Is residential air conditioning now a hot prospect?

摘要

For British people travelling in Southern Europe, it can be a surprising sight to see the lines of condensing units mounted outside apartments and homes. In parts of Italy, Spain and Greece, the majority of dwellings are air conditioned. In high summer, when the mercury starts climbing through the upper thirties and beyond, it is not hard to understand why. Here, it is not so much a luxury as a necessity of life. In the UK, of course, the picture is different. Residential air conditioning - at least until recently - has mainly been confined to premium apartments. The high-rise glass towers that have sprung up in London and other major cities have high heat gains and sealed windows, a combination that requires air conditioning to make them not only comfortable, but habitable. However, there are changes underway that could result in residential air conditioning becoming increasingly mainstream in the UK in future. The most obvious driver, of course, is climate change.