Fifteen years ago, it was the wood burner: an unnecessary middle-class indulgence that, despite causing untold environmental damage, started popping up in homes across the country. They became symbolic of a certain affluence that allows a privileged few to live in optimum comfort at all times.
Now there’s a new kid on the block: the portable air-conditioning unit. As we adjust to a changing climate, with mid-summer temperatures regularly exceeding 25C and occasionally reaching 35C or even higher, this is the new “must have”. Sales of air-conditioning units were up more than 500% during last year’s heatwave and, according to property website Rightmove, searches for homes with air-conditioning tripled over the same period. At between £300 and £1,000 a pop, they’re not cheap – but they certainly make three or four weeks of good UK weather each year easier to handle.
At what cost? This week National Grid readied another coal-fired power station to cope with the extra demand placed on the energy networks by offices and homes switching on air-conditioning units. Greenpeace UK shared its outrage at this request: “We’re using MORE coal to cool down the effects of the coal we’re using. It makes no sense.” And I agree.
Many climate-controlled buildings with artificial ventilation systems, such as hospitals or laboratories or large office and retail complexes, rely on air-conditioning to keep them at a stable temperature all year round. This is essential to ensure staff are protected from high temperatures in the workplace, and for those who are vulnerable in a heatwave, such as people with certain medical conditions or disabilities.
But given these are always running, keeping temperatures at a consistent pace through hot weather and – more often in the UK – cold too, it’s unlikely they are responsible for this sudden spike in demand. The more likely culprit is increasing numbers of small units inside homes that are suddenly cranked up in warm weather. In other words, the completely unnecessary ones.
Just as wood burners are being phased out as we start to fully understand the damage they do to climate and also lung health, we now need to consider a ban on some air-conditioning units – particularly when used at the mildest of warm temperatures. And until then it’s up to us not to buy them.
When it’s 26C outside, the average British home simply doesn’t need air-conditioning. It might feel nicer, but making you a little more comfortable isn’t the government’s job. Preventing further damaging climate change most certainly is. For healthy people, let’s not pretend this new trend is anything other than extravagance. Air conditioner sets you back at least £80 a month to run every night in a single bedroom. Compare that with just under £5 a month to run a classic fan by the bed.
Our neighbours in Europe have always been smarter when it comes to managing the heat. Take a wander on a hot day through residential neighbourhoods in France, Germany, Spain and Italy and you will see blinds or shutters closed against the glare of the midday sun. At dusk, windows are thrown wide open to let in the cool of the night.
Modern homes with good insulation (which we are still building far too few of in the UK) keep heat out just as well as they protect from the cold. If the government wants to keep the coal-fired power stations mothballed – as it must – then it should invest in speeding up its thrice-failed retrofitting programme to improve the thermal performance of all our homes.
But crucially, we also need to adapt our behaviour. Southern Europeans have long accommodated extreme temperatures by dressing appropriately, and respecting their bodies by taking a break from work during the hottest part of the day. High temperatures affect our “cognitive performance”, one social media user told me when I lamented our increased use of air-conditioning on Twitter. I cannot think of anything bleaker than burning coal to keep us more economically productive for a few extra weeks at the expense of our bodies and the planet.
A time will come – under another government, of course – when good solar panel coverage across the country might mean we are able to justify a personal AC unit in every home, powered by our own clean energy source. But we are not there now.
Until then, there is no argument for the able-bodied to be using air-conditioning at home, just so that they are more comfortable during our short-lived warm spells. If you’re cranking it up during the short British summer, you’re part of the problem.
• This article was amended on 15 June 2023. An earlier version referred to wood burners being “phased out by law”. To clarify: the sale of house coal and wet wood will be banned, thereby limiting the use of wood burners.
Hannah Fearn is a freelancer writer and reporter specialising in social affairs
