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413 points samclemens | 4 comments | | HN request time: 0.331s | source
1. thorin ◴[] No.41857219[source]
What percentage of US buildings would you say have air conditioning? The amount of UK homes that have AC is basically 0. Although I guess most commercial buildings would have it. I wonder if this is because UK homes are mainly brick, would that make a difference? Absolute max temp here in summer is 40 degrees C for 1 or 2 days and 30 degrees is pretty rare on most days in summer. When I saw the title I'd assumed this was about rainfall and guttering, which is something we do know about in the UK!
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2. ndheebebe ◴[] No.41857338[source]
Natural gas prices. If gas was priced per kw like electricity then heat pumps would be popular to heat your home as they are more efficient (they cool air outside to get some energy). And then you get the air conditioning mode for the summer. But the winter use would justify the installation.
3. JoshTriplett ◴[] No.41857564[source]
> What percentage of US buildings would you say have air conditioning?

Depends on the region of the US. In more northern, colder regions, many don't. In hotter regions, I think most either have it or have temporary/window/etc units.

4. TheCleric ◴[] No.41863462[source]
Depends on latitude. In Florida which is subtropical everyone has air conditioning. The UK only spans 10 degrees of latitude. The continental US spans almost 25. So the variability of climate here is HUGE.