[laserdancepony]

> But it’s quite stupid: In both countries you need AC, [...]

Almost no residential building in Germany has AC, and I'm unsure what you mean by "need". Also the buildings are built to last, so no remodeling every few years like in the US. That means one is stuck with most of the utility built into the house from the start. Remodeling a regular central European brick-and-mortar house to accommodate floor heating or duct vents is difficult and expensive.

[bafe]

Speaking from Switzerland: most building until recently were clearly built for cold winters, not hot summer. They are often insulated quite well and well heated, but recent summers showed that they aren't suitable for hot weather: they lack AC, rely simply on open windows for ventilations and frequently have too many large windows that can't be darkened enough, hence letting a lot of heat in

[RamblingCTO]

I agree with that take. Being like "look at Germany, we don't need ACs" is outdated bs. I absolutely suffer for almost 2 months a year because I don't have an AC including lack of sleep etc. We will see a rise, even though some people feel like that's the wrong thing to do with the climate change.

There's a fine line: if you have green energy, why would you care? Consuming more green energy actually improves the overall situation, as more money is available to build out green energy in the first place (especially with things like Green Planet Energy). It's just the need for moral superiority for some folks that's stopping AC distribution in central Europe imho.

[bafe]

I agree with you on the energy use. Even more so because the peak of cooling demand corresponds very well with the peak of PV energy production. If the system is well designed, cooling using an efficient split AC unit will be almost free. Besides, if they really don't want people to adopt AC it's high time to start adapting buildings and cities for hot summers , which means reducing the amount of paved surfaces, planting more trees, adding forced ventilation to buildings and blinds that really darken rooms.

[RamblingCTO]

Oh yeah good point! I always wonder why no one sees the very simple things you can do in a city. It shouldn't cost much to add trees etc. to a city with such a big impact

[bafe]

They are starting. We had a referendum in Zurich last Sunday to to finance a project to adapt the city to hotter summers. It was a complex situation, with the municipal government recommending people reject the initial project in favor of a similar project organised by the city environment department. It all looks good on paper, but I fear another case of money being spent most on planning instead of using it to adopt simple measures. If you are interested, you can read all about it here: https://www.stadt-zuerich.ch/portal/de/index/politik_u_recht...

[RamblingCTO]

So as I understand it's rejected? Fingers crossed it works out! But at least you can vote on something ;) In Germany you just feel left out and stuff happens (in either direction). That doesn't feel good at all.

[solardev]

Maybe a generation gap? I think the younger folks, who are only barely entering government, tend to take climate and livability much more seriously than the old generations who "got along fine without all that". Times are changing...

[eisa01]

Already 13% has air condition, and half of those are the crappy portable AC type where you put a hose through the window.

Sales are on the increase as summers are hotter. We even see apartment dwellers in Norway getting these

https://www.verivox.de/presse/13-prozent-der-deutschen-nutze...

[morsch]

A lot of people have bought crappy AC to help cope with the five to ten days of heatwave a year. They're not running often.

[ClumsyPilot]

I've been running mine for about a month. Depends on your house, how much it traps heat, etc.

Really it's besides the point - you might not need a plunger to unclog the toilet or a fire extinguisher or a first aid kit often, but when you do, you really need it!

[yurishimo]

What about portable units? They're pretty popular here in NL, but I suppose people are also rapidly installing mini-splits, at least here in the south.

[Ekaros]

Portable units in general are just bad. Not very efficient, noisy and not that performant. And sadly it seems most only have single pipe, not two that would fix lot of issues.

[bafe]

They are just terribly inefficient. Now a lot are sold here, but it's just not a feasible solution to make living in summer more tolerable. A mini split or even better centralised AC for the entire building is much more efficient