Sweden has a 'district cooling' as well as district heating. 2 completely different systems ofcourse. The district cooling is a centralized way of providing cold air/liquid to building and facilities across the city. The centralized producer of the cold stuff, they can also create the chilly stuff by utilizing waste heat from factories, large buildings etc.
Pretty neat idea IMO, and something that ideally would be in priority instead of letting each building have their own AC and create a lot of noise.
Air Conditioning Is Not a Luxury, It Is a Necessity
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Re: Air Conditioning Is Not a Luxury, It Is a Necessity
#22I'm not convinced by the author's point that ACs do not impose a burden on the electrical grid. They write that ACs have gotten more efficient, which may be true, but that's the same Windows developers have been saying over years and yet boot times and hardware requirements have gone way up. One million efficient units still require more energy than no units. And while I definitely believe that European hospitals and retirement homes sadly need ACs now (thanks global warming), I'm not sure everyone and their dog needs one.
I also have reservations about why an American libertarian think tank writes about what Europeans should do, but that's probably on me.
Re: Air Conditioning Is Not a Luxury, It Is a Necessity
#23A total ban is nonsensical. If you’re concerned about noise regulate the sound level. If you’re concerned about energy use, tax it and put the money raised into a solar subsidy. But the idea you can have a heat pump and can’t have an AC is absurd because a heat pump literally is an AC flipped around.
Re: Air Conditioning Is Not a Luxury, It Is a Necessity
#24> Several countries require AC installation to be approved by the equivalent of a homeowners association or impose noise ordinances that increase compliance costs and paperwork. This is not unique to ACs. Anything on the outside of a building requires your co-owners to agree.
> co-owners HOAs don't make neighbors co-owners of your own property, do they? Anyway HOA is something that shouldn't even exist. Or at least not with power to prevent people from having air conditioning in their home.
Other countries outside of the US have different rules regarding multi-logement buildings and how they are organized
Not everything is a HOA
Re: Air Conditioning Is Not a Luxury, It Is a Necessity
#25Oh no you’re gonna trigger the Germans.
For sure.
I'm from Germany (but with an AC) as well and am always amazed when people tell me that AC makes you sick. Even young people sometimes replicate this "Oh you gotta be careful not to get sick" and would rather be in 30+°C indoors.
How come Germans get sick while the rest of the world seems to be doing fine and is even productive during summer (it feels like Germany grinds to a halt during heatwaves).
Re: Air Conditioning Is Not a Luxury, It Is a Necessity
#26Cooling technologies are a necessity and air conditioning is one of many possible options. Europe north of France is substantially cooler than much of the US, even on the hottest days. Many homes could get by on ceiling fans, but they are very uncommon here.
I live in Sweden. You are incorrect. Having your home basically unlivable a few weeks every year is not ok, and ground heat exchange pumps that provide cooling are energetically basically free, so just do it.
What technology are these heat pumps using that make them "energetically basically free"?
Re: Air Conditioning Is Not a Luxury, It Is a Necessity
#27Cooling technologies are a necessity and air conditioning is one of many possible options. Europe north of France is substantially cooler than much of the US, even on the hottest days. Many homes could get by on ceiling fans, but they are very uncommon here.
>Many homes could get by on ceiling fans
Tell me you're German without telling me you're German
Re: Air Conditioning Is Not a Luxury, It Is a Necessity
#28> Several countries require AC installation to be approved by the equivalent of a homeowners association or impose noise ordinances that increase compliance costs and paperwork. This is not unique to ACs. Anything on the outside of a building requires your co-owners to agree.
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Re: Air Conditioning Is Not a Luxury, It Is a Necessity
#29idk fam I live in mauritania and we just tough it out
Re: Air Conditioning Is Not a Luxury, It Is a Necessity
#30Luckily, we in Croatia have ACs, a lot.