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’s why the government can’t fund it

Not compliant with net zero goals

I agree with the shutters. We have a house in France where it gets much hotter than the UK. Everyone has shutters. With the shutters shut and the windows open the house stays cool withiut aircon even if outside it is 45°

OP, you do understand that anything "funded" by Government is actually paid for by us, the taxpayers?
So, no, taxpayers are already paying for way too much. If you want luxuries, you pay for them yourself.

Domestic A/C installations are currently VAT free until 31st March 27, it then reverts back to 5% so there is a small saving to be had.

Get a grip! Air con is becoming popular where I live, although lots of people don't have it. People fund it themselves, there is no expectation for the government to do it, and they've never funded heating either. Do you not think the government has enough to pay for without this?

It would be best for the government to spend more on tackling climate change and for us to reduce usage of air con. Air conditioning contributes to global warming through high electricity consumption often powered by fossil fuels and synthetic greenhouse gases used as refrigerants.

Given how many people asked the same question it might seem you need some writing lessons to help you to articulate what you mean?

Your post is asking if government (=taxpayer) should fund ACs.

@catspyjamas1 i'm in one of the new builds that you mentioned, in a tiny flat

The lack of space makes it worse as well if you know what I mean

I don't think the government / taxpayers should have to pay for it

Your thread has prompted me to wonder though, as a group we talked to the management company about getting it fitted as a whole building

They said it wasn't possible due to the way the building has been structured

I can see that argument, but I also wonder how big a job it is to get it done somehow

It would presumably mean that we'd have to carve out space in the external wall for each flat

I think it's ridiculous that we don't have it and the place was built in 2023.

we share the freehold so we would split the cost but the management company said it was literally not possible

I'm now wondering if that's true or maybe somebody just said it when they couldn't be bothered to look into it. They're the ones with all the information about the actual structure of the building

Someone has mentioned brise Soleil

We had that in my old building - I obviously have no way of knowing how bad it would've been without, but it didn't make any difference to the crazy heat

We have tiny heating bills because the whole place is done up with thermal bricks I think - so they throw heat back at you

One thing that should be feasible as external shutters.

Victorians in general are notoriously drafty and, in winter, cold without significant heating.

Boris Johnson’s government fed this fantasy.

”We will spend whatever it takes to beat the virus.”
“Here are millions and millions so that most of you don’t have to work, for month after month, to prolong the lives of those who have already lived. I just have to wave the magic money tree, this will have no economic consequences whatsoever, and it will never have to be paid back, because I can build back better. (And like Lord Farquaard in Shrek) Some of you will lose your careers, livelihoods, business, and mental health, but it’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make.”

People gained the idea that the government will do anything to “save” them. One reason of many I think he should have said in summer 2020 “we cannot control the virus, we can only lessen the harms, and protect the vulnerable. If we lock down through the summer, we will push the second wave into winter, and every day of lockdown is costing millions.” That’s what he should have said. But he and his merry men had frightened the public so much that this was politically impossible, so he went with “we will do and spend whatever it takes to protect you.”

The government is not God, no matter how much certain prime ministers (especially Johnson) think they are God.

"to prolong the lives of those who have already lived"

What?

You do realize it is 2026 now, right?
Hindsight, your version, is wonderful, I guess.

We have solar panels so we don’t pay anything for electricity in summer (we get paid about £70-£100 per month for exporting instead) so I don’t actually know (other than it costs us nothing).

Sadly if climate change continues then the Gulf Stream will collapse fairly soon, and at that point Britain will become permanently colder than it was before - the insulated houses will come back into their own.

Fund a/c in Government owned public buildings/offices? Maybe. In private homes?! What planet are you on!

Not to mention that would actually exacerbate the climate change issue.

You do realise that the Spain and i think
the eu has banned the use of air-conditioning in public places....

I don’t think some people realise how badly designed new builds are for summers, it was not uncommon for our bedroom to remain above 30C for over a month in the height of summer before our air con. It really isn’t a luxury at this point. I certainly think something needs to happen.

Haha good one. They barely fund the NHS and education system, why would aircon ever be a priority in a country where it’s hot like 10 days a year?

I’ll look this up later but are you sure? That doesn’t sound right.

So your argument is that vulnerable people should have their benefits cut to pay for climate changing aircon for the few weeks of heatwaves we get, and you have no facts and figures to back this up, and you’re rude and sarcastic to anyone who challenges you. You’re being ridiculous.

Or maybe you work for an aircon company. More aircon => more climate change => more aircon. What an excellent business model!

Especially that we now have actual data on how many people have died due to lack of air-conditioning

I mean, that sounds mad, but if you compare hot weather deaths in Europe to Asia or America, guess who loses? Europe needs more of it too.

Well it’s only June and we’re in our 2nd week of mid 30’s here in London.

I guess it’s as good a use of all the spare money the Govt has, now that public services are completely sorted 🤨

I wish everywhere I went had aircon but you can’t expect the Govt (ie us) to pay for it

Realistically, the UK doesn’t experience enough continuously hot days to make air con practical for most people

This myth still persists sadly that it’s “only a few days “. Not according to records I’ve had to keep for medical reasons (I get very ill in heat and keep a log so my GP can try helping me get to the bottom of why heat makes me so ill) it’s regularly many weeks every year when it’s hot, humid and unbearable.

Let me guess, you also resent how much tax you have to pay.
Where’s the money coming from?