Will this summer's heat lead to mandatory air conditioning in new homes?

[PistachioTiramisu]

Do you think that the weather we are experiencing this summer will lead to the Government introducing legislation which will make builders install AC as standard in new homes? Or once the summer is over will it all be forgotten again until next time?

Love to know where you are because last year was even drier than this year and almost as hot (heatwaves were not so prolonged).
The previous year (24) was definitely cooler & wetter.

We need to normalise building homes with exterior shutters in the UK. This would have a much more beneficial impact than widespread aircon.

Solar gain through glass windows heats our houses quickly, the "greenhouse effect" is apparently a widely understood phenomenon and yet this principle rarely seems to be applied when residents are trying to keep their homes cool. Opening windows when it's hot just lets the hot in!

Passive cooling measures need much more emphasis, jumping straight to aircon as a solution is hugely wasteful and will just make the problem worse.

What new school buildings.....there's no money for that. My last school had been waiting since the last labour government for a new building and still is. It is literally crumbling around them. Air con is the least of their worries.

@PistachioTiramisu actually in terms of flats - where all the solutions proposed here aren't going to work anyway - all that needs to be done is the builders need to have their guidelines altered so they're allowed to fit it.... but clearly some blocks of flats do have it so that's confusing. Those builders have got planning permission in spite of including air-conditioning

Actually, maybe local councils have a say in that.

we had brise soleil in my old flat. I'm sure it would've been worse without, but I'm not at all convinced that it spares the need for air-conditioning.

some countries wouldn't dream of building in such a ridiculous way. I've even heard it said on here that it's difficult to sort because of cold winters and hot summers. That's bonkers. When I worked in the US they had heating systems and cooling systems. It's so easy to sort and it should've been sorted years ago.

There's many posters who've been having problems for ages. I think it's quite unusual to live in a flat on MN though.

This has been addressed under the newish Approved Document O of the building regulations. It explicitly lists (but doesn’t mandate) external shading as one of the preferred passive measures to prevent overheating.

That’s a good step @OwlCalledSage but surely it should be mandated, otherwise it’s going to be ignored?

I definitely think something should be done with childcare providers and schools, the knock on effect if they close is immense. And hospitals - patients are already lying on plastic mattresses (ie waterproof) and already feeling unwell, it can be hellish in those hot wards.

And individual family homes - what about the promotion of the portable units, purchased over the winter when not needed so they’re ready for the summer? Paid for in instalments?

I’ve lived in 3 actually proper hot countries, where temps routinely get to 40c or higher a few months of the year in some regions. There is no government mandate for air conditioning. 🤣 You do know that people all over the world manage just fine without ac in hot climates, right?

Part O takes a whole building approach to avoid overheating as well as shutters/blinds. It also includes several other measures to limit solar gains like orientation, glazing sizes, cross-ventilation etc. Designers have to evidence compliance prior to plans being approved.

Ah ok so they can choose which measures against heat gain but have to show they’ve done something? Makes sense.

But why does that need promoting? People can make their own decision and buy one.

I counted the number of ridiculously boiling days in 2011 I think it was and then bought one in November. (it hasn't been able to cope at all this year, but I'm hoping a new one will cope, I genuinely didn't realise I've had it for 15 years so I'm going to get a new one later this year).

Part O needs to go in the bin. It hasn't worked in London and the south east for the last 20 or maybe 30 years.

It doesn't seem to take any account of the fact that blocks of flats - and care homes and that sort of building - are not the same as a house. I can't believe people make so much money out of that shit. I mean, you can actually hire somebody to advise you to make sure you comply with it. It's insane.

The only builder I know installed air-conditioning in the upstairs of his house as soon as he bought it. Obviously, he can fit it himself so that probably reduces the bill by more than half.

the gravy train of the net zero insanity is half the problem here.

Eventually, the summer holidays will have to be moved for schools. If this trend of higher temps and longer summers continues, I cant see how they can continue with the same set up it’s always been.
Air con isn’t cheap to run. Again , it’ll only be the rich who can afford such a luxury and have the money to run it.
As for home builders, whatever is cheapest for them. Definitely not installing air con in many places.

Part O only came into force in June 2022. It didn’t exist prior.

@OwlCalledSage thank you

I think I've got My building regulation parts mixed up, sorry!

So my place was completed in February 2023, would they have had to comply with it? I presume not because all the flats are facing one way so no cross breeze. No windows in common parts.

It looks like most of the suggested measures were in place in my old building anyway, and that was boiling.

Was something in place before it?

@the80sweregreat "Air con isn’t cheap to run"

A lot of the people who need it don't have a central heating bill though. I mean we've got it in as much as it takes to heat a boiler - but not for regular usage of heating. So ordinary folks living in these types of flats will often want it. It's not usually rich people living in these sorts of flats.

I had one rude DIY man call it "a rabbit hutch" and asked me how I cope living here!

It’s only what I’ve read about the cost of running it from the internet. I don’t know anyone who actually has it tbf.

It’s baffling to me that new houses aren’t all built with heat pumps powered by solar panels. I’m in Maine and we have more heat pumps per household than anywhere in the country - they heat and cool perfectly well, and our temperatures are significantly colder in winter and warmer in summer than the UK.

Many existing homes here are adding in solar panels, or buying shares in community solar farms, which offset the increased electric cost and help the environment. They’re also increasingly adding in batteries, so they still have power during our regular outages.

We also have battery programs where the utility pays you to access your excess power when they are under pressure, typically in very warm weather.

DH builds hotels and has been putting heat pumps in them for the last 20 years - it’s not like they’re brand new untested technology.

Oh dear, don't let that put you off

Look at the real costs and compare it to your central heating - it's probably cheaper.

installation or buying a unit are obviously your initial outlay though.

I think my portable unit cost me £150 in November 2011 or whatever it was. Worth every penny. I just hope it can survive the summer before I replace it! Hopefully with something that doesn't sound like a jet engine taking off!

No… why would they make it mandatory? People who want it can buy it and people who don’t won’t.

@ZZTopGuitarSolo thank you! So much sense in what you say

I had an American colleague come and live over here for a while and the first thing she did was ask the landlord of her rented flat if she could put in aircon. It wasn't under warranty or anything so he said yes. It was great! You can just.... live a normal life. The resistance in the UK is just mad.

she also said she didn't realise how bad it would be living in London without air-conditioning until she actually did it...!

I’d love it in every room ! I can’t abide the heat.

TThats not saying much when many of us can’t afford to put the heating on…

I work for a renewable energy company so we do this all day every day. The payoff time for a solar system that can power your whole house is below 10 years here. After that you’re heating and cooling your house for free, and charging up your EVs if you have them, and without burning any fossil fuels.

And the technology is changing so fast - soon you’ll be able to use your EV as a backup battery for your house when your power goes out.

There are also heat pump water heaters that we are installing in a lot of homes to replace their boilers.

No. If it begins, it will be in hospitals.