According to government and market research firm estimates, less than 5% of UK homes have air conditioning. But as temperatures rise in the country’s second severe heat wave of the summer, so does demand for cooling units, Bushprnr says. “People call all the time,” he said. Bushprnr has been installing AC units in London for eight years, but said that in the last three years there has been a sharp increase in demand. It has gone from installing one unit a day to three or four. Rob Bushprnr has been installing air conditioning units in London for eight years. He says that in the last three years there has been a sharp increase in demand. (Katie Nicholson/CBC) Bushprnr moved from Albania to England 10 years ago. He said he has never seen it as hot as it has been in recent years. “The weather is changing,” he said. “We feel like we’re not in England, we’re in Europe.” On Thursday, a four-day extreme heat warning came into effect for southern and central England and parts of Wales. In July, a heatwave broke records for the UK when temperatures soared above 40C for the first time in its history.
Drought in parts of England
The heat combined with very little rainfall has also strained water resources and prompted officials to declare drought in parts of England. Millions of people may face some kind of water restriction or bans, and some stores have stopped selling disposable barbecues because the dry conditions have made them too much of a fire risk. High temperatures have punished green spaces such as football pitches and parks, but it has been good for the air conditioning business. Electrician Amanza Mattison has only been working in the air conditioning world for a few months, but she says the demand is so high that she works a lot of overtime. (Katie Nicholson/CBC) “For the last month I’ve been working overtime like crazy,” said Amanza Mattison, an electrician who works on the Bushprnr crew. “Definitely the market is getting bigger as we speak.” The market may be growing, but it remains relatively small. PHOTOS | Typically rainy Britain with 2nd heat wave: “Ideally many people will get by without air conditioning,” said Tadj Oreszczyn, professor of Energy and Environment at University College London. “Air conditioning costs money and is bad for the environment in the long run.” The UK’s infrastructure and energy requirements for heating far exceed those for cooling, and Oreszczyn says forecasts expect it to remain so for the next two decades, unless there is an unforeseen climate tipping point. “That’s not the case for the rest of the world,” he said. “The rest of the world on average is dominated by cooling now. That’s changed in the last 20 or 30 years.”
Buildings not designed for cooling
Centuries of UK building practice have focused on keeping heat in, not keeping it out, and for good reason, he said. “We have 70 times more people dying from the cold than dying from the heat. But the consequence of that is that we just haven’t really designed our buildings to deal with overheating,” Oreszczyn said. Tadj Oreszczyn, professor of energy and environment at University College London, says cost is a big barrier for many people who might want air conditioning. (JF Bisson/CBC) For the first time this year, the government introduced regulations for buildings to be designed so they don’t overheat in warmer weather. “The majority of our buildings have not seen this. Some of our buildings are, I’m afraid, total disasters in this respect.” he said. Oreszczyn does not expect most UK homes to have cooling systems installed until the majority of homes switch to heat pumps or other low-carbon technology. The country aims to move away from fossil fuel energy and achieve net zero targets by 2050. Cara Sutcliffe says her landlord paid to install an air conditioning unit in her apartment. He says people in the UK are not prepared for how hot it can get. (JF Bisson/CBC)
Added economic, ecological burden
While he says air conditioning is a good option for vulnerable people who have no other options, he believes almost everyone else will go without for now because of the costs involved. Energy bills are already biting into the country’s rising cost of living and by some measures are expected to reach £4,200 (Cdn$6,500) a year by 2023. If more homes were to install air conditioning now, it would be an additional economic and ecological burden. “Obviously, it can stress the electrical system,” he said. “And we really need to start reducing carbon emissions now if we’re going to stop this weather from getting even hotter.” WATCHES | The UK is struggling with how to adapt to this summer’s extreme heat:
Demand for air conditioning is rising in the UK amid summer heat
Unused to high temperatures, the UK is struggling to adapt to this summer’s extreme heat. As the temperature rises, so does the demand for air conditioning in UK homes. As the crew drill holes for air pipes in the walls of Cara Sutcliffe’s Finsbury Park flat, she says she’s relieved the unit is coming in, especially after July’s heat wave. “Physically it was pretty draining,” he said. “Living in the UK we don’t know how hot it can really get and we’re not prepared for it.” The owner of Sutcliffe bears the cost of this installation and the energy bill. She feels lucky and knows that air conditioning and the cool air it promises are out of reach for many. “It’s expensive. Unfortunately, with the cost of living going up, it’s difficult.” he said. “We need to rethink how we do things.”
