Europe's Largest Unions Demand Right to Cancel Work on Days Above 30C

Post by DicIfTEx » Sat, Jul 11, 2026, 11:10 AM UTC

Al-Khwarizmi wrote: post #54

petcat wrote: post #32

I think this whole heat wave crisis has been shocking to the rest of the world to see that apparently Europeans refuse to install AC even in new-build homes and it is causing enormous numbers of deaths. What is the reason for this? Is it just because it's expensive and energy costs are so high? It seems like a basic safety requirement that they are refusing to acknowledge and are now apparently just refusing to go to…

The south already mostly had AC. The north was too busy criticizing the south for things like closing shops in the afternoon, using blinds, eating late, and of course using AC. Now I guess they're beginning to realize that maybe it's not that the south is "lazy" but just adaptation. Toning down the snark, to be honest, most places in countries like France and Germany didn't have AC because up to a few years ago, mayb…

Post by yencabulator » Sat, Jul 11, 2026, 6:00 PM UTC

alex7o wrote: post #73

zarzavat wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's nothing new. In 2003 there was a huge heatwave and thousands of people died: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_European_heatwave The reason is simple to understand. For the majority of the time the AC would sit idle. Some years AC is not required at all because the summer is mild. It's hard to get people to spend money on things that they don't need most of the time, it's like buying insurance.

Ok but you can use AC in the winter as well, you've an use it only to dry the air in your apartment. So this is not a real argument to me once you know what it can do and how it does it, there is no reason not to have one. Outside it is 25°C but I still run my AC at 22°C and it is super efficient as this is the case where AC excels at efficiency when the diff is small. It is a heat pump, sometimes I would run it when…

Post by cassianoleal » Tue, Jul 14, 2026, 7:10 PM UTC

zarzavat wrote: post #134

cassianoleal wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At least in the UK, there's a massive move to heat pumps. The problem is that it's only for heating, through the usual central heating systems - so it just replaces the boiler. It's almost unheard of to have one for air conditioning. Usually people with air-con get a portable one that's only for cooling.

Unfortunately those portable units are scams aimed at people who don't understand how air conditioning works or what an air conditioner is supposed to look like.