Lib Dems Insist New Homes in U.K. Be Built With Air Conditioning To Combat Heat Caused by Climate Change

As Europe grapples with sweltering heatwaves, Britain’s Liberal Democrats say the United Kingdom needs to ensure that every new home has air conditioning — instead of solely relying on “passive” measures such as planting trees for shade.Citing failure to address climate change as the reason for the ongoing heat this summer, the party has been forced to rethink its opposition to central air. In a press release on Monday, the Liberal Democrats said they want a “new legal requirement for all new build homes to be fitted with air conditioning or effective cooling systems, so that housebuilders stop constructing homes that overheat by design.”“This latest set of relentless heatwaves has taught us that Britain is woefully unprepared for extreme heat, and families across Britain are paying for the cost of inaction,” the party’s environment spokesman, Tim Farron, said.The statement noted that by July 15, the country had more days above 86 degrees Fahrenheit than in all of 1976. In May, the country also saw a new record as it was the first time temperatures reached 95 degrees Fahrenheit in May. The number of homes that have an air conditioning unit in the U.K. roughly doubled over the last three years to about four million — out of roughly 30 million homes in the country. The U.K. has been slow to adopt the use of air conditioners, in part, because the country has typically had milder summers. Climate activists are also pushing for alternative cooling methods, such as using fans, due to concerns about air conditioning units’ energy consumption. A 2022 study published in ScienceDirect found that the energy consumption used for cooling accounts for about four percent of annual greenhouse emissions. That same year, the United Kingdom enacted its passive cooling regulation, Building Regulations Part O, which requires homebuilders to focus on “passive cooling” methods, such as using solar-control glass, growing trees for shade, and finding ways to maximize cross-ventilation before resorting to air conditioning units.The Lib Dems say they still support “passive cooling measures such as tree planting in residential areas.” However, the party says that the climate at the time the measures were passed “no longer mirrors” the climate “in which we are living.” The party says it prefers air conditioning units be powered by solar energy. Depending on the region, the United Kingdom has on average 140-160 sunny days per year. A poll commissioned by the Lib Dems found that 28 percent of respondents said they had purchased a fan or air conditioning unit, and 73 percent said they slept worse due to recent heatwaves. The party’s housing spokesman, Gideon Amos, said that air conditioning is “becoming essential in UK homes” and urged the newly-minted prime minister, Andy Burnham, to “see sense and enable the country to adapt.” The authors of the report said air conditioning should be installed in all care homes and hospitals within 10 years and in all schools within 25 years. Earlier this month, the U.K.’s meteorological office predicted that the country will face “more frequent and intense heatwaves” in the years to come. In May, the Climate Change Committee — which advises the U.K. government on climate matters — published a report, which said that the new homes “should be designed to keep people cool from the outset.”The committee said that passive cooling measures “may be sufficient interventions in some parts of the country.” However, it cautioned that the “intensity and duration of future heatwaves mean that we need to plan for more active cooling (such as air conditioning).”

Lib Dems Insist New Homes in U.K. Be Built With Air Conditioning To Combat Heat Caused by Climate Change

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