Need AC?

Observations/comment in random order.

Do french heat their homes when it is cold? If so, how is that different than cooling them when it is hot?

Although she worries about global warming, "I no longer judge people who get one" ( a/c), she said.

What sort of judgment I wonder is warranted. How big a home food refrigerator is 'okay'?

Hard numbers are still difficult to come by, because many Paris dwellers buy portable units that do not appear in building statistics.

Hmm.... Maybe more is air conditioned than the official statistics reveal

The real problem is there are too many people needing housing transportation, food etc What needs to be done is to eliminate 5 billion people and return to the global population of 1960. Problem solved. Also takes care of 'over tourism'.

In extremely hot conditions, no air conditioning can be deadly for the elderly, with over 70,000 deaths in Europe according to Accuweather during the 2022 heat wave. For travelers it can mean compromised sleep and other quality of life issues. CNN/IEA reports AC will more than double by 2050 if not sooner. Room air conditioners (RACs) in the EU are predicted to rise from less than 7 million in 1990 to more than 100 million in 2030.

This is telling: "During the last heatwave, the temperature went up to 41C (106F) at my place," said Marion Lafuste, who lives in northeast Paris.
"I didn't think that was even possible."
Ice packs placed in front of fans and firmly closed shutters brought scant relief, the 40-year-old said.

We've been in Paris during a heat wave with no AC. That won't happen again.

No question change is coming.

We've been in Paris during a heat wave with no AC. That won't happen again.

We are frequent visitors to Paris, and we avoid Paris (and most of Europe except for select parts of Scandinavia) during the summer months (June through September). We figured it out more than 20 years ago during a particularly bad heat wave in August, 2003...and we have never returned to Europe during the summer after that awful experience.

We stay exclusively in "nice" hotels in Paris, and even for "shoulder-ish" season months like May and October, we only stay in hotels with A/C, and we tend to return to the same hotels that we know have good A/C.

It is interesting that I had not realized that humans actually need lower temperatures to fully recover (20C is mentioned in the article). In looking online, a I saw range of values from 18 to 23C, and consequences included risk of chronic diseases.

The environmental concerns are valid across the world and France has concerns with historical buildings and traditions, plus I've heard some French just feel it is unhealthy. It wasn't mentioned, but often the challenge is that there is no acceptable location to install an exterior unit for a built-in AC solution, as the facades of buildings are protected. More environmentally friendly solutions like ground-based air cooling systems like those used in new builds are very expensive to implement and take a long time in a historical setting. It seems to me that whole building fan and other similar systems don't seem to be common in buildings in France, where hot air could be quickly evacuated during the evenings.

(Disclosure -- we have built-in AC)

One of these pups might take the "edge" off the heat in a small room. Could be worth checking a bag for this, if your booked stay does not promise a/c.

Granted, an appropriate electrical adapter would be needed, too. (And, ASSUMING, which can always be dangerous, electrical outlets where you might stay could handle this..........if my spouse were here at the moment and not walking the dog, he'd be a better guesser.)

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Adrinfly-Portable-Air-Conditioner-with-4-in-1-Function-7-Color-Light-Extended-Runtime-Cools-Small-Areas-in-White-29BSA05266/337206121

There are many models that operate with more cooling power, but also have higher BTUs listed......consider them, if traveling domestically (lake cabin or area having an unusual heat wave) or just if your home central a/c unit goes out.

Here in France the ecological effects of running air conditioning or heat pump units which contribute more hot air is very much part of the conversation about global warming. I had never heard about this when I lived in the US.

About half of my French friends living here in the south do not have air conditioning, some for cost, others because their apartment doesn't have a balcony where it can be installed, and they can't drill into the building walls. I believe all the Americans I know here have air conditioning.

Windows here open horizontally like doors rather than up and down, so US style window units don't work. What some people buy are portable air conditioners that sit in the middle of the room with big hoses that hang outside an open window. While it blows cold air, the warm outside air from the open window comes back in. Twenty-five percent of homes are air conditioned. We had air conditioning installed our second year here, a non-negotiable for me.

A lot of people in hot parts of Europe actually don’t like having AC at home, believing that it’s bad for your health and dries out your nose and eyes making you feel permanently uncomfortable.

we were there in August 2003 at the end of a 3 month trip to Italy and France and so have avoided summer in France every since. This year we will be there at the very end of August and for September and am already kicking myself for not just finding a different apartment for October rather than agreeing to take September at the place we prefer. 2003 was a real disaster; I remember thinking 'when this happened in the US thousands of people died, I wonder what the French are doing about all those old people in uncooled apartments?' Well they were doing nothing and tends of thousands died in Paris alone. Steps are now taken to mitigate the effects but then it was a first and the city was not prepared and people didn't realize there was a catastrophe underway just as they didn't the first time it happened in the US.

We had an apartment near Pere Lachaise with great cross draft, but that didn't matter in 2003; it was really a nightmare for the whole week. We spent 3 full days at the Louvre which even then was sort of air conditioned. Nobody then or now air conditions to really cold the way it is done in the US. The idea that the moderate levels of AC used in France are bad for your health is a myth.

"One of these pups might take the "edge" off the heat in a small room. Could be worth checking a bag for this, if your booked stay does not promise a/c. "

Those units have a "cold" side and the reverse "hot" side. So, it blows cool (not cold) on you while blowing hot air to the rest of the room.

"It seems to me that whole building fan and other similar systems don't seem to be common in buildings in France, where hot air could be quickly evacuated during the evenings. "

That only works when the temperatures at night are cold enough to matter. The last "heat dome" here had it 82 deg F (28 C) at 06:00am the coolest part of the night.

People, this is not going to get better. The only question is how worse, how fast.

And what people are going to have to do to live with it.

Harvard University has suggested that air conditioning units can be far healthier compared to 40C temperatures IF the units are properly maintained, or in other words the pros outweigh the cons. With regular maintenance AC systems are fine. Change the filter, for example. Also, if it's a window unit, it's easy to clean with water and dish soap. It's really not too hard.

Window units would hard/impossible for a lot (most?) of the old buildings I saw in Europe.

No idea for the windows that open "horizontally" inwards. But for the ones that do that outwards a custom panel that fits in to the window opening with a cut-out for the (big) exhaust air tube for one of those roll-able indoor units would be the only thing I can think of. I have one of those units and it comes with the panel (and cutout) that fits in the US vertical window openings.

It's a lousy solution but old people dying is worse.

edit: Of course that assumes the electricity won't go out. In the Heat wave.

RobertH, when we lived in Germany we converted one window so we could install a window AC unit. It was a small bedroom window and not that expensive. This allowed us to sleep better during heat waves.

Here is a free article from NY Times about the politics surrounding air conditioning in France: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/12/world/europe/heat-waves-france-air-conditioning.html?unlocked_article_code=1.dk8.V6QE.oMf7eqCxugbN&smid=url-share

I read that article earlier today. This line blew my mind:

In 2023, 62.5 percent of energy consumed by households in the European Union was used to heat homes, versus less than 1 percent to cool them, according to E.U. statistics.

Thank goodness our apartment in Carcassonne has A/C. It's going to scorch there next week.

From a few of the old books I've read, the "freezing temperatures" in European apartments was a common theme.

Old buildings look good (a lot of them) but the heating/cooling was minimal. Leads to using a lot more energy to heat them (to not so comfortable temps) to keep from actually freezing in the Winter. And since you're uncomfortable in the Winter, why not be stoic in the heat? Since it doesn't kill you. At least it didn't.

edit: BigMike, I was thinking of the buildings I saw in Paris, Venice, Florence, and Rome. For those, adding window aircon seemed impossible. For many reasons. No idea of the rest of the buildings in Europe but I imagine modifications are a lot easier in a lot of them.

I read that article earlier today. This line blew my mind:

"In 2023, 62.5 percent of energy consumed by households in the European Union was used to heat homes, versus less than 1 percent to cool them, according to E.U. statistics."

Kim, I had the same reaction. How absurd is that? Do the people who are adamantly against A/C in France who cite the waste of precious energy resources have any clue about this? I doubt it...

Excellent article. I don't think the ordinary citizens worry about a tiny bit of heat being expelled into the air by a heat pump, but the ordinary voters haven't installed AC because they don't have balconies on which to place them and their buildings don't allow units to hang outside the buildings.

Otherwise, some people still think these heat waves are quirks, and France will go back to those wonderful moderate summer temperatures we had before these heat waves started coming closer and closer together. Wish it were true.

Champagne producers are buying up land in southern England to protect their ability to produce wine in hotter climates. This is them thinking very long term, but far more wine is being produced in England than was possible previously. The climate is especially suited sparkling wine and there is some very high quality wine being made now.

Outside of cities, in the southern regions many new homes have been equipped with air conditioning for quite a few years.

But reversing a 2,000-year-old lifestyle, when the primary concern was heating, not cooling, will take some time.
It's only been barely 20 years since the trend began to slowly change, and everyone knows that air conditioning will worsen the situation from a climate perspective.

From a technical and practical perspective, installing air conditioning in older homes isn't that easy. Not to mention architectural constraints, where in many places and cities, even the slightest modification to the appearance of a building's facade is prohibited.

I have an old house with 80 cm thick stone walls that is next to a 12th-century Romanesque church and a castle partially dating from the same period. The slightest modification requires months of administrative paperwork and authorization from the "Bâtiments de France" (Buildings of France).
So, unless I could find a system dating back to the 12th century, installing AC is out of the question . My request would go straight to the trash.

Anyway, I'm convinced that neither I nor my children will ever see the majority of homes in France equipped with air conditioning.

Don't expect to experience that during your next vacation.

In France none of the 2 or 3 star hotels I stay in has AC, be it in Paris or Metz, a fan , however, is in the room if you want to turn it on...I never use it. I got to Paris on that broiler day, the 1st July, the hottest day ever recorded in France

Helen, that's fascinating. Makes sense.

Some of the debate is political posturing. Look beyond the sniping on social media, and there is broad agreement in France that air-conditioning is necessary in spaces like retirement homes, hospitals and schools. More than 1,800 schools had to close during the worst of last month’s heat wave. Few people are clamoring for a cooling unit in every home.

I'd say AC is a necessity in hospitals and old folk's homes/retirement facilities. In private homes exceptions should be made for the elderly or those with health issues that are exacerbated by extreme heat.

For our 2026 trip to Paris and Normandy we had no trouble booking hotels with AC.

Re use of electricity for heating versus cooling in France. Cern shuts down the collider during 3 winter months because it draws power from the French grid and in winter there is huge pressure from the needs of home heating. So the Super Collider runs 9 mos of the year because of patterns of electricity availability. (it is being shut down for a couple of years soon for retooling, but most years it had run spring summer and fall and closed in winter.

Helen, how interesting about the champagne enterprises in England. What a shame that the agricultural world as we have kn own it is changing so fast!

And Janet, I love learning these odd facts, here and in other venues. Who knew Cern would shut down for 3 months to be a good neighbor to the French populace!? I can't wait to drop this bit of info into a conversation about the weather. I'll seem so informed and sophisticated!

Thanks both of you for enlarging my world a bit.

Unlike some other French cities, Paris has lots of rentals with AC. It's worth finding one if you can.

…especially this week when the mercury hit 94 degrees in Paris!

"Unlike some other French cities, Paris has lots of rentals with AC."

I saw a lot of buildings where it didn't seem possible in my brief trip there, glad to know there are many that have them. Heat domes with lethal temps seem to be more in our future (how much, how fast?). Setting up at least a room where people can sleep, (and recover) seems like something that needs to happen. The buildings that can't do window units probably can do that rolling air conditioner with exhaust set into a window. But then the electrical grid probably can't handle it (now). And then there's the regulations in places like that (visual appearance,etc). And...

We arrived in Carcassonne today and were welcomed with 104 F. However, breeze, shade and relatively low humidity made it fairly pleasant. We enjoyed dinner at a bouillon on the town square that was climatisée. Surprisingly, most of the patrons chose to eat al fresco.

Our AirBnB has A/C, so we're very comfortable.

jphbucks, very unfortunate timing for you; I hope you can take some nice walks in the evening after the sun goes down or before 10 in the morning. On top of it, you have a warm Tramontana wind blowing from the mountains toward the sea. We have just a touch this hot wind today.
The heatwave will continue until Monday in Carcassonne and Tuesday where I live. I get all errands done by 10 and am inside my air conditioned apartment the rest of the day as it rises into the 90s and above. Eat ice cream and be glad you aren't in a city, such as Paris, with all the stone, cement, and pavement.

Temperatures in the region are expected to drop below 35°C starting next Tuesday.

Although I hope you won't spend more than three days in Carcassonne, it will be a good time to eat a cassoulet. :)

I have to say that the timing doesn't seem so bad to me. A reasonably low-humidity 100F is, for me, livable so long as I walk slowly, hydrate frequently and have A/C so I can sleep well. We had confit de canard (me) and cassoulet (wifey) in a bouillon with A/C on the square last night, and it was delightful. Cooking for ourselves in our cool apartment tonight. We haven't really been able to cook for the past couple of weeks in France and Geneva, and we've missed it.

Carcassonne so far is an absolute winner. Not very touristy except the medieval town, and the food and wine are first rate. Whoever picked this place to visit (that would be me) is a genius.

A bouillon in Carcassonne?

Very strange !

my daughter just spent some time in Washington DC and her friends had neck fans which they lent her and she said it made the high heat and humidity slightly bearable. So I got a couple for our trip to Paris since we don't do heat well and made the mistake of booking late August/September instead of our usual October/November. I feel kind of silly but am going to try them out if it is hot. They look like you have ear phone around your neck as one does -- but have little fans pushing up the air around your neck and face. we'll see.