Spain bans setting the AC below 27 degrees Celsius

https://www.theverge.com/2022/8/3/23291066/spain-bans-setting-air-conditioning-below-27-degrees-celsius

https://archive.ph/bACHn

As Europe grapples with a scorching summer and skyrocketing energy prices, Spain has become the latest government to tell its citizens to turn down the AC.

A decree published on Tuesday morning in the official state gazette and scheduled to go into effect next week mandates that air conditioning in public places be set at or above 27 degrees Celsius (about 80 degrees Fahrenheit) and that doors of those buildings remain closed to save energy.

Those public places include offices, shops, bars, theaters, airports, and train stations. The decree is being extended as a recommendation to all Spanish households. The rules include maintaining heating at or below 19 degrees Celsius (about 66 degrees Fahrenheit) in the winter and will remain in place at least through November 2023.

“I’VE ASKED MINISTERS AND PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTOR BOSSES NOT TO WEAR TIES UNLESS IT’S NECESSARY.”
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has stated publicly that the country urgently needs to save energy, even encouraging office workers to remove their ties to help stay cool without artificial assistance. “I’ve asked ministers and public and private sector bosses not to wear ties unless it’s necessary,” he said at a press conference last week.

Lighthearted suggestions aside, European countries are scrambling to untangle twin problems; scorching heat that’s driving up energy demand and political conflict that’s complicating energy supplies. Nations, including Spain, are facing increasing pressure not to rely on gas supplied by Russia amid the ongoing conflict with Ukraine.

According to a report in The Guardian, Greece and Italy announced measures last month to similarly restrict energy use when cooling public buildings, also requiring air conditioning to be set to 27 degrees Celsius or higher.

France has ordered public premises to set thermostats higher in the summer and lower in the winter and will fine air-conditioned businesses €750 if they leave their doors open. The city of Hanover, Germany, has banned the use of mobile air conditioning units and fan heaters everywhere other than in hospitals and schools.

But not everyone is on board with these new measures. The Madrid region president Isabel Díaz Ayuso tweeted, “Madrid isn’t going to switch off. This generates insecurity and scares away tourism and consumption.”

In Europe, where some countries enjoy a climate that has traditionally been milder than much of the US, fewer than 10 percent of households have air conditioning, compared to over 90 percent of American households. But as heatwaves increase in frequency, the International Energy Agency predicts Europe will almost triple its air conditioning stock to 275 million units by 2050.



Correction, Wednesday, Aug 3, 6:02PM: An earlier version of this article included a sentence that incorrectly said the mandate called for setting the AC below 27 degrees, it requires setting the temperature above 27 degrees.

 

[BelUwUga]

DUMB LATINX TYPING

It's called working outdoors. Somewhat necessary if you want the ability to hold indoors at 69F year round. I'd say you should try it sometime because it builds character but I understand continental types have an aversion to that.

 

[Paul Pelosi's Boyfriend]

AC creates a vicious cycle where it cools down your immediate surroundings, but helps contribute to making the planet hotter... therefore increasing the need for AC. AC defenders are gruggbrains who only think about today and not the future.

The waste heat AC units radiate into the outside atmosphere is heat from inside your house. I can promise you that the laws of thermodynamics are not being broken.

 

[BalthasarGelt]

Dumb assumptions

I'm a professional diver tough guy.

 

[BelUwUga]

I'm a professional diver tough guy.

So riddle me this genius, how the fuck does your workplace maintain the mandated temperatures? Unless you're a swimming aquarium janitor this still isn't explaining to me how these policies and/or your explanation aren't retarded.

 

[BalthasarGelt]

So riddle me this genius, how the fuck does your workplace maintain the mandated temperatures? Unless you're a swimming aquarium janitor this still isn't explaining to me how these policies and/or your explanation aren't retarded

If I'm working as a guide and swing by the shop, they'll have their AC at 25ºC or below for the guys at the front who spent the entire day between muggy wetsuits, like any other indoor workplace capable of having heating and AC. The policies are meant to prevent greedy companies from skipping turning the AC/heating on, and are theoretically based on the optimal temperature for a worker wearing normal clothes to work comfortably in, you dense retard.

 

[pikachudidnothingwrong]

i live in canada nigger. our summers still has days with around 30-40 Celsius (86-104 for you yanks) with humidity. i can probably still live without it but i hate sweating while sleeping and my computer is in my room so it get fucking hot as shit without my AC

Yup, same down here in the NE states, only worse in the summer. ~85-105s and humidity ~65% and up (to full haze/~90%+) much of the summer! Plus if you live in an older house AC is a MUST.. As they weren't built with airflow or thermodynamics in mind.. Windows that only open on the lower half, a foot or two from the ground, ones that don't open at all etc.

 

[Vlinny-kun]

Yup, same down here in the NE states, only worse in the summer. ~85-105s and humidity ~65% and up (to full haze/~90%+) much of the summer!

Humidity is the devil. It provides nothing of benefit besides keeping your skin from drying out too fast, and that can be circumvented with routine showers, some good lotion, and a humidifier. I don't understand people who want to live near the coast or tropical areas for this very reason because it can turn any mild temperature into 100+ sweltering heat that you can do nothing but suffer through the moment you step away from a running fan.



I just checked the average humidity for a bunch of cities in Spain and it rarely goes below 65%. They are going to set a record in heat strokes victims this year.

I wonder if any of those Californians that moved there are starting to regret their decision.

 

[Megaton Punch]

The waste heat AC units radiate into the outside atmosphere is heat from inside your house. I can promise you that the laws of thermodynamics are not being broken.

The action of the compressor and fan do generate some heat. Not a ton, but some. AC units use some bullshit metric called a "SEER rating" which can't readily be converted to a true efficiency rating, but from what I can tell the average compressor these days is probably somewhere around 75% efficient. A central AC unit takes 3500 watts, 750 of which are the fan, so about 700 of those watts are being converted to heat by the compressor.

That sounds like a lot, but consider this: an incandescent bulb is only about 2% efficient, which means a single 60 watt bulb puts out 59 watts of heat. Replacing a house's worth of incandescents with LEDs will eliminate the difference right there. It's also worth keeping in mind that air conditioners are getting more efficient every year. A unit these days is probably a good 50% more efficient than one from the 90s.

But yes, what you feel coming out of the AC unit is almost entirely just heat that's being moved from one location to another.

 

[pikachudidnothingwrong]

Humidity is the devil. It provides nothing of benefit besides keeping your skin from drying out too fast, and that can be circumvented with routine showers, some good lotion, and a humidifier. I don't understand people who want to live near the coast or tropical areas for this very reason because it can turn any mild temperature into 100+ sweltering heat that you can do nothing but suffer through the moment you step away from a running fan.

View attachment 3567255

I just checked the average humidity for a bunch of cities in Spain and it rarely goes below 65%. They are going to set a record in heat strokes victims this year.

I wonder if any of those Californians that moved there are starting to regret their decision.

Yup, humidity is fucking murder. If there is a hell, it's certainly not dry!

 

[A Gay Retard]

I keep my home at 69º bc thats both the most comfortable and funniest temperature

 

[Exigent Circumcisions]

It's called working outdoors. Somewhat necessary if you want the ability to hold indoors at 69F year round. I'd say you should try it sometime because it builds character but I understand continental types have an aversion to that.

Outside? Do they make you lift things? Pardon me while I retire to my fainting couch.

 

[Sparkling Yuzu]

What if they have MS or heart disease and can't tolerate the heat? 27 C is still unbearably hot. I think heat pumps are more efficient and better but not everyone can afford them and the government shouldn't be putting limits on how people heat or cool their homes.

 

[Manul Otocolobus]

But yes, what you feel coming out of the AC unit is almost entirely just heat that's being moved from one location to another.

That's essentially the fundamental basis of refrigeration and A/C, heat transfer. What's your point?

Also, SEER can be converted into real information about an efficiency rating, if one assume an average for the SEER range.

EER= 1.12 x SEER - 0.02 x SEER²

COP = EER x 0.293

COPmax = (Tc\Th-Tc) x 0.6 with Tc being the temp you want the room to be, and Th being the temp outside, in Kelvin.

(COP\COPmax) x 100= Actual efficiency expressed as a %

I think you'll find, doing the calculation above, most A/C units, compared to a perfect heat pump, have rather poor efficiency.

For example, for a SEER of 20, which is generally the highest SEER rating one will see currently for a residential unit.

EER = 1.12 x 20 - 0.02 x 20²

EER = 22.4 - 8

EER = 14.4

COP = 14.4 x 0.293

COP = 4.22

Assuming an internal temperature of 23c and an external temperature of 32c.

COPmax = (296.15\305.15-296.15) x 0.6

COPmax = 32.9 x 0.6

COPmax = 19.74

(4.22\19.74) x 100 = Efficiency %

0.214 x 100 = Efficiency %

Efficiency % = 21.40%

 

[The Final Troondown]

is it considered an air conditioner if you have it locked at 80 fucking degrees? FYI: metric is great for literally everything but temps, and the ppl that continually refer to the temp as anything celsius cant cook without their range being on max. huh.

farenheit is the retarded measure here. In celsius 100 degrees is boiling temperature, 0 is freezing

talking about an ambient temperature of 80 degrees on earth is retarded

 

[Kickster]

Public buildings at 27°? Literally 1984

 

[Lifeguard Hermit]

farenheit is the retarded measure here. In celsius 100 degrees is boiling temperature, 0 is freezing

talking about an ambient temperature of 80 degrees on earth is retarded

Shut the fuck up you easily baited mental midget: have you wondered why soo few ppl rated the post dumb?

Lol, jackass.

 

[Otterly]

it starts with a "recommendation" and then eventually they get the energy company to track your home usage. Go over the limit? get a fine (which the rich elite can easily pay). Hoh look a new source of revenue for the government.

A while back the UK government strong armed everyone into getting smart energy meters. We are already able to track what people are using electricity on. Most of Europe is following suit. My family in Sweden refused one and they came round and installed it anyway when she was out (it was in an outer wall.)
The next step from there is targeted energy blocks. No pleb, you cannot run your AC. Yes you make keep the telescreen on.

 

[neverendingmidi]

AC creates a vicious cycle where it cools down your immediate surroundings, but helps contribute to making the planet hotter... therefore increasing the need for AC. AC defenders are gruggbrains who only think about today and not the future.

You willing to shut down the entire internet? Basically anything that requires a data center at all? Because those sonuvabitches are blowing through energy in ways that would turn your hair white. Every one of them, from the giants of Google and Amazon, right down to the rent-a-space types where Kiwifarms is located. Their power-suckage would make all residential use look like a drop in the ocean.

 

[mold]

Spain has air conditioning?

 

[Manul Otocolobus]

A while back the UK government strong armed everyone into getting smart energy meters. We are already able to track what people are using electricity on. Most of Europe is following suit. My family in Sweden refused one and they came round and installed it anyway when she was out (it was in an outer wall.)
The next step from there is targeted energy blocks. No pleb, you cannot run your AC. Yes you make keep the telescreen on.

Same thing is happening here in the US. I refused the "smart" meter, they installed it anyway when I conveniently wasn't home. When I contacted them "Oops, sorry about that, but we can't give you back your old meter, it has already been scrapped and they aren't made any longer. The new meter is better anyway" Somehow, after the "smart" meter was installed my usage, for every month compared to very consistent historical trends, went up between 10-20%. I find this more than a little convenient.

The only good things I can say about the current trend towards energy reduction is that essentially all the transformers now (what we tend to call them in the US is "wall warts", or the boxes that your laptop plugs into that then plugs into the wall) have to be class VI efficiency or better, which is ~88%+, and they don't really pull any energy when they aren't being used, so no more vampires just feeding the electric company. Also, the technology for LED bulbs has made them just as good as the old incandescent bulbs, but they are 90%+ efficient. Those spiral compact fluorescent bulbs sucked.