UK needs to urgently install air conditioning in schools and care homes, climate campaigners say

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/may/25/uk-urgently-install-air-conditioning-in-schools-care-homes-climate-campaigners-say

39 points · 16 comments · view on lemmy.world

16 Comments

Zombie@feddit.uk · 11 pts · 87d

Disingenuous headline which implies climate campaigners are for the use of energy intensive means of climate control in summer instead of opening some windows.

UK needs to urgently install solar panels which could be used to power air conditioning in schools and care homes, climate campaigners say.

Would be a more accurate description of their stance. Which is far more reasonable than the original headline suggests.

danielquinn@lemmy.ca · 8 pts · 87d

...along with solar panels... right? So many schools with flat roofs, and bundling solar with AC only makes sense.

sabreW4K3@lazysoci.al · 2 pts · 87d (3 replies)

Install heat pumps FFS!

makingrain@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 87d (2 replies)
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sabreW4K3@lazysoci.al · 4 pts · 87d (1 reply)

What I mean is just install heat pumps everywhere, as they can both heat and cool, whereas traditional air conditioners just cool.

AnarchistArtificer@slrpnk.net · 2 pts · 87d

I'm shocked that this isn't required by default on new builds.

echodot@feddit.uk · 0 pts · 87d

Well it is quite hot today but it'll cool down

muzzle@lemmy.zip · -4 pts · 87d (10 replies)

Italy never had air conditioning in schools, LOL!

brewery@feddit.uk · 9 pts · 87d (2 replies)

They have buildings and infrastructure designed with the weather in mind though, with generations of knowledge used to make it suitable before AC was a thing, for instance external blinds everywhere, orientation of the building to the sun/winds. Our schools were built to retain heat as much as possible

muzzle@lemmy.zip · 1 pts · 87d
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muzzle@lemmy.zip · -1 pts · 87d

What you say is partly true, but Italian summers are still way too hot. But our only option was to suffer it.

yuumei@feddit.uk · 2 pts · 87d (3 replies)

Genuinely interested: do you have external shutters or awnings on buildings like schools in Italy? I have to pay £500 to a council planning department to get them approved to be installed. (Which is utterly ridiculous)

mannycalavera@feddit.uk · 2 pts · 87d (1 reply)

What about internal shutters?

yuumei@feddit.uk · 2 pts · 87d

Sure but they don't work as-well because the energy has already penetrated the glass and now needs to traverse the glass again to escape, better than nothing but not as good as external shutters

muzzle@lemmy.zip · 2 pts · 87d

Sometimes shutters, sometimes Venetian blinds.

ohulancutash@feddit.uk · 1 pts · 87d

And they’re now on Round 2 of Fascism. Maybe their brains fried in the classrooms.

Korhaka@sopuli.xyz · -8 pts · 87d (1 reply)

So many people here in the UK can't manage 3 days of somewhat unpleasant heat.

Sure, I would like to cool my house down a bit when it's hot. But no I don't want to spend any real amount of money on it.

radiouser@crazypeople.online · 11 pts · 87d

That's probably because you're not in a care home or of schools age (I'm assuming?) kids and people in care are much more suspectable to things like heatstroke. Glad to hear you're not struggling.