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.

It is quite boring when people make statements with no back up information about what a government should do isn’t it? And especially when they feel the need to create a whole thread about it… with nothing to actually offer. Yawn x

You're not. RTFT. HTH.

FO

I completely agree.

? I have paid for my own air conditioning. You are not subsidising it. You haven't read the thread. What did I get wrong?

You chose to live in a new build. Why should anyone else subsidise your housing choice? Where do you propose the gvt reduces spending - Schools? Roads? Social care? Hospitals? Prisons? Courts/justice system?

During the summer of 2022, the UK experienced five distinct heatwave periods ranging from 3 to 16 days in length, which culminated in a historic national temperature record of (40.3^{\circ }\text{C}). 1, 2]
According to the UK Health Security Agency, the five heatwave episodes included:
Episode 1: 4 days (June 16 to June 19)
Episode 2: 16 days (July 10 to July 25), which included the most intense 2-day period of Level 4 extreme heat (July 18 and July 19)
Episode 3: 7 days (July 30 to August 5)
Episode 4: 10 days (August 8 to August 17)
Episode 5: 3 days (August 23 to August 25)
The UK experienced four distinct, relatively short-lived heatwaves during the summer of 2025, each lasting between 5 to 6 days. While these events were brief, they occurred throughout the season and resulted in the warmest overall UK summer on record. 1, 2, 3]
Breakdown of the 2025 heatwave events:
Heatwave 1 (Third week of June): Officially declared in mid-June, lasting about five days in central and eastern England before breaking with thunderstorms.
Heatwave 2 (Late June - Early July): This event lasted about six days for parts of Yorkshire and the Humber and five days in the East. A longer, more intense spell of this heatwave affected London and southern areas, peaking at 34.7°C between June 23 and July 2.
Heatwave 3 & 4 (July and August): Additional, intermittent heatwaves occurred during these months, pushing the overall summer average for the UK to a record-breaking 16.1°C. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Welfare reform.

Ps. This is also about future new builds and retrospective fitting.

But, you know that already.

People need to take responsibility for themselves and fund themselves.

Ceiling fans are amazing in hot weather. Substantially better than pedestal fans and substantially cheaper than air con. Perfect to run up to around 33 degrees. Even over that they make a positive difference. I only use ceiling fans over night never air con.

Reverse cycle air con is great. It's very humid where I live and I have huge glass doors facing west. My manual thermometer maxed out at 50 degrees when I sat it out in front of the doors one day. So it's hot. I run my air con around 24 / 25. That's cheaper than lower temps and I'm under a blanket when the temp goes under 25, so seems a bit silly to nake it too cold.

Fortunately for me, my house is well insulated. It's usually 10 degrees different to outside - in summer and winter, so that really helps. In hot weather the trick is to cool the house down as much as possible overnight, then shut everything up as soon as the sun is up. My mother insists on opening the bloody doors and windows and lets all the hot in when she visits. So much better to stay shut up and cool.

On the Bingo card I can dab
Forriners
Welfare bill
OAPs
Badly planned housing
Selfish individuals
Poor government initiatives
Posters who start threads without supportive evidence

Whilst you’re provoking, I shout HOUSE!

Your prize....an air con unit! Huzzah!

its terrible for the planet and climate change, so definitely not for government to fund

I don't agree that air con is needed as a welfare reform. My Victorian house is a comfortable temperature year round, so I do agree that new builds should be built to cope with cold winters and hot summers. If the Victorians could build houses that maintain a good temperature then modern houses should be able to do better.

I am astounded at the coordinated troll posts on this thread.

Thanks, but today I collected a Meaco fan inspired by threads here. ❤️ it!

My HA flat was built in 1977 Its not just new builds I havent reproduced I dont drive Last time i went abroad was a school trip forty years ago. Why should i have to sweat my guts out because of choices other ppl have made. I was in a friends HA flat on Saturday night. His weather station was reading 27c inside when it was 19c outside. Built in the 1960s I would be quite happy to pay for air con to be fitted but HA wont let us Ive already been ill over the last week. The heat exacerbates my digestive issues. If i am ever hospitalised because of it i will be looking into legal action.

And how many HAs will be continuing with gas safety checks this week?! Going into already stifling flats and turning the heating on. Would help if they use some common sense. Fire safety doors that flats have to have now No gaps allowed so no ventilation there Windows that open half an inch cos of window restrictors One bedroom flat so no kids here Top floor of a low rise

You think I’m a troll and working with someone else?
Get over yourself.

Welfare reform could have some money allocated to better housing regulations for new builds and an incentive for the rest like the previous for heating.

They should fund it for schools.
Children are very vulnerable in the heat, they also find it hard to sit still and rest in the hot weather - they still have the urge to run around at lunch/break times. A cool classroom to come inside to would be very helpful.
Schools often have high up windows which only open a crack.
32 odd fidgety children in a classroom generate a lot of heat anyway.

I think the National Grid should be upgraded so it could handle extra energy generated by households. and second that all new builds including commercial buildings should be equipped with solar panels. We would then have less reliance on Middle Eastern oil / Russian gas etc.

Aircon should then be funded by individuals.

it contributes to climate change

No. Air con makes hot weather worse. It a) uses more energy and b) pumps all that heat out into your neighbourhood.

If the government do anything they should be making sure new builds and estates are as green (literally) as possible. Trees and greenery minimise heatwaves. Ban plastic grass and concreting over gardens. Shutters for windows and through ventilation.

Mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (mvhr) is where you have a well insulated and well sealed house, so all the ventilation is controlled (i.e. no opening a window and relying on things happening naturally).

The mvhr draws fresh air in and pumps stale air out, but it runs it through a heat exchanger as it does so. So in the winter the heat is passed from the stale air to the incoming fresh air keeping the house warm. And in the summer, the heat from the fresh air is passed to the outgoing air, keeping the house cooler.

So do lots of other things like SUVs and foreign holidays. Why is it ok for poorer ppl to sweat their guts out because of what the more well off do