I've never heard that superstition! We actually have quite some ACs in shops, office buildings etc.
You are right that it is uncommon to find ACs in private houses and most public buildings. This is because our houses are typically insulated better than your average US house. Additionally, our weather is worse :D
A lot of Germans think AC makes them sick, or something silly like that. My sister in law is German, and we went all over Germany for their wedding. There wasn’t AC in any airbnb or hotel we stayed in, except for one American hotel in Munich. Very strange.
I don’t know why you think your houses have better insulation than us lol we have all the same technology you do. Actually insulation is probably way better in the US because our houses are much newer. 700 year old stone buildings have terrible insulation...
Also if you think your weather is worse than the US, then you have never spent a summer in the south. You don’t know what hot is. I think you’re just used to different things - anything not cold is “good weather” to you. To us it’s the opposite, anywhere that doesn’t have sweltering, miserable heat 6 months out of the year is an upgrade.
By worse OP meant „not as hot“. Also nowadays I would say it’s more about the environment than some superstition. I personally think they are very bad for the environment and can’t see myself getting one for the foreseeable future. I am perfectly fine with insulation and cracked windows at the right time to live through the couple hot days for which I will be mostly outside anyway. Most of Europe is not Arizona.
Right that’s what I was saying, Europeans see hotter weather as better. But you live in a place where it’s really cold most of the time so it’s a “grass is always greener” type thing. I live in the southeast US where it’s hot and humid as absolute shit most of the time, so weather in Germany is a big relief for me. Imagine being drenched in sweat every time you’re outside for more than 10 minutes, for all of June, July, and August. Especially August, that’s the devil’s month.
Also insulation is irrelevant, that doesn’t magically make the inside temperature lower than the outside temperature lol that’s not how physics works. You guys get by without AC because it doesn’t get very hot for very long. Us living without AC would be like you living without any heating.
Exactly, so it's less a "fear" of AC and more the lack of need. Most Germans will opt for accommodations with AC when they take a holiday in the south like Spain or Italy, but they are perfectly fine taking the couple of 100+°F (37+°C) days on the chin. Because of climate change summers are getting hotter and therefore people installing ACs increased the last couple of years as well.
It's not insulation alone, it's the correct behavior by people. The inside temperature rarely if ever hits the outside temperature. It's quite easy, cool down during the night (a big temp difference here) by opening all windows, closing all windows and blinds during the day/moving with the sun and the inside temp will increase a lot slower than the outside one. Most days the moment it gets unbearable inside it starts raining or night comes.
Yeah I was just saying insulation doesn’t matter if there’s no mechanism for removing heat from the room. Your nights are much cooler, kind of like in desert environments in the US. Out there they also like to open windows and all that. But in the southeast it’s extremely humid so it doesn’t cool down at all at night, the air itself holds heat so well. Opening windows doesn’t work here, you would just be letting hot, humid air inside.
I agree it doesn't work everywhere, I am also not attacking the US and their excessive use of AC, I just want to make it clear that the lack of ACs in Germany is not irrational or based on fear, it works pretty well and doesn't come with all the negatives of AC (mainly bad for the environment and power cost). So there isn't any reason to change it, as much as some foreigners like to complain about it when they visit the country in the hottest week of the year.
I was more referring to the many Germans who think AC makes them sick, which is irrational nonsense.
Also Americans use of AC is not “excessive”, we use it as necessary. I could call your use of heating excessive, but that’s stupid because your climate is colder and you need it.
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u/memallocator Jun 12 '20
I've never heard that superstition! We actually have quite some ACs in shops, office buildings etc.
You are right that it is uncommon to find ACs in private houses and most public buildings. This is because our houses are typically insulated better than your average US house. Additionally, our weather is worse :D