Aircon: government should fund / subsidise it?

[catspyjamas1]

For context: I'm from Africa. Half my life has been spent in the UK and growing up in Africa, we didn't have AC unless we were in the shops. We had ceiling fans, onshore breeze from the sea, rarely a pool etc.

In the last 7-10 years, it's clear that the UK is not designed for the heat we have now in summer. This will not stop and is here to stay.

I've read several threads in the last couple of years of people in new build high rise flats who are struggling - one this week.
Ditto new build houses. I'm in a new build and upstairs where I sleep is horrific. I'm going to drag a mattress to the living room to sleep.
UK house builds are designed to retain heat - great for winter!! But not for summer.

Will add that I'm now in early menopause (formally!) so perhaps my experience of heat and sleeping is skewed

So:
AIBU: people need to suck it up and buy some fans.
YANBU: government should start a fund to subsidise and/or incentivise aircon in new and old houses (similar to what they did a few years ago for heating)

NB: please don't send me heat reduction tips, am on it and like I said, originate from Africa where 40+degrees C is normal.

This.
I went for a walk yesterday along our local river
It is clogged full of huge fuel guzzling motor yachts. The roads around are clogged with needlessly large SUVs. The solent is filled with giant container ships bringing more shite to clog up houses and landfill. Plus huge mega polluting cruise ships.

I want the govt to tax awful harmful behaviours and direct those taxes to greener energy and public transport

I grew up in a hot country. Our houses were very similar to UK new builds. We privately installed and ran ac. That said, in my house, even in very hot weather, I don’t need ac. It’s cool as a cucumber inside. Because it’s old and well built like lots of houses in the UK.

What I would like to see is more action on climate change and more incentives to build houses suitable for our climate.

Great. Thanks for this incredible insight.

I am looking forward to my AC being installed next month and will advocate for aircon as standard in new builds and government subsidies for other properties.

WELFARE REFORM. Including pensions and triple lock. Anything else?

What would be sensible is to amend building regulations to include requirements for ventilation and avoiding solar gain.

We already have lots of requirements for new builds which are about keeping heat in in winter - we could add some aimed at keeping heat out in summer. For example brise soleil and passive ventilation systems.

If there is state money for aircon it should be for schools and other public buildings.

Fund it yourself!!!

Oh, really - a boom in UK AC will increase the temperature? Of what and by how much? How will more AC in the UK increase climate change and extreme weather? Do tell.

Increased energy use of green electricity won’t increase emissions

oh yes no one bothered shifting the electricity system fast enough did they

the mythical welfare reform cash cow spotted again

Hey. I've been discussing this in good faith, please don't get arsey. Although I do let you off, it is damn hot and I'm grumpy too. Even though I do actually have AC in my house, as I previously said, I can't hide inside and sit in front of it all day 😆 I do agree with new builds. Everything else I'm not so sure a gov scheme is a good idea, for environmental reasons (until renewables catch up) and from a funding perspective.

Our climate now necessitates houses that are built with AC and fans as standard, and funding for non-new builds.

Fgs it’s a few weeks a year. Of course the govt shouldn’t fund AC 😂😂😂😂

It may be a difficult concept to understand, but the insulation that keeps new-builds warm in the winter, also stops them absorbing to much heat in the summer. Keep windows and blinds on the sunny side of the house closed

Interesting you demand facts and statistics from everyone else OP and yet don’t have any yourself. Specifically where from the budget would you want cuts made, based in what info, how have you calculated the savings you think could be made and based on what have you justified that those imaginary savings would be best spent on AC rather than the many, many other things we need extra money for?

I am discussing in good faith too but if you're going to make claims, I'm going to ask the question(s) to inform my thinking.

Why do you think the government scheme to warm houses shoudn't be applied to cooling houses given the last 10 years in the UK during summer?

They use lots of energy.
They take the heat from inside and put it outside.
In the same way large cities are warmer than smaller towns nearby an increase in AC units will add to this.
By how much is impossible to say.
I thought this was common knowledge.

No. Instead developers should be thinking about how to keep homes cooler using cheaper and more eco methods than just slapping air con on everything. People can choose to upgrade to Aircon out their own pockets if they like.

We need to look at our southern european neighbours, not all domestic buildings have air con, instead their residential buildings have window awnings, window shades and shutters, north facing vents. These should be installed first and can easily be installed on new builds.

They do need to look at flats, again, shutters/ shades and awnings on balconies. The "luxury flat" market can well and truly sustain the cost of pre installed Aircon without the government funding it for them.

Insanity.

If you need a new boiler/heating system the government don't fund it - and heating and hot water are needed much more in winter than AC is in summer.

If you want AC then pay for it yourself.

This thread is kind of wild. New builds should be designed with heat reduction measures in mind that are not inefficient. AC is dreadful for the environment. There are a myriad of other usually far cheaper ways to cool a house - start with external shutters, awnings over windows/glass (if you can stop the sun landing inside the thermal envelope of the house, ie external not internal, again inside remains cooler). People understanding about when to open (when outside temp is cooler) and when to shut (when outside temp is hotter) windows. If you have sash windows opening the top and bottom to allow for circulation (victorians designed them this way for a good reason) not bottom up. Internal insulation helps keep steadier temps - cooler in summer warmer in winter. Painting south side of houses white. Ventilation systems in large buildings. Shading from outside. Plants on side of buildings. Try these first. In a world that is literally burning from our excessive carbon usage, I think it is insane and abominable to turn to a high carbon approach (and even tax fund it????) when there should be tax incentives to do the exact opposite - encourage eco low carbon ways to cool homes. You are being very, very unreasonable.

They don't. My house is classed as a new build and it's not absorbing any heat. Did you see my point about dragging a mattress downstairs to sleep? Quite aware of windows, blinds, doors etc. etc. etc. That's not the point.

Priorities.
Of course it's something we need to look into, but right now, today - more people's health and wellbeing are impacted by being cold than too hot in this country.

Well for that I think government could play a big part in having standards for heating and cooling - because it always costs a developer to add these features and so it won’t happen without a regulation push

We had air con fitted in our bedrooms at the beginning of May. It has made a huge difference. Our downstairs is open plan and airy with tiled floors so doesn't tend to get too hot so we didn’t bother with having it installed downstairs. It cost just over £5k to install 3 units. We have solar panels with battery storage so doesn’t cost us anything to run. The units can heat as well as cool. We had been thinking about doing it for a while and I must admit that the weather was so bad in May and the beginning of June that I was starting to think it was a waste of money but I am currently laying in bed with beautiful cool air circulating, it’s wonderful.

Don't heat pumps cool as well as heat? And aren't they subsidised?

why and how should the government pay for it? for the two weeks of heat we get a year?