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As the European continent faces increasingly frequent temperature records, architectural tradition, energy cost, bureaucracy, and climate goals continue to hinder the popularization of residential cooling appliances
The heatwaves that have swept across Europe in recent years are no longer an isolated phenomenon. They have become routine. And along with them, a question that troubles experts, authorities, and residents grows: why, even under record temperatures, is air conditioning still a rare item inside European homes?
The answer is not simple. It mixes history, architecture, economy, and climate policy — and helps explain why the continent reacts to heat in such a different way from the rest of the world.
According to information released by CNN, in a report originally published in English by the CNN International portal and replicated by CNN Brazil on June 24, 2026, millions of Europeans are currently facing extremely high temperatures with limited resources. Electric fans, ice packs, and cold showers remain, for a large part of the population, the main — and sometimes only — tools for thermal relief.
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A continent that never needed cooling
For decades, Europe simply did not see air conditioning as a necessity. Unlike the United States, where extreme heat has always been part of the climate landscape, the European continent built its relationship with the seasons under a different logic: that cold, not heat, was the problem to be solved.
“In Europe… we simply don’t have the tradition of air conditioning… because, until relatively recently, it wasn’t an important necessity,” explained Brian Motherway, head of the Energy Efficiency and Inclusive Transitions Office at the International Energy Agency (IEA), in a statement reproduced by the report.
The numbers reinforce this historical contrast. While almost 90% of American homes have air conditioning, in Europe this percentage is around only 20%. A huge difference — and one that helps explain why, when the thermometer spikes, a large part of the continent’s population simply has nowhere to turn.
Moreover, the cost weighs against the popularization of the equipment. Energy prices in various European countries are generally higher than in the United States, while average incomes tend to be lower. Result: keeping an air conditioning unit running during weeks of intense heat can be a luxury out of reach for many families.
Old houses, challenging architecture, and bureaucracy
In this sense, architecture also plays a decisive role in the equation. In southern Europe, historically warmer regions have developed their own solutions against the heat: thick walls, small windows that block direct sunlight, and designs aimed at maximizing natural ventilation. These constructions, conceived centuries ago, still help keep environments cooler today without any additional technology.
On the other hand, in other regions of the continent, this concern never existed. “We haven’t had the habit… of thinking about how to keep cool in the summer. It’s really a relatively recent phenomenon,” stated Motherway.
The age of the properties also complicates the equation. In England — which, according to the report, has just recorded the hottest June ever measured — one in six houses was built before 1900. Adapting these structures with modern central cooling systems is technically possible, but it is usually expensive and labor-intensive.
Still, according to Richard Salmon, director of the British company The Air Conditioning Company, the biggest obstacle is often not technical — it’s bureaucratic. As he reported to the article, British authorities frequently refuse requests for air conditioning installation “based on the visual appearance of the external condenser unit, especially in conservation areas or listed buildings.”
Climate goals, heat on the streets, and a change underway
There is, however, a political layer behind this resistance. Europe has committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2050, and the accelerated expansion of air conditioning use would make this goal even more difficult to achieve. This is because, in addition to consuming a large amount of energy, the devices release heat to the external environment — worsening the problem they are trying to solve indoors.
A study conducted in Paris showed that intense use of air conditioning can raise the external temperature by about 2 to 4 degrees Celsius, an effect especially concerning in densely populated cities, as European ones tend to be.
In light of this, some countries have already adopted regulatory measures to curb the rise in energy consumption linked to cooling. In 2022, Spain ruled that air conditioning in public places cannot be set to temperatures below 27 degrees Celsius — a direct attempt to balance thermal comfort and energy efficiency.
Despite all these barriers, the scenario is changing. Europe is consolidating itself as a true “hot spot” of the global climate, warming twice as fast as the world average. And this is forcing a collective reassessment of the role of air conditioning in the continent’s daily life.
“Our homes need to be resilient not only to the cold but also to increasingly intense heat,” argued Yetunde Abdul, director of the UK Green Building Council, in a passage cited by the original report.
The data confirms this shift in behavior. A report by the International Energy Agency itself projects that the number of air conditioning units in the European Union is expected to jump to 275 million by 2050 — more than double the number recorded in 2019.
Richard Salmon confirms this trend in practice. According to him, residential consultations for air conditioning installation have more than tripled in the last five years. “This particular heatwave has made everything explode… People just can’t function when they’re boiling at 3 a.m.,” he reported.
However, experts warn of an important paradox: air conditioning offers immediate relief but has a high environmental cost, as most of the energy that powers it still comes from fossil fuels. For Radhika Khosla, associate professor at the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment at the University of Oxford, this intensive use fuels “a vicious cycle of worsening climate change” — since more emissions generate more heat, which in turn generates more demand for cooling.
The International Energy Agency itself recognizes that this transition is inevitable. According to Motherway, the way Europe thinks about air conditioning will change as extreme heat — and its direct impacts on public health — intensifies in the coming years.
The challenge, according to him, will be to ensure strict regulations on the energy efficiency of new systems sold on the continent, as each piece of equipment purchased today locks in the energy consumption and emissions standard for the next two decades. “Because each air conditioner sold today locks in energy consumption and emissions for the next ten or twenty years. So it’s important we get this right the first time,” he concluded.
The information was originally published by the portal CNN International (edition.cnn.com) and replicated by CNN Brazil on June 24, 2026, in the context of record heatwaves recorded in various parts of Europe, including the United Kingdom, France, and Spain.
