Europe is warming to America's obsession with staying cool - Business Insider

What the report says

Business Insider reports that a record-hot June in Western Europe and another severe summer heat wave are accelerating demand for home air conditioning across the continent, narrowing a long-standing cultural gap with the United States. The article says many Europeans had traditionally viewed AC as unnecessary or wasteful, but manufacturers and market analysts now describe the category as moving into the mainstream in several countries.

The report cites Kieron Heath, a 39-year-old author and podcaster in Essex, England, who bought a portable Meaco unit in April after years of relying on fans and open windows. He told Business Insider that recent heat waves in Britain have made sleep and daily comfort harder, and that cooling now feels tied to health and safety rather than luxury.

Appliance companies described strong growth. Business Insider says Samsung reported double-digit European air-conditioner sales growth in the first half of 2026, while Midea said shipments to Spain and France more than doubled from a year earlier and German e-commerce sales rose 37%. Mitsubishi Electric reported especially strong demand in France, Spain, Britain and Germany. Eurovent’s Stijn Renneboog said the industry sees this as a long-term trend, citing European Commission modeling that room air conditioners in the EU rose from under 7 million in 1990 to about 57 million in 2020 and could top 100 million by 2030.

The shift matters because Europe’s building stock, higher power costs and landlord rules have historically limited AC adoption, even as heat becomes a growing public health concern. Business Insider also notes International Energy Agency figures showing about one in five European households has AC, compared with roughly nine in ten in the U.S.