Europe's resistance to AC is driving it insane

Solar panels + cooling + heating heat pump is the most logical combination as we are past the point of no return on global warming.

And there's no need to be like the Americans that cool down to 18°C when the outside is > 35°C: simply decreasing the indoor temperature to saner numbers like 26°C is enough, it's summer after all. Less energy usage and it is enough for the body to be happy.

In Germany I had a dentist appointment and I was soaked with Sweat by the end. Climate activism has taken the place of religion here.

It’s annoying to see peers lecturing others about Climate change and resistance to growth. What’s strange is that the same people have weekly vacations to south of France without any hesitation.

I don't understand this article.

Europe is usually not this hot, hence lack of AC in many places. Floods and earthquakes are also uncommon, hence the buildings in most places are not up to code against, say, Japanese standards.

I can relate to a certain type of reluctance, in that I live in a part of the US that has never needed air conditioning. I don't look forward to the hassle and expense of installing a heat pump. I don't look forward to the cost of running one. And I won't like resigning to the fact that the summers I've experienced my whole life, as did my ancestors, are over forever.

Of course when it's regularly in the upper 80sF / 30C I will give in. I just empathize.

I can live without AC, because i'd only 'need' it, for a couple of weeks in the year... and i doubt it'll be worth it tbh

I am curious about the power grid situation in Europe. Assume the rate of AC usage was as high as the US (or god forbid Japan), how far behind is the grid infrastructure from where it needs to be?

ERCOT (Texas) has daily swings of up to 50 gigawatts of power in the summer. I am pretty sure it is the most volatile US grid in terms of the demand side. A lot of the transmission infrastructure is purpose built for this exact problem.

> sunlight causes most of the heat issues; cloudy days are unlikely to be extremely hot

> solar panels convert sunlight to electricity

> AC converts electricity to cooler air indoors

Ah, if only there was a way to solve those three problems at once. Alas...

As to the "resistance" to AC: is this an actual thing or just something the media made up? It seems that for the most part anyone who wants AC can just buy it, barring exceptions like historical buildings. If people want to cook themselves alive I’m not really seeing the issue, as they only harm themselves (unlike, say, with vaccines where herd immunity is important).

I can’t hear this degrowth strawman anymore. There are probably 20 people complaining about people wanting degrowth for everyone who actually advocates for that. It’s not like every politician in Europe is advocating for that.

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I remember someone posting their estimated cost of operating a 5090 in Europe and I chuckled.

Why do Europeans keep voting to be poor and miserable I’ll never understand. Anti-nuclear, anti technology.

A few of my friends went to Europe the past year and almost all of them came back disgusted at European outlook on growth and technology.