Air conditioning?
 

I was just wondering if many people there in the UK have a/c? Does a/c come with newer homes ? Are people buying them now that you are having hot weather or is everyone just trying to deal with it?

Re: Air conditioning?
 

I wondered the same thing given that UK temps seem to be nudging the 30's.

Mind you, it's not hot for nearly so long in the UK as it is here in Aus.

For those in the UK, as well as air con use, does it cool down at night after a 30 c day or does it stay hot all night?

Re: Air conditioning?
 

I'm currently in the south of England (Thames Valley area) where it's been high 20s and hitting 30. The minimum temperatures have been about 18 degrees some nights, but at 10pm it's still easily in the 20s. The positive is if there is a breeze as it can help to cool a room - if there's no breeze at night, then our bedroom can be quite horrible to sleep in.

Re: Air conditioning?
 

This weather is so "untypical" I think it wouldn't be cost effective. We had it in the US because the humidity was very high and the air was like breathing soup most days in high summer. Here it's much fresher. I am contemplating buying a fan, however, and I've closed all the blinds and curtains!
I'm sure some expensive dwellings with sophisticated systems might have it!
It does normally cool down at night. Hotels, supermarkets and some shops and office blocks have air conditioning.

Re: Air conditioning?
 

I tell you what....the whole of Cheltenham can do with one huge air conditioning system at the present time.....day after day after day each successive day (and night) seems to be hotter than the day (and night) before, and I am beginning to forget what a cloud looks like, and a rainy day is a distant memory.

This year so far we have had a never ending winter of biting cold winds and snowy days....and now a seemingly never ending scorchingly sunny summer turning all the public parks in this gorgeous town from green to brownish yellow. And dogs don't seem to like it much.

Britain is not a country suited to extremes. Something seem to be going wrong somewhere along the climatic line. :D

It's a wonder that the BBC isn't laying the blame for it all on the present Government's cuts program!

Re: Air conditioning?
 

So... there's something wrong with the climate... hmmm... could it be climate change by any chance?

Re: Air conditioning?
 

Great description. :)

We have it here too. It's essential. I remember the odd 'sticky' day in Bristol but once back indoors it was fine.

My old house was fine at night with a couple of windows open and no more than a sheet for sleeping.

After nine years here, it's still a wonder to me leaving an air conditioned store and having my glasses steam up. :blink:

I would think a ceiling fan in the main room and bedroom would be a good compromise.

Re: Air conditioning?
 

Ceiling fans are great, & seem to be fairly common in the houses where I am in the northeast USA, but I remember very few ceiling fans in the houses in my area of southeastern England, expecially not in the bungalows...which IIRC you may be interested in, Sile?

We moved away from the UK almost two years ago, & I remember most folks there just brought out the fans and gritted their teeth through a heat wave. They were fairly rare, and they didn't last too long, so you'd just take it easy and make it through as best you could till it ended and the weather was bearable again.

I didn't know anyone with home air conditioning in the UK.... Not a single neighbour nor any of my work colleagues.

Re: Air conditioning?
 

A tiny minority of houses in the UK will have it but you can get and fit split units if you really wanted to. To be honest don't waste your money as hot spells really are a rarity and its far healthier to sweat it out a bit than dry out with the AC on

As a previous poster said, buy a fan as it will soon all be a distant memory and everyone will be whinging that its too bloody cold again

How many days last year did anyone think of putting their imaginary AC on ? Yep not once,
Kinda blows out the window the climate change preachers doesn't it

Re: Air conditioning?
 

I don't know anyone with it either.

I'm not sure that ceiling light fixtures are all that common (light fixture = ceiling fan). I guess it depends on the age and construction of the house.

*edited* Husband just walked into my office. I asked him about ceiling lights and he pretty much told me I'm an idiot. He said "don't you remember the celing fan in my brother's dining room". :p

Re: Air conditioning?
 

You don't need it. My Mum lives in 'the suntrap of the south' (Eastbourne) and a desk fan is all you really need in the conservatory.

Re: Air conditioning?
 

Light and ceiling fan - £20 and up from B&Q

Not only good for cooling but circulation of warm air too.

Ours looks a bit like this one

Re: Air conditioning?
 

Ceiling fans are quite popular - quite a few people I know have them and they seem to be effective.

We make do with a tower fan, which of course does not lower the temperature, but just makes it more comfortable to get off to sleep.

I do have one friend that has a portable, stand alone air conditioning unit. She lives in a south facing, second floor (third floor in US terms) flat and finds that she uses it for a good few days every year.

Re: Air conditioning?
 

I hated hot weather in the UK, but while in can be unpleasantly hot, and difficult to get to sleep, my memory is that it only that hot for an average of 2-3 weeks per year, and that it usually cools down significantly over night. If you get a week of particularly hot weather it can stay warm all night. A desk or floor fan usually provides sufficient relief.

To put this in context, when I used to do shift work in the summer in Gloucester as a student, when I worked 6am-2pm shifts I would usually put a parka on (over a T-shirt) to ride my bicycle to work even in July and August. At 2pm I would go home and change to shorts, because it was hot, but the next morning it would mostly be quite cool again. Generally speaking it is cooler further north, ... though that is true in winter too! :rolleyes:
!
That said A/C is getting more common, especially the compact "split" systems that are designed to cool 1-3 rooms, and do not need any ducts. The heat is removed from the room using refrigerant in a narrow copper pipe to a condenser unit outside. The government doesn't like the proliferation of A/C because it makes achieving carbon emission targets harder! :D

Re: Air conditioning?
 

Check out : http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23341698