Why do Europeans Hate A/C?

[Jack_Dawson]

I'm working from company HQ this week, somewhere along the Danube. And, well...these people keep turning off the A/C. They seem to prefer completely still air in the middle of summer. If I lived here, would I ever get used to this? :o

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. My dear Jack_Dawson!

No idea...maybe it's just too costly?

But I hear you...

The hotel we stayed in in Interlaken didn't even have A/C!

Talk about hot, humid air...It was a relief to get up into the Alps for some really cold air!

I don't know if you'd ever get used to it.

:shrug:

:hi:

[Mr. Ected]

2. It's not very eco-friendly

And it is very expensive to run.

It hasn't been that long since A/C became a standard feature for automobiles over there.

Also, the climate is typically pretty moderate...except for the middle of July through the beginning of August.

[JVS]

9. Neither is bottled water, but they drink that shit up.

[supernova]

3. Really warm summers are a recent development

Not until recently did it really become necessary in Europe, especially mid- and Northern Europe.

Often, the height of summer is much like spring here.

When I visited Vienna in the mid-80s it was a very comfortable low 80s in June, and about 55-60 at night.

edit: I don't think it's sunk in to them that AC is really a necessity like it has here. I remember the South before air conditioning. :crazy:

[Deep13]

4. $$$$$$$$$$$

Plus, I don't think it gets as hot and humid there as it does here, especially in the American South. I remember back in MA in the 80s and early 90s, hardly any homes had more than a window unit in a selected room and most small businesses didn't have it either.
Frankly, the only reason we "need" AC is because we are used to it. Building used to be made with windows that open, high ceilings and transoms for ventilation.

[Deja Q]

5. They cost more to run -- but newer models don't harm the environment nearly as much

My new car has CFC-free A/C, for example...

[Heidi]

6. Europeans don't hate air conditioning.

They hate the health effects, the costs (including environmental impact), having their homes closed during the summer. Air conditioning simply isn't necessary in many parts of Europe. And no, most Europeans do not prefer completely still air in the middle of summer. Most homes are constructed in a way that allows for cross breezes. And guess what? You can buy FANS here! :bounce:

I've lived her for a decade in Ticino, the Mediterannean part of Switzerland. I've gotten used to living without air conditioning -- to the extent that flying or a night in an air conditioned hotel room gives me a stuffy nose. I'm certain you'd get used to living without air conditioning, too. :hi:

[maddezmom]

10. it takes a while to get used to, but in the long run

I love it! Fans do the trick for me and the kids seem to adjust better to weather changes. And as strange as this sounds my allergies are better without the AC. :hi:

[Heidi]

12. Exactly. None of my other American friends (and especially my family in the south)

believe me when I tell them how much better my allergies have been since I've not had home air conditioning. They seem to think I've fallen victim to some "Old World" old-wives tale. :eyes:

[cwydro]

26. I believe you.

I am one of the few people down here who goes without AC for as long as possible. By June usually I have to give in, more for the dogs than anything.

But my allergies act up more with the AC than in the winter, when we have the nice breezes coming through.

[tigereye]

11. cross breezes are great - I love having the windows open when it's cool at

night, and often during the day, too.

It's the humidity that usually drives me to the AC button. But I agree it's not environmentally friendly at all, and partially the fault of the way new houses are built here.

[Heidi]

13. Hard to explain, but you learn to dress for the humidity, too.

In all of my time living and working in Europe, I've seen only two professional woman wearing stockings (pantyhose) during a spring/summer/fall gathering. One was German and the other was American. It isn't necessarily viewed at "untoward" here for women to be bare-legged when wearing skirt ensembles for professional occasions. (Most wear pants, anyway. But I have my summer business uniform of khaki linen skirts and white linen tops/blouses for summer. For meetings, I wear shoes with closed toes. I haven't had a complaint yet.) :shrug:

[NewJeffCT]

15. Oddly

when I was in Italy, I thought women there were very overdressed compared to women in the US - it was sunny and in the 70s when we were there, yet women would have on a long-sleeved blouse or sweater, a jacket and a scarf. They'd also have on long pants as well.

If I saw a woman in a sleeveless top, I could almost guarantee they were from either the US or the UK.

[Heidi]

22. Italy is somewhat different, I think.

Women there seem to wear black, regardless of the season.

ETA: In general, Italy is a warmer climate, so you can imagine that warm-natured people would be acclimated to a point where low-70s might feel chilly. :hi:

[sinkingfeeling]

34. Women cannot have a sleeveless top and enter the cathedrals there. No bare shoulders and no shorts.

[NewJeffCT]

39. This was everywhere, though

restaurants, public areas, on the train, on the bus, etc. Heck, I even went into McDonald's a few times to get a coffee or a coke and it was the same there.

[tigereye]

17. oh, god I despise panty hose with a passion! I usually wear tights or boots

under skirts to avoid em. yuk.

[kiva]

18. I was wondering about the lack of fans.

Usually we visit friends or rent a flat when we go to the UK and you're right, most houses seem well designed for the weather. Last month, though, we spend a couple of nights at a hotel in York, an old alms house that had been converted into a B&B, and everything was great except that the rooms were so warm and stuffy. I can understand why they wouldn't want to install air conditioning, but fans in the rooms would have made it much more comfortable. Got me thinking that I really hadn't seen fans in many places in the UK.

[Heidi]

21. We have a very small place.

Tall, oscillating fan in our bedroom; small oscillating fans in Call Me Wesley's office and another in my studio. It's truly no problem at all. We're comfortable. :hi:

[kiva]

24. Sounds good to me, but then I'm in

Southern Nevada hell at the moment--fans and AC. In moderate climates, though, I suspect the key is a building that is constructed to get cross breezes, or fans. Glad you're enjoying the summer. :hi:

[Heidi]

25. I grew up in Oklahoma, Arkansas

and a summer in Kentucky, so it takes a WHOLE lot of humidity to make me uncomfortable. I love Nevada -- and I know its climate well enough to be very glad you have fans and AC. :pals:

[hunter]

40. Air conditioners are full of stuff that will make you sneeze.

Lots of little fungi and bacteria thrive on the cool moist evaporator coils, eating dust that makes it past the filters.

I think air conditioners are gross because they almost always aggravate my allergies. If I was building a house somewhere hot I'd figure out a way to avoid using conventional air conditioning units.

[Eurobabe]

43. Hey isn't that the truth?

#1. It's too costly to run. #2. you don't need it that frequently here, we always have cool nights. #3 I now notice how stuffy I feel when I am in A/C overnight, plus the noise bugs me.

ACK!!! Me the QUEEN of A/C?? I've become European and didn't even realize it. (The one place that I do require A/C though is Italia in the dead of summer.)

:hi:

[Heidi]

44. !

Hey! I've missed you 'round here! :hug:

[Eurobabe]

45. Yeah

don't come on very much anymore, was busy with school for most of the spring, have a lull now, enjoying my time off. My company arrives tomorrow at 10am. :D :hi: He flies through Geneva!

[Heidi]

46. I'll send him good travel vibes.

Geneva's incredibly easy to fly into/through, when you're headed anywhere but Agno. :rofl:

Have fun, m'kay? :hug:

[Eurobabe]

52. thanks! i could give

him no guidance re: Geneva airport, since I've never been through there. All I know is he takes a Lufthansa City Line (small Embraer jet) to MUC. Say hi to CMW, I never see him on the photo group anymore, but then again I am not there very often either. :rofl:

[theNotoriousP.I.G.]

7. no, you wouldn't

and neither have I. I worked in a downtown office in Munich that actually had A/C and the office manager (an older woman) kept turning it off because she thought she was going to get an ear infection. Everybody in the office was dripping with sweat but no windows could be opened or the A/C turned on. It was pure hell.

My mother in law thinks if she drives in a car with the windows rolled down she's going to get an ear infection. They are nuts! And it's also very expensive.

[TheMightyFavog]

19. Yeah... The Germans have a thing about drafts...

http://german-way.com/blog/2009/02/13/german-phobia-killer-draft/

One definition of a split second: the time it takes between opening a window on a hot train and hearing a German say the two most dreaded words in the German language: “Es zieht!” (”There’s a draft!”) In the summer on German trains, in the days before most were air conditioned, I can remember betting with friends how long it would take before a German would close the window when the train began to pull out of the station. It was usually under 10 seconds. An open window while the train was standing still was okay, but the minute air began to flow through the window as the train picked up speed, you could hear the slam of windows being shut — even if it was 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32°C) outside!

In my book When in Germany, Do as the Germans Do, I have a chapter devoted to the most common German phobias and ailments (”Killer Drafts and Kreislaufstörung“). Sarah’s recent blog (”Blowing Hot and Cold“) inspired me to revisit the topic of “killer drafts” (”…the grim reaper’s mocking breath”). Most Europeans (it’s not just the Germans) have a deathly fear of what Americans regard as a pleasant breeze. Basically, Germans believe that a draft coming through an open window or door can kill you — or at the very least can cause ailments ranging from a sore throat to pneumonia. After suffering in stuffy S-Bahn commuter trains last summer in Berlin, and being reminded that a German would rather die of heatstroke than open a window in a hot, crowded train, I wanted to try to analyze this German phobia of air in motion.

First, you run into the seeming paradox that most Germans are also fresh-air freaks. My cleaning lady in Berlin would open every door and window in the apartment while doing her bi-weekly cleaning, even on cold winter days. Yet on the S-Bahn, she would have been one of the first to close any open window. Many Germans sleep with the windows open at night (usually protected by perforated metal Rollläden shutters). In the morning they get up and air out the place (durchlüften) by opening several windows. They’ll head out to the great outdoors and subject themselves to a 30 km/h head wind by riding a bike, but if they’re sitting in a car, the slightest draft coming through a window will put them in a panic, even if it’s the hottest summer on record!

(snip)

The concept of ventilation is basically unknown in Germanic culture. I’m convinced that German schools of architecture never teach anything about natural ventilation. Although there is a German word for it (belüften / die Belüftung), the term is usually used in the sense of “airing out,” as in the typical morning ritual in German households, or for a mechanical ventilation system. But the idea of natural cross ventilation is much too close to the killer draft in German minds. Modern German architecture generally works to prevent any natural ventilation by creating many closed-off units (rooms) with serious doors (that in Germanic culture remained closed). Although the German wonder known as the Kippfenster (tilting window) is ideal for allowing natural ventilation, that is usually confined to one room, and only if the air coming coming through the window is barely detectable!

[theNotoriousP.I.G.]

31. Thank you so much!

:toast:

[Jack_Dawson]

47. omg great stuff

I wouldn't last long there. :hi:

[spinbaby]

55. I always wondered what my mother's problem was

I grew up in the 50s and 60s when family cars (or at least OUR family car) didn't have AC. My mother was forever closing the car windows on the grounds that there was a draft. There were scarves involved, too, to prevent "stiff neck."

[JVS]

8. The bigger question to me is why are they unaware of screens.

I get not running the A/C, it's usually not that warm and an open window is about enough, but the bees and wasps keep flying in

[Moondog]

14. In some areas, they are taxed.

[JVS]

23. Now that's fucked up

[Moondog]

28. It sure is. But it goes a long way towards explaining why you don't see them.

[fizzgig]

27. the lack of screens was a bit irritating

i spent two weeks in amsterdam one summer several years ago. it was pretty warm but i was reluctant to keep the windows open because we were right on a canal and the mosquitoes were overwhelming.

[JVS]

35. I just hope a bird never discovers my window

That would suck ass

[theNotoriousP.I.G.]

32. window design

for the most part. Windows don't function the same way. They do sell some half assed window screening material that you can glue on with shit that doesn't stick though. Falls off after a week or a good rain.

[JVS]

33. I had considered that, but since all the windows I've seen have opened inward....

a screen would work just fine if installed properly on the outside of the window.

[theNotoriousP.I.G.]

36. You are correct sir

I'm just trying to be nice.

[datasuspect]

16. because they hate freedom?

[old mark]

20. They were pretty down on central heating, too - I think that has

changed, though.....

mark

[Mudoria]

29. Let them experience a summer in the South

I'm sure they would have a deeper appreciation for AC.

[DebJ]

30. they like hot soda, too, I guess. We were there in 2003, when

some 5,000 people died in France from the worst heat wave in 100 years. Couldn't find a cold soda...they were sold in cans that were sitting in open refrigerator units that I don't think were even turned on! 110 degrees with 90 degree Pepsi, gross! We spent 6 weeks in London, Paris, Nice, Interlaken, Venice and Rome. Horrible timing...we followed the heat wave as it moved eastward. Venice was terrible. At night, fortunately we had a sink next to the bed. So we soaked towels in cold water, covered our bodies in them, then cooled the towels again, like every 10 minutes. The 110 degree weather plus the humidity in Venice was beyond stultifying. I began asking the concierges to freeze my bottled water overnight, then we'd take several with us during the day. I poured icy water all over myself all day long. My hubby wouldn't do it, but when we passed a fountain in Paris, he quite suddenly submerged his head in the fountain. It was worth the heat, though. I'd do it again!

[JVS]

37. They had one of those non active fridges at the store today.

I decided against buying the ass-warm package of ravioli

[hfojvt]

38. What color is the Danube?

And also has the Donaudampfschiffahrtsgesellschaftskapitän been by lately?

I always wanted to use that in a sentence.

[mwooldri]

41. Climate's different, not so muggy (usually).

and no the Europeans don't hate air conditioning.

Homes in the UK rarely need it, though we were lucky enough to have a portable air conditioner - my dad still has it and uses it for the few days it gets very hot. But then it's cheaper to just open the windows wide and maybe even run a fan or two. Though I wish my gran would get a portable air conditioner; they re-did her house to such an extent that it is *really* well insulated... keeps the warm in maybe too good. Nice low heating bills in the winter but hard to get rid of the heat in the summer.

Oh, shops will love to run air conditioning. Makes for a more cool environment, and hoping that the customers spend their money... if they're not hot and sweaty they hopefully linger and spend...

Mark.

[Name removed]

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[MissHoneychurch]

49. Because we don't mind the fresh air

instead of the dry air an A/C produces.

Each time I am in the U.S. I get problems with my nose because the air is too dry for me. Right now I am in my office, the window is open and I enjoy the gorgeous weather.
Also in rooms with A/C I get cold pretty fast - and then sick. No thank you, I prefer the European no A/C.

At home my balcony door is open all the time when I am home and at night I sleep with the window open.

[Jack_Dawson]

50. You live in Frankfurt!

Wow - I thought Frankfurt was just a huge airport terminal where people changed flights. :o

;-)

[MissHoneychurch]

51. I sure do

:)

And even though the airport is something like a city itself, Frankfurt actually has 700.000 inhabitants - including me :D

[spinbaby]

54. You have a window that opens!

I'm jealous. I work in one of those hermetically-sealed buildings.

[JCMach1]

53. Our trip to BeNeLux a few weeks back included the yearly heat wave

seems like we always arrive in time for the heat (and of course) NO AC!