Air Conditioning: Benefits and Challenges
As Britain experiences unprecedented heatwaves, many households are considering air conditioning (AC) for the first time. Traditionally, left-leaning critics have highlighted cheaper, low-energy alternatives to combat extreme heat. However, decades of underinvestment have left the UK ill-prepared for rising temperatures, prompting a reevaluation of progressive attitudes toward air conditioning.
Like many emerging technologies, air conditioning offers considerable advantages but also poses significant drawbacks, including increased energy consumption and global emissions. It is unproductive to dismiss these harms outright, as some AC proponents do, but equally unwise to reject the potential role of mechanical cooling systems in progressive climate adaptation strategies.
Efficiency as a Cornerstone of Leftwing Air Conditioning Policy
Any progressive approach to air conditioning must prioritize efficiency. Currently, AC installation in Britain is fragmented and inefficient, occurring sporadically on a household basis without strategic planning or economies of scale. Although the technology itself is sophisticated, isolated use can lead to substantial waste. Cooling indoor air without addressing heat gain through windows and walls is akin to running a bath with the plug out.
Many British homes overheat due to inadequate insulation and lack of external shading. For example, one neighbour tested the effect of hanging a sheet outside his window and recorded a 17.8°C difference between shaded and unshaded window interiors—equivalent to the output of multiple 400W radiators operating at full power. Installing air conditioning without first mitigating heat gain through windows risks wasting resources. Moreover, reliance on AC raises concerns about system failures during extended heatwaves.
When Air Conditioning Is Necessary
In some cases, external shading solutions such as awnings, shutters, or louvres—common in hotter European regions like southern France and Spain—may not suffice to reduce temperatures during peak heat. In these situations, moderate air conditioning use is sensible, provided it supplements rather than replaces lower-emission cooling methods.
“Individual air-con units are the bottled water of urban cooling,” says Smith Mordak, former CEO of the UK Green Building Council. “What we need instead are the equivalent of mains water solutions: shared, available for all, and transformative for public health.”
Mordak emphasizes that air conditioning should not be categorically rejected but should be implemented with the goal of enhancing public health rather than private luxury.
Strategic Air Conditioning in Public Transport
Public transportation exemplifies effective strategic use of air conditioning. Unlike buildings, trains and buses cannot be retrofitted with awnings or thick insulation. Without reliable and comfortable transit systems, urban populations suffer. Progressive advocates should therefore support expanding air conditioning on public transport. It is notable that most London buses lack air conditioning, while nearly all private taxis are equipped, highlighting a misallocation of resources.
Air Conditioning and Transport: A Useful Analogy
Air conditioning systems share similarities with cars. When deployed responsibly, with appropriate regulation and as part of a multimodal transit strategy, cars provide substantial benefits. Conversely, unregulated, widespread car use can degrade urban environments and increase pollution. Similarly, strategic air conditioning use can be liberating, but a market-driven, unplanned proliferation risks worsening inequality and accelerating climate change.
Economic Opportunities and Public Ownership
Addressing extreme heat offers opportunities for skilled employment and profitable state enterprises, which the political left should embrace. The French government’s significant stakes in critical sectors such as energy, transport, and communications exemplify this model. As climate change intensifies, cooling infrastructure will become essential public utilities. Advocates on the left should push for public ownership of the cooling sector to ensure democratic oversight and prevent corporate profiteering at consumers’ expense.
Regulation and Licensing
Currently, air conditioning installation is largely unregulated beyond affordability constraints. Wealthier households can install and operate AC units without limits, disregarding impacts on neighbors and the environment. At minimum, regulations should mandate implementation of lower-emission cooling strategies before granting air conditioning permits for buildings.
A Multifaceted Approach to Overheating
Air conditioning alone cannot solve overheating or climate adaptation challenges. A comprehensive approach is required, incorporating urban tree planting for cooling, European-style external shading such as awnings and shutters, insulation improvements, ambient loop heat networks, and more. Deploying air conditioning in isolation would exacerbate the problem it aims to solve. However, when combined with other measures, air conditioning plays a vital role. The progressive stance should focus not on outright rejection but on strategic deployment alongside complementary infrastructure upgrades.
Phineas Harper is a writer and curator.
