> And pretty much everyone in the world (except those with central air) needs a couple of air conditioners now.
Absolutely not. Where I live we had 34°Ctoday but I would still never buy an A/C unit, which will ruin your health (heat/cold shock, bad air moisture levels, ...), waste immense amounts of energy and makes leaving the house a pain as the rest of the world becomes uncomfortable. Most of my friends here earn very well but I can't think of anyone that would see a reason to buy one. Live with the temperature and adjust - like the famous Iberian or Mexican siesta, where you simply accept that midday are low energy hours.
But even beyond this, the reason for A/C use is just bad architecture and city design. More trees in the streets can lower the temperature in the street itself and nearby residences easily by 1-2 degree. Less absorbing surfaces (asphalt, stone sidewalks, ...) make another difference.
And as regards the houses, there are plenty of ways for passive and energy efficient buildings that keep cool. In the middle east they have built self-cooling houses for centuries.
And in all this, even if you are stuck with bad streets and architecture, you can simply adapt, use efficient ways to keep cool (a fan can work wonders) and drink warm rather than iced drinks and your circulatory system will thank you as you don't switch regularly get shocked with 10-15° differences and you will sweat much less.
I'd been using a window unit for the bedroom but got sick of taking it in an out and decided to see how long I could manage without it. Now I prefer no air conditioning because of the reasons you state above - it feels much more comfortable being outside on hot days. I keep the windows and doors closed during the heat of the day then open them up when it's cooler outside than it is inside.
Let me guess, where you leave there are "serious" blinds outside the windows that help keeping sunshine out. I wonder when Central Europe will start installing them.
Absolutely not. Where I live we had 34°Ctoday but I would still never buy an A/C unit, which will ruin your health (heat/cold shock, bad air moisture levels, ...), waste immense amounts of energy and makes leaving the house a pain as the rest of the world becomes uncomfortable. Most of my friends here earn very well but I can't think of anyone that would see a reason to buy one. Live with the temperature and adjust - like the famous Iberian or Mexican siesta, where you simply accept that midday are low energy hours.
But even beyond this, the reason for A/C use is just bad architecture and city design. More trees in the streets can lower the temperature in the street itself and nearby residences easily by 1-2 degree. Less absorbing surfaces (asphalt, stone sidewalks, ...) make another difference.
And as regards the houses, there are plenty of ways for passive and energy efficient buildings that keep cool. In the middle east they have built self-cooling houses for centuries.
And in all this, even if you are stuck with bad streets and architecture, you can simply adapt, use efficient ways to keep cool (a fan can work wonders) and drink warm rather than iced drinks and your circulatory system will thank you as you don't switch regularly get shocked with 10-15° differences and you will sweat much less.