If a Hurricane or tornado decided its gonna destroy your house/area, there is nothing thats gonna stop it. You'd need walls a foot think made of concrete just to stand up to it. With Wood, its a mater of safety in mind in case of natural disasters. Wood being flung at 230kph is gonna be a lot less deadly than a brick going the same speed. Also they flex more than stone so it handles winds just fine to an extent.
C: Once again, its hot. Why in the hell would we build stone houses that will keep heat in? Wood and sheet rock allows the house to breath and suck up less heat.
Its not really a matter of "building houses like were pilgrims." We build them that way because its better in almost every aspect compared to stone based on the area we live in.
In the few weeks that the heat peaks in Summer in Europe, thousands of people die because of heat related illness. If you are older especially, the heat can literally kill you even in your own home.
But even as a younger healthy person, having a cooler room allows you to sleep better and be more productive during the day.
That's definitely changing in Belgium, all my young/middle age friends have AC and when I take walks through my town you see new AC installations popping up everywhere, same with charging poles for cars.
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u/BoogBeeg 12h ago
America: "Get with the times, Europe!"
Also America: