What’s the deal with UK air conditioning? Why do we suffer?
Posted by general_porkchop@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 41 comments
With the looming May heatwave, I’ve decided to splurge on quite an extravagant air conditioning solution.
After doing my research, and owning one of my own, I’ve realised the standard portable air conditioners we have access to here in the UK are essentially a scam. Technology connections on YouTube explains why better than I ever could here: https://youtu.be/_-mBeYC2KGc?si=lXXexM635yQXGb-B
Essentially when the condenser is inside the room as with most portable ACs, it generates heat, is very noisy, and creates negative pressure in your room which sucks the warm air from outside back inside through the shoddy window seal you’ve DIY’d together.
The one I’ve bought, called the Midea Portasplit, gets around this by having the compressor hung on a bracket outside your window, still temporary with no screws required. It connects via a hose to an indoor unit more similar to a proper split system, but without the ugly permanent box on your wall. The US for example have loads of options like this that sit in your window, and Germany have caught on the last few years with products like the Midea Portasplit and more. I haven’t been able to find anything online about it being used in the UK, or anything similar. Just brits suffering with their shitty portable units they bought for a few quid at Argos.
My question is: Why is nobody talking about this in the UK? Online or otherwise? Why do we suffer? Why are these products that actually work around the world so rare in the UK? Why do we in the UK have a strange stoic suffering culture with a sort of social currency applied to it? Complaining about the heat during a heatwave in the UK is basically a national sport, but actually spending money to fix it feels somehow indulgent, even embarrassing. Visible domestic comfort infrastructure has a sort of strange cultural coding in the UK, the rest of the world just installs AC and gets on with it. What’s our deal?
audigex@reddit
Many of us don't. I've had portable AC units in my home for 11 years this month and currently have two, one upstairs and one downstairs. The first one cost me £220, so about £20 a year at this point plus about a quid a day when I actually use it... as far as I'm concerned it's some of the best money I've ever spent
We have one in our master bedroom which is transformational in terms of sleep during a heatwave, and one in the kitchen because it gets a ton of sun in the afternoon and is by far the warmest room in the house
I have plans to install a proper mini-split system in my home at some point too, once the missus is back at work after maternity leave so I can justify the expense.
ProfPMJ-123@reddit
Nobody is talking about it because we need air conditioning maybe a week a year.
It certainly isn’t during the “May heatwave” when the temperature might get up to gasp 30C.
You can deal with that with a simple fan.
Cirieno@reddit
Speak for yourself. Anything over 19° is too hot for me.
Pale_Slide_3463@reddit
Idk why you’re being down voted for not liking hot temps, I don’t like anything other 17c, it’s sticky and horrible but it’s a good thing we live in the UK.
ProfPMJ-123@reddit
Then there’s obviously something wrong with you and you should see a doctor.
Cirieno@reddit
Nope, I'm just chubby and run hot.
general_porkchop@reddit (OP)
You’ve done a great job at illustrating exactly what I set out in my post.
Brits, like you, attaching shame to the idea of having good air conditioning when temperatures reach the 30s. Strange British stiff upper lip behaviour while the rest of the world just solves the issue.
Our summers are getting hotter and for longer. Feel free to sweat and suffer in your Victorian heavily insulated flat but not me!
ProfPMJ-123@reddit
I’m not attaching any shame to anything.
I’m answering the question “why is nobody talking about this”, and it’s because it’s a minor problem at best that people quickly forget about after the few days a year that it’s a problem.
It’s exactly the same as “why can Canada deal with snow” on the odd occasion we prove unable to deal with a day or two’s moderately heavy snow. Nobody is going to spend money on solving a “problem” that only happens every now and then, and they certainly aren’t going to talk about it outside of when it’s actually happening.
general_porkchop@reddit (OP)
No…
Canada literally has miles of climate-controlled underground tunnels and shopping centres allowing millions to exist normally without suffering the elements. They didn’t just buy a “simple fan” and get on with it which is my point exactly. We haven’t landed at serious climate issue in the UK yet but we’re headed that way with hotter summers and buildings designed to retain as much heat as possible.
There are great options out there but the British public is reluctant to adapt, the market hasn’t caught up.
Kezmangotagoal@reddit
Name is checking out here…
ProfPMJ-123@reddit
Fuck me are there any people on Reddit capable of understanding simple things.
Canada spend loads of money building things that allow them to live normally while weather events that happen a lot, like the extreme cold for them, happen.
Britain doesn’t spend that money because it’s so infrequently a problem.
It’s exactly the same with air con.
You’ve made the mistake a lot of people online make and are assuming that something you’ve decided to obsess about, everyone else should be obsessing about too.
And the world doesn’t work like that.
Henry-Black@reddit
You might be able to. There are a large number of vulnerable people who cannot, including those pregnant or elderly. We have 1,500+ excess deaths each year due to heat, with nearly three weeks of the year being 'very hot' days. You might remember the 2022 heat wave, where temperatures stayed very high for six straight days. Lots of people cannot "deal with that with a simple fan".
kebabby72@reddit
We live in Thailand, Aircon is on all day, set at 27. Believe me, when we get a power cut and temps rise to 30 indoors, we go outside because it's unbearable. It's only 3 degrees but by god, you really notice it.
ProfPMJ-123@reddit
Yes, I remember the 2022 heatwave which lasted a week.
Like I say, there’s maybe a week a year where air con can be justified.
There isn’t going to be some mass mobilization to deal with something that’s a problem for such a short time every year.
You wanted to know “why is nobody talking about this in the U.K.”
It’s because it’s a marginal problem that people will complain about while it happens, then a few days later when things are back to normal, people will go back to not thinking about it.
NguPhu@reddit
Depends on your house / room. I once rented a top floor flat with modern insulation, a south facing window and was working from home with about 2000W of computer hardware under my desk.
It was a nice flat, but would have been so much better if i had a mini split rather than buying window film, shutting the blinds and working in my underwear some days. I tried portable ac but it was useless until i got one with a tumble dryer vent hose on the back to shift the hot air.
I have mini splits now in most rooms in a house i own abroad and it is so much better
Kezmangotagoal@reddit
Because we simply don’t need it. I function and feel fine in very hot and very cold temperatures but barring about four days a year where it hits mid-30° temperatures, no one in the country needs (needs being the operative word here) an air conditioner.
If you want one, that’s a different story.
IAm_Moana@reddit
It’s because the UK’s climate doesn’t require it year round. We live in blazing hot Singapore, which is the land of air conditioning. Affordable air conditioning solutions are common because we turn it on every day but these wouldn’t sell well at all in the UK because they are used for a couple of months out of a year.
JamesTiberious@reddit
It’s not required year round, but as a usually cold and moist island country, we don’t cope well with heatwaves in the few weeks over summer.
Our houses are built to retain heat. They become ovens in temperatures that are relatively (on a global scale) quite cool.
I’d suggest the UK as a country is exactly the right mix of conditions to require efficient and affordable AC above many others that tend toward using it only out of convenience or comfort.
LisaandNeil@reddit
A Samsung windfree split system work out around £1500 fitted, transforms your sleep and they're really handy for heating too. Given how things are shaping up, like we had an actual 40C day here not long back...it'll look like an increasingly good investment over time.
jolie_j@reddit
Traditionally our climate hasn’t required it.
More recently, government grants for air source heat pumps have specifically excluded air to air (for built in systems). They’re prohibitively expensive because we might use them to cool as well as heat, and cooling is bad, mmkay?
AnonymousCapybara72@reddit
I mean if we all start using AC for cooling we're just going to accelerate the cycle and become more and more dependent on it.
I fucking hate it though, especially because housing in this country is such utter shit. I grew up in a 2x2m room in a new build with a South facing window. The heat on even a normal day was fucking unbearable even with my window wide open. I couldn't sleep properly because that horrible shit hole room was so hot and stuffy all the time.
bluefox9er@reddit
We only need it 2 days a year what’s the problem
JamesTiberious@reddit
I’ve done a ridiculous amount of digging on this myself, so to your answer your questions as I see it…
There are just a few discussions here on Reddit, with people (like myself) wanting an affordable dual-hose or cost effective split system. Much of the population however don’t realise that products exist to fit the need. They’re just not available to UK and often EU or European markets.
Why do we in the UK have a strange stoic suffering culture? Ignorance, stiff upper lip, unwillingness to try new things or change our ways.
What’s our deal? Currently not enough people care, but as above, not enough people realise there are affordable solutions outside of UK and Europe.
general_porkchop@reddit (OP)
Your second point has been illustrated perfectly with some of these other comments.
We’ve always had quite a slow market inertia compared to the rest of the world, I suppose this is much of the same.
I was looking for the dual hose option, I found maybe two, neither are suitable for a flat. But they still have the issue of an indoor compressor.
Take a look at this midea portasplit, they’ve just brought it to the UK. I have high hopes.
JamesTiberious@reddit
I’ll take a look. But I won’t get my hopes up - I’ve seen solutions and promises made before many times and been let down.
Currently I’m in the position where I’d be happy to pay say £1K for some hardware and £1K for a days work, installing AC blowers in two rooms in our small house. But no companies seem to want to get out of bed for that work.
The other option would be a dual hose portable, or at least something with lay-flat hoses/pipes that I could actually install myself without drilling or channeling and would need to be \~£500 parts plus my own labour.
Henry-Black@reddit
Whereabouts are you, out of interest? Close to Reading here, just had a multi-split unit put in for an elderly family member. £2200 for 2x 3.5kW indoor units.
crazyabbit@reddit
Because the cost seems prohibitive for the amount of use. However it will become more accepted with changing weather patterns
JamesTiberious@reddit
A basic portable AC costs around £300 (give or take £100 plus or minus).
There are similar products available in America (to give an example) which have a much more effective dual hose system in that price. Or, there are split systems (you hang the noisy compressor outside) which can be installed in countries like America and the cost is much more reasonable - ie £1500 installed vs the £4500 here. Installers in UK don’t seem to want to get out of bed for less than £3000 for half a days work. Makes me wonder if I’m in the wrong industry.
bfp@reddit
Our windows don't work the same way, a US window ac wouldn't work here
JamesTiberious@reddit
The US also have dual hose portable AC.. those would work effectively here. We just can’t get them.
bfp@reddit
I've never seen them, if they are common none of my friends or family have them
They either have window ac or ac on same system as heating ducts etc
JamesTiberious@reddit
I think I know what you mean by a window AC - it’s basically a box that does it all and fits into a sash window frame.
But there absolutely are dual hose systems there too, perhaps less popular (because why not have the window AC if you can).
Those dual hose systems are far more efficient though and it’s crazy that we can’t buy them here. We can’t import them, because they’d require 120V-240V conversion, which isn’t simple on a high power (W) draw appliance. There are many people in the UK that ‘hack’ portable AC units to make them dual hose, but the units available to buy here aren’t designed for it so for me there are concerns around fire safety (could they overheat?!) but also insurance coverage and overall effectiveness. There’s no clear reason why we can’t have access to purposefully designed (ready to go) dual hose systems.
Amazing-Visual-2919@reddit
Probably better to spend cash on stopping the heat getting in in the first place. Shutters and blinds.
If I splashed out on AC then you can bet we won't have any high temperatures this year.
skibbin@reddit
Growing up I never felt like we needed AC, maybe we never actually got that hot? When I grew up and started work the office was always air conditioned. Working from home really made me feel the heat.
A major issue is that the UK mostly uses casement windows which are unsuitable for window units. Even cheap window units they have in the USA are really effective!
Many US houses have air ducts for heating, and using them for cold air is straightforward. The biggest thing for me, and allergy sufferer is that ducts can also be used to filter the air. I really wish I had that.
Master-Trick2850@reddit
The AC cools, I dont care about trying to min max efficency to that extent.
JamesTiberious@reddit
Don’t see how they’re shaming? Seems they’re advocating for a wider range of portable or installable AC products - which I fully agree with as someone frustrated by our very limited options and extortionate installation costs for fixed systems.
general_porkchop@reddit (OP)
I’m not shaming you sorry if I made your knob feel small
BenathonWrigley@reddit
Because traditionally the climate hasn’t required us to need air conditioning. It used to be “hot” for about a week or two every year.
Now we’re getting more intense, more frequent, longer heatwaves so I suppose it just takes time for the aircon market to catch up as demand rises.
Aspirational1@reddit
My place is surrounded by trees.
I'd love it to get warmer, but I'm not chopping the trees down for a couple of weeks of slightly warmer interior.
ShrimpStuffAdmin@reddit
I bought one many years ago, it got absolutely hammered to death when it was all bill included at a shared house with South facing window. Also hammered in my south facing flat. Now I have a eastish facing but far superior house build. It stays warm all night, so I'm guessing and hoping I won't have to use it as much in this new house. Also have a chimney so I can shove the pipe up there for efficiency
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