It’s become harder to overlook the topic of why so few households in Europe have air conditioning as temperatures rise year after year.
It is really different from the USA. The International Energy Agency (IEA) reports that only about 20% of residences in Europe have air conditioning, compared to approximately 90% in the United States. As heat waves lengthen, intensify, and become more common over the continent, that disparity is increasingly receiving attention.
A portion of the solution can be found in history. For many years, a large portion of Europe did not endure the kind of prolonged summer heat that required air conditioning.
According to CNN, Brian Motherway, head of the IEA’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Inclusive Transitions, stated, “In Europe, we simply don’t have the tradition of air conditioning because up until relatively recently, it hasn’t been a major need.”
Rooted in Architecture
Architecture has been crucial. With thick walls, fewer windows, and airflow-promoting floor plans, many homes in southern Europe were designed to stay cool naturally. Residents were able to control summer temperatures without using mechanical cooling because to these design elements. But in some places, excessive heat was never considered when designing buildings.
“We haven’t been considering how to stay cool during the summer. Motherway stated, “It is actually a relatively new phenomenon.”
Climate Change a big culprit
Europe has been cautious for another reason. Air conditioners emit heat outside and use a lot of electricity. Widespread use of air conditioning could increase outdoor temperatures by between 2 to 4 degrees Celsius, according to a research looking at its use in Paris.
For countries attempting to reach climate commitments, this poses a policy problem. In an effort to save energy, Spain, for instance, implemented regulations in 2022 mandating that air conditioning in public areas be kept at a minimum temperature of 27 degrees Celsius.
Nevertheless, demand is growing quickly. According to an IEA report, there might be 275 million air conditioners in the EU by 2050, more than twice as many as there were in 2019.
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