It's not a good look that the UK seemingly isn't installing air conditioning, decarbonizing heating, or adopting electric vehicles. Efficiency is good after you have high living standards but the UK should probably focus on growth first.

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teamonkey an hour ago | parent | next [-]

EV adoption in the UK is huge right now, heat pump adoption is happening (though could be faster).

Air conditioning is a weird one, because it’s only been necessary in residential properties for a couple of years, and really still only necessary for a couple of days a year, so a fixed installation isn’t cost effective. Portable units are becoming more popular.

AC has been a requirement in most commercial premises for years. Decades, perhaps.

	▲	wildzzz 22 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		The great thing about heat pumps is you can run them in reverse to become an AC, only requirement is a drain for the condensate.

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JBits 43 minutes ago | parent | prev | next [-]

> air conditioning

The UK typically doesn't need air conditioning, so why would people spend money on it? Yes, I know this recent summer was exceptionally hot but people don't react that quickly to changes.

> decarbonizing heating

What does this mean? More renewables? If efficiency reduces energy demands then it directly results in less carbon.

> electric vehicles

Aren't people already adopting electric vehicles? Do you think that the government should introduce a scheme to persuade people to buy electric vehicles? Does the availability of charging for electric vehicles need improving?

> Efficiency is good after you have high living standards but the UK should probably focus on growth first

Efficiency means saving money. In what circumstance could efficiency be bad? The grid responds to demand, unused electricity means higher prices for consumers. One of biggest issues right now in the UK is cost of living crisis, so raising electricity prices would be universally hated. How does making the grid less efficient increase growth?

	▲	zarzavat 12 minutes ago \| parent \| next [-]
		> The UK typically doesn't need air conditioning I don't know where you live but UK summers were unbearable even when I was a kid. Buildings are engineered to trap heat, so the heat doesn't dissipate at night and every day the indoor temperature rises, and rises... At least they removed the need for planning permission recently. The problem is that the places that need AC the most (flats) will probably not be able to get it until the leasehold system has been abolished. > > decarbonizing heating > What does this mean? Presumably it means heating using electric heat pumps rather than gas boilers. This also solves the AC problem. I don't think this is viable for most people. Heating was never the problem anyway, at least in the south winters are mild.
	▲	_jackdk_ 39 minutes ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		> decarbonizing heating I believe this refers to switching to high-efficiency electric heaters like reverse-cycle AC units (also known as "heat pumps"), rather than oil heaters or ducted gas heating.

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JdeBP an hour ago | parent | prev [-]

What makes you think that the U.K. isn't adopting electric vehicles? I can tell you from direct visual observation that people are. The little green numberplate rectangles are fairly common, now.

* https://rac.co.uk/drive/news/electric-vehicles-news/1-in-3-n...