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this post was submitted on 11 Jul 2025
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I'm much more in favour of good insulation rather than AC. Mostly because it consumes a huge amount of energy and it can contribute to UHI.
Most buildings in Europe are already well insulated but during hot spells it doesn't keep heat out...
Not sure that’s how good insulation works, if it’s not keeping heat out, then it’s not that good of an insulation.
But I think I get your point, it’s good enough so that winter time heating doesn’t escape faster than it is produced, problem then being that nothing offers cooling in the summer months. Still ameliorated by better insulation.
Besides my experience of Central Europe is that insolvency ain’t all that good..
Insulation doesn't mean anything beyond 48-72 hours of persistent temps. Human dwellings are not designed to be airtight, because we would suffocate.
Europe is already insulated to maintain internal temps double-digits above external temps during winter. The problem is they only have heaters; not coolers.
Insulation only works if night-time air temps are significantly different than daytime temps - like in arid desert regions. Whole house fans are extremely effective under these conditions.
Say the night time temp is 16C and the daytime temp is 36C. Opening the windows at night and turning the fan on will cool the house down to 18-20C. Then closing everything up in the morning (windows and blinds) the house will only warm up to around 25-27C during the day. Hot but not deadly.
When the temps peak over 40C and the nighttime temps are 30C, people die without some type of active cooling. Especially if the humidity is high as well. Even a window unit that pulls the temp down to 25C at night can save lives.
I think it is not as either-or as many commenters seem to perceive it. AC is needed specifically for extended very hot periods to bring temperatures down when it stays hot during the night. These are still rare in Western Europe.
Conversely, better insulation will drastically lower the power demand and energy costs of AC, and will also reduce the time it is needed at all. Insulation is also a mandatory requirement for heat pumps which we absolutely need in Central, Western and Eastern Europe if we don't want to give up an Climate change and accept that our civilization will die.
I think for the short-term it might be better for European cities to provide safe AC-cooled spaces im walkable distances - this is faster to deploy and cheaper than retrofit all housing. The most endangered people are old citizens and many of them don't have that much spare money.
Insulation will also help Europe to survive better if we have an AMOC collapse which could bring all of more cold, dry, and hot extremes.
Plus if AC and heat pumps are combined and integrated, soil heat exchangers can be used to reduce heating of the surrounding neighborhood which is another problem of AC.