When i was in Europe, I had a roommate and they wouldn’t let me heat the room to more than 20 degrees. To understand Europe you must understand that using less energy and being conservative with spending is considered a virtue.

It’s not that the government is denying people AC. The citizens themselves are culturally and morally against AC. It’s almost as if you he has to endure the suffering caused by climate change, as if it vindicates the climate change ideology itself.

What’s annoying is that the same people have no problem going for weekly vacations to south of France.

I side with you and can share another crazy story:

Between 2018 and 2020, I lived in a newly built, 90-square-meter rental apartment in Germany. It was luxurious, had a fire-rated door, and was very well soundproofed as well as equipped with a very spacious bathroom and walk-in shower.

What made it sadly special was its so called thermal design concept: thanks to a natural air circulation system, the heating could only reach a maximum of 19 degrees in the winter. That’s how the system was designed and specified. The walls very well insulated, but there were slits that connected the rooms to the outside world to allow for air exchange. Not large or long ones, here and there hardly noticeable.

It’s crazy how restrictive the legal regulations are. So the 20-degree limit is by no means just a matter of perception—quite the opposite. As a consequence we placed electric heaters in almost every room. What a farce...

I'm from Poland originally and I also set my thermostat to 20C. My entire life in fact. Not once did I consider it some virtuous effort. If I didn't read your post I still wouldn't know that it's something special.

Are you sure your roommate wasn't just used to 20C and it felt good to him? I often feel "it's too hot in here" when I have to visit offices with temp set higher.

Edit: I had to check because I thought I'm going insane but 18-21C is recommended by WHO?

It's easy to dress up warm. I think it's mostly about costs, not climate.