So I just got sent some interesting figures…
Apparently more people die of heatstroke in Europe than of firearms in the USA every year…
175,000 deaths per year from heat:
while 21,000 gun murders (about double that if you count suicides - but still a fraction of the deaths in Europe)
Time to maybe rethink the “we don’t need a/c”?
The irony is that cars have AC but houses don’t. Rolling down the window makes driving possible. No way to cool a room at 25+°C at 1AM which seriously perturbs sleeping.
For me the bigger irony is that it’s allowed to use the single-unit portable a/c’s which simply don’t work. For every meter of air expelled from the hot air hose, they suck in the same amount of hot air from outside (through door cracks, etc) - as otherwise you would have a vacuum in the house.
Instead, we demonize the split units which actually do work…
Strict Regulations in Geneva
Mobile vs. Fixed Units
Summary Table
| Type of AC | Permission Needed? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed/Split System | Yes | Strict process; proof of need required[3][6]. |
| Portable/Monoblock | No | No building alteration, so no permit needed[5]. |
Key Steps
Alternative
Bottom Line:
For fixed AC in Geneva, expect a strict approval process; for portable units, no permit is needed, but efficiency is lower. Always confirm with local authorities before proceeding[3][5][6].
Sources
[1] Aircon? Urgent : r/Switzerland - Reddit https://www.reddit.com/r/Switzerland/comments/myvn9g/aircon_urgent/
[2] Why is it difficult to get a permit for air conditioners in Switzerland? https://insajderi.org/en/Why-is-it-difficult-to-get-an-air-conditioning-license-in-Switzerland/
[3] Geneva’s strict rules boost sales of most polluting air conditioners https://lenews.ch/2022/07/15/genevas-strict-rules-boost-sales-of-most-polluting-air-conditioners/
[4] Air Conditioning in Switzerland? - General - Glocals https://www.glocals.com/forums/general/Air-Conditioning-in-Switzerland--134553.htm
[5] Question about De’Longhi PAC AN112 Silent Pinguino - Galaxus https://www.galaxus.ch/en/s2/questionandanswer/hello-i-am-told-that-to-instal-an-air-conditioner-at-home-one-needs-permission-from-canton-authriti-62587
[6] Why doesn’t Switzerland have more air conditioners? https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2024/08/why-doesnt-switzerland-have-more-air-conditioners.html
[7] Air conditioning in a condominium in Zurich canton? - Real Estate Air conditioning in a condominium in Zurich canton? - Real Estate - Mustachian Post Community
[8] How to cool homes sustainably in sweltering weather - Swissinfo https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/sci-tech/how-to-cool-homes-sustainably-in-sweltering-weather/48711678
In other words no rules or restrictions on installing inefficient‘ portable’ units but if you want to install a professional efficient unit you need to sacrifice your first born child
How may people die in the US from heatstroke every year?
But, I see several houses around with air-to-air heat pumps in the gardens. Some of those systems are for both heating and cooling.
Maybe the issue is in the wording: it’s a heat pump for heating and hot water, no more oil burning!!! No one needs to know which specific heat exchanger unit is connected to the heat pump inside the house 
The answer is neither nor. Outside temp at the moment 31 deg C. Inside the flat I have 27 deg after having the windows open at night, closed now. Shutters are down and I am feeling good with a cylinder fan cooling me down.
There is also article #16 - Indoor climate of Regulation #3 from the Swiss Work Law (automated translation):
All rooms must be adequately ventilated, either naturally or artificially, according to their intended use. Room temperature, air velocity, and relative humidity must be measured and adjusted to ensure a room climate that is not detrimental to health and appropriate for the type of work being performed.
The specific regulation for article #16 is the following:
Not far from my place there are some offices with big and beautiful split units in the building façade.
So, maybe the trick is “I NEED AC FOR WORK”, and everything needed for work is as sacred as a milking cow. I’m no lawyer, but it would be interesting to analyze this in the context of “home office”. People renting offices the size of a dentist office can install a split unit, does home office apply?
They’ve been in the rise, but appear to be in the low thousands… (as much as I dislike quoting fox news) Heat is the deadliest weather in the US | Fox Weather
" The deadliest year from extreme heat was 1995, when the deaths of 1,021 Americans were blamed on excessively hot weather. 1989 and 2004 had the fewest number of people killed by heat, with only six such deaths."
This site suggests about 2000 in 2023 was the highest year… https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/27/climate/heat-deaths.html
Keep in mind, the US, like the middle east, air-conditions every building (and in some cases outdoor spaces).
Heck, last week I was still surprised to see wall-less gazebo’s air conditioned to get a cool breeze… (Dubai)
At work, we recently rebuilt the building and were told we would struggle to get approval for ac’s outside the server room. We ended up with ceiling water coolers (so cool water pumped into the ceiling, and 8 hours later the room gets marginally cooler, warm water is then pumped back to the lake)…
I would be curious to see if my gemeinde would allow a/c installs for a home office!
It’s mainly older people with pre-existing, chronic health conditions who are dying from heat-stroke.
Those people are unlikely to get A/C even if rules were relaxed.
People working in offices are not dying of heat-stroke.
However, I do think with inevitable global warming, generally cool countries up to now need to look at solutions to deal with the heat. Perhaps less glass-fronted buildings for a start?
My mum in the UK has finally conceded that an on-all-time Aga perhaps wasn’t such a good idea after all.
We use the cooling-power from the datacenter below to cool down the office.
On very hot days, it was beyond 35°C before that.
The women wore really short shirts then (and they usually have nicer manicured feet…), so for them they kind-of adapted.
Likewise, when the heating doesn’t work, the whole thing cools down quickly - it’s got the insulation-characteristics of a barn-shed.
At home, it’s sort-of ok-ish.
Maybe it is a sub-conscious policy to help reduce the AHV deficit?
noobs. i dont take my hoodie off until it hits 30
While in part I agree with you, the statistics are pretty shocking… Yes, Europe has roughly twice the number of people that the USA does… but to have a delta of heat related deaths (Especially with the weak medical system that the US has) is pretty shocking.
There’s older people in the US too, so the comparison is pretty similar.
there are a lot of confounding factors you need to strip out to make a meaningful comparison.
firstly we should probably only include states with comparable climate. i’m guessing not many are dying from heat stroke in Alaska.
maybe the hotter climates are also correlated to poorer countries, so we should control for that.
do fewer people die from heat because they already died from something else e.g. heart attack? etc. etc.
Nor in Sweden, Scotland, or any of the North European states.
I presume that you are not suggesting that there are no hearth attacks in europe?
More confounding factors: our genes have a solution to adapt to heat, but exposure is needed to activate said genes.
If we expose ourselves to heat little by little during spring, said genes get the signal to activate and then send a subsequent signal to cause changes in how our body works.
So far, it has been observed that our bodies retain more water (higher H2O as % of body mass). This is measured in the volume increase in blood plasma. Our bodies literally produce more blood to allow blood to be pumped closed to the skin and therefore help to stay cool. If on average we have 3-3.5 liters of blood, adapting to heat is correlated to 6% more or 2 wine glasses more of blood 
Other adaptations stored in our genes are sweating more, heat shock proteins (proteins to protect our cells to heat),
NYT article: How Our Bodies Can Adapt to Heat.
It’s possible to train your body to better handle high temperatures in just a few weeks.
The point is people living in temperate climates do not adapt to heat in “normal life”. Unless you make a conscious effort to take a sunbath or exercise when it’s hot, it’s quite probable that there is little adaptation to heat when a heat wave arrives. That causes the mortality in temperate climates. Or when people from temperate climates goes for vacation to 40°+C place and can’t survive a short walk (tourists in Greece). People in hotter climates is already adapted just by existing.
It’s heat-related causes so ultimately something like heart failure will be cause of death but more so in those with chronic conditions.
None of the UN guidelines for keeping cool recommend A/C but I do appreciate that the guidelines are for all people, anywhere:
- Keeping out of the heat: Avoid going out and undertaking strenuous activities when the sun’s at its hottest. Stay in the shade and do not leave children or animals in parked vehicles. If necessary and possible, spend two to three hours in a cool place, such as a supermarket or cinema.
- Trying to keep your home cool: Use night air to cool down your home. Reduce the heat load inside your home or hotel room during the day by using blinds or shutters, opening them at night to ventilate your home.
- Keeping your body cool and hydrated: Use light and loose-fitting clothing and light bed linens, take cool showers or baths and drink water regularly while avoiding sugary, alcoholic or caffeinated drinks which will leave you dehydrated.
- Taking care of yourself and others: Check on family, friends and neighbours, especially the elderly, especially if they are on their own.
I’ve only seen one real case of heatstroke in my life and it’s one of the few times I probably saved someone’s life:
When I was in India, when I was much younger, there were a group of us staying in the same very basic place.
At dinner, I asked where one of the people was who was travelling with a couple of girls. They told me he wasn’t feeling too well so he was in bed. They didn’t seen at all bothered.
I went to check anyway in case he needed anything and he had all the symptoms of advanced heat stroke - hot but dry skin, semi conscious and confused - and a high temperature.
There was no hospital in the vicinity so I got him cooled down with cold wet towels and had someone stay with him in turns until he had stabilised.
Tip: if your kids are intent on backpacking in hot climates in more out-of-the-way places, get them to read something like John Hatt’s
The Tropical Traveller The Essential Guide to Travel in Hot Countries (now out of print) or something similar.
These figures aren’t statistics, they’re guesstimates. If even that. Of course the type of message you want send would never ever influence which way you’re going to err (cough, cough).
Frankly, I find the notion quite implausible that 1/3 of all guesstimated deaths occur in Europe, despite its high living standards and the fact that it has just 9% of the population. That gives a per capita heat-related death rate that’s easily six times above the non-European rate. Let me point out that high living standards generally includes the availability of decent medical services.
Unless the (not yet) elderly die earlier elsewhere for different reasons, in which case Europe’s high rate would be testament of its high living standards, an outright celebration even.
In the illustrious Daily Mail from the UK today, the headline mentioned one person dying from Heatstroke in Spain.
