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Time of India
6 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Europe finally embraces air conditioning, amid heat waves
As Europe sweats through another summer of record-high temperatures, much of the continent is undergoing a rapid and often tense transformation. Once seen as an American excess or Mediterranean necessity, air conditioning is becoming a fixture of life in places where it was long considered a luxury or even unwelcome. The shift reflects a new climate reality: Extreme heat is no longer rare across much of Europe. It's increasingly the new norm. Finance Value and Valuation Masterclass - Batch 4 By CA Himanshu Jain View Program Artificial Intelligence AI For Business Professionals Batch 2 By Ansh Mehra View Program Finance Value and Valuation Masterclass - Batch 3 By CA Himanshu Jain View Program Artificial Intelligence AI For Business Professionals By Vaibhav Sisinity View Program Finance Value and Valuation Masterclass - Batch 2 By CA Himanshu Jain View Program Finance Value and Valuation Masterclass Batch-1 By CA Himanshu Jain View Program Europe might not be prepared to cope. Power grids - many designed for milder climates - are already under strain. On the hottest days, electricity demand spikes and often outpaces what renewables can supply. Governments are now facing a tough question: how to keep their countries cool without driving up emissions or triggering blackouts. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like The Best Method for a Flat Stomach After 50 (It's Genius!) Lulutox Undo The evolution is apparent in France's Medoc region, where the city of Bordeaux hit a record-high 41.6C (106.9F) this week. Historic buildings like the Chateau Monbrison - a centuries-old wine estate - have been forced to adapt. This spring, the owners installed air conditioning - discreet Mitsubishi Compact+ units mounted against the exposed stone walls to preserve the chateau's traditional charm. Live Events The trend tracks across Europe. Cooling systems, once reserved for the most scorched parts of Italy and Spain, are an increasingly common sight further north, in places like the Netherlands and the UK. Residential AC purchases have doubled in Europe since 2010, according to Daikin Industries , one of the continent's biggest manufacturers. Electronics marketplace Galaxus recently reported record sales in Germany and Austria, and Samsung Electronics Co. is boosting its training budget in Europe for AC installations by an average of 10% each year. France has now overtaken Italy and Spain as the fastest-growing air conditioning market in Europe for Hitachi . Household AC penetration there rose to 25% by 2020, from 14% in 2016, the company said. By 2035, about half of French homes are expected to have a unit. The boom in business is anchored by a troubling fact: Europe is warming at twice the global average. Cooling degree days - or how often and how intensely buildings require cooling - have more than tripled in Paris over the past two decades, according to data from Eurostat. France's capital now experiences heat comparable to Barcelona in the late 1990s. Berlin's temperatures mirror those historically recorded in Turin. And the climate in Brussels resembles what parts of Croatia were like 25 years ago. Even countries long considered too cold for cooling are changing their ways. The market for air conditioning in Scandinavia, once tiny, is registering measurable growth. "Cooling used to be a luxury," said Simon Pezzutto, a researcher who has tracked cooling demand in Europe for over a decade. Today, "it's a commodity of primary necessity." Governments are searching for a path forward. Austria's latest national energy plan explicitly cites rising cooling demand as a risk to grid stability. France, too, has warned of future peaks during the summer because of unchecked AC use. These aren't theoretical concerns. As a heat wave gripped southern Europe in June, electricity grids in Italy buckled, leading to blackouts in several regions. "That synchronized spike in demand - sometimes compressed into a matter of hours - puts immense pressure on national grids," said Isabella Nardini, Manager of International Affairs at the Fraunhofer Research Institution for Energy Infrastructures and Geotechnologies. Part of the problem relates to consumer preferences. Many shoppers are opting for small, portable units, which are more affordable and easy to install, but less energy-efficient than other models. Globally, the International Energy Agency says that space cooling already accounts for 10% of electricity consumption in buildings, and Europe's share is only expected to rise. In response, fossil fuel plants - especially gas and coal - are increasingly fired up to meet surging demand. "Rising air conditioning use is propping up fossil fuel generation during times when renewables underperform," said Sabrina Kernbichler, lead power analyst at Energy Aspects. Even if Europe's needs are met, adapting the continent's aging building stock poses another logistical challenge. Many older homes were designed to retain heat. That's an advantage in winter, but a problem in today's longer, hotter summers. Every year, only about 1% of buildings are renovated.
Nikkei Asia
09-08-2025
- Business
- Nikkei Asia
Japan's air conditioner makers step outside to fight summer heat
Daikin Industries trials an outdoor air-conditioning system in the Shibuya district of Tokyo in late July. (Daikin Industries) NARUSHI NAKAI OSAKA -- As record-breaking high temperatures scorch Japan, Japanese manufacturers are bringing air conditioning outdoors.
Nikkei Asia
06-08-2025
- Business
- Nikkei Asia
Japan's Daikin acquires US AI data center cooling startup
The global data center cooling market is estimated to grow to $42.4 billion by 2032, more than 2.5 times its size in 2024, according to Indian research firm Fortune Business Insights. © Reuters NARUSHI NAKAI OSAKA -- Daikin Industries announced Wednesday that it will buy Dynamic Data Center Solutions, a U.S.-based startup specializing in data center cooling systems, by the end of August.
South China Morning Post
12-07-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Osaka Expo unveils cool solutions amid Japan's record heatwave
As the mercury soars in Japan , the World Exposition in Osaka has moved into full gear to beat the summer heat, with firms showcasing their latest cooling technologies while the organiser urges visitors to take measures to ward off heat exhaustion. Advertisement Daikin Industries, a major Japanese air conditioner manufacturer, has built the Ice Cool Spot, a rest area inspired by the ancient Japanese icehouse. It uses panels of ice on the walls to lower the temperature inside by 5 degrees Celsius (41 degrees Fahrenheit) compared with the outside. Solar panels on the building's roof collect sunlight during the day and use the energy to freeze water at night. Its floor is 30cm (12 inches) below ground level, allowing cool air to flow down, according to the company. Daikin's Ice Cool Spot uses panels of ice on the walls to lower the temperature inside by 5 degrees Celsius. Photo: Daikin Industries 'We want visitors to feel as if they were in an icehouse,' a Daikin official said. Advertisement At the Forest of Tranquility, located at the centre of the venue, around 1,500 trees have been strategically arranged using computer modelling to maximise shade coverage.
25-05-2025
- Health
Japanese Advised to Avoid Risk of Heatstroke with Pre-Summer Acclimatization
When people move, their body temperature rises, at which point their body will produce sweat or increase their skin temperature to release heat and cool them down. However, if that function is not working properly, they will keep getting hotter and start to feel physically unwell, which in severe cases can lead to heatstroke. In a survey conducted by Daikin Industries, aimed at 300 people aged 20 or over from each of Japan's 47 prefectures (14,100 respondents in total), 64.6% stated that they had experienced some form of 'heatstroke symptoms' last summer, including either being diagnosed with heatstroke at a hospital, feeling that they had symptoms, or feeling otherwise unwell. At 51.4%, the most common physical issue respondents experienced due to heatstroke symptoms was 'reduced quality of sleep,' followed by 46.0% 'being constantly tired' and 30.8% 'feeling weak and lethargic.' Even if these symptoms are not severe enough to be diagnosed as heatstroke, they can lead to decreased performance in work or study, and although appearing mild at first, can worsen if left untreated. As well as keeping the room cool and wearing breathable clothes, an effective way to avoid heatstroke is to acclimatize before the real heat of summer kicks in by walking, jogging, doing strength training, stretching, and bathing to make sure your body can sweat more easily. When asked about 'heat acclimatization,' just 7.7% of respondents had a good knowledge of what it was and even when including those who had at least heard of the term, the total was only around 30%. Daikin Industries advised that 'in the same way you do a test run of your air-conditioning unit before the start of summer, you need to prepare your body as well so that it can sweat.' (Translated from Japanese. Banner photo © Pixta.)
