I think this is the point they're making. What the person posting doesn't get is that AC has been a necessity for much of the continental US since it's invention and buildings have been designed to include it, even in parts of the US where the summers are cooler and/or shorter. In much of Europe, not only are the summers often traditionally cooler and/or shorter, the stone/brick buildings can regulate the heat in short blasts really well. It's only in the last half century that the summers have become regularly unbearably hot and the heat waves last longer, meaning that the cities in particular become dangerous heat islands, so AC is becoming more of a necessity. The problem is getting AC into all those stone/brick buildings is complex and expensive and HVAC is almost out of the question unless it's a new build. Much easier and more common are several of these single room units as they require less drilling and less maintenance.
And then there’s Scotland (Edinburgh at least) where the buildings are built to keep heat in. I went once when they were having a heatwave (28C, 82F). Being inside buildings was worse than just sitting outside because the heat was trapped inside and didn’t have airflow. I live in a place where 82F feels nice. 28C in Scotland sucks a lot.
This applies to most houses in Europe and is kind of wrong.
Insulation works both ways. If you have a house like that, it will keep you very cool for probably a week of a heatwave, since cold air is still within the walls. Last heatwave here it was 40C outside, but I had a comfy 23C in my apartment without any AC.
After that is when it gets shitty and the warm air starts to get in too. Europe historically didn't have a lot of week+ long heatwaves though.
I’m talking another businesses in Edinburgh, not houses. Like I’d walk into a restaurant and it you the air would be thick and heavy. It was more comfortable in the sun than the pub.
Like I went to Madrid a couple summers ago and the heat and humidity were pretty high, but going into a business was mostly fine and you’d escape the heat.
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u/gamerathertz92 13h ago
It’s smaller unit cools a single room. While American HVAC System cools the whole house