[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 Being like "look at Germany, we don't need ACs" is outdated bs.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.

[bafe]

The original plan was rejected because it was too vague regarding who would implement it. The counter-proposal from the city was accepted, therefore they will now start to work on how to best implement it. Unfortunately a large sum of the money will just be spent in planning and hiring, which is kind of typical for these public projects

[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...