# What places in the world don't need air conditioning? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 3, 2024, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-places-in-the-world-dont-need-air-conditioning/1011129 "2024-12-03T18:58:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2024, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-places-in-the-world-dont-need-air-conditioning/1011129/1 "2024-12-03T18:58:58Z")
I live in a country where nobody has air conditioning in their homes. There is never, or almost never, a situation where indoor cooling is necessary or desirable. (I’m just talking about houses. Air conditioning is common in commercial buildings.) I get the impression this is fairly uncommon around the world. Are there other places that don’t have any need for air conditioning? I don’t just mean you can live without it, I mean where it would not even be desirable as a luxury? ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2024, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-places-in-the-world-dont-need-air-conditioning/1011129/2 "2024-12-03T19:03:39Z")
The Pacific coast of Oregon and Washington are pretty much air-conditioner free until you get inland. When I lived in San Francisco, I didn’t know anyone who had AC. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2024, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-places-in-the-world-dont-need-air-conditioning/1011129/3 "2024-12-03T19:04:38Z")
> [@hibernicus](#): > > Are there other places that don’t have any need for air conditioning? I don’t just mean you can live without it, I mean where it would not even be desirable as a luxury? I can’t imagine wanting air conditioning in the towns of Southeast Alaska. (Ketchikan, Juneau, Sitka, etc). ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2024, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-places-in-the-world-dont-need-air-conditioning/1011129/4 "2024-12-03T19:05:12Z")
Putting aside climate change (it’s going to fuck up everything, believe me), I’d say that parts of the British Isles could get by without it (though I’m to understand that this past summer was brutal in the UK). It also seems that Mexico City rarely gets much hotter that ~80F, although I can’t speak to the humidity. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2024, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-places-in-the-world-dont-need-air-conditioning/1011129/5 "2024-12-03T19:12:46Z")
Southern California right on the coast but not up in the foothills. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2024, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-places-in-the-world-dont-need-air-conditioning/1011129/6 "2024-12-03T19:15:50Z")
> [@hibernicus](#): > > I live in a country where nobody has air conditioning in their homes. Okay, I’ll bite hibernicus. Where do you live? BTW, I would think that coastal Canada, and the associated islands, wouldn’t require AC. ---
**Author:** ![SailorHG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@SailorHG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SailorHG)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2024, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-places-in-the-world-dont-need-air-conditioning/1011129/7 "2024-12-03T19:21:11Z")
Seconded: which country? Here in Sweden air conditioning is also pretty rare. You can get stand-alone units in consumer housewares stores (Clas Ohlsson, for example) but really other than a couple of weeks per summer they aren’t all that necessary; a regular fan was enough for me last summer and then it was only for a week. (A couple of years ago things got hotter for longer. There were some days when we’d go down into the tunnelbanna to cool off!) ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2024, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-places-in-the-world-dont-need-air-conditioning/1011129/8 "2024-12-03T19:28:58Z")
I live in Ireland. I should have said, wasn’t trying to be mysterious! ---
**Author:** ![SailorHG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@SailorHG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SailorHG)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2024, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-places-in-the-world-dont-need-air-conditioning/1011129/9 "2024-12-03T19:34:50Z")
Thanks. Looks like we’re fairly close latitude-wise. 😊 ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2024, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-places-in-the-world-dont-need-air-conditioning/1011129/10 "2024-12-03T19:38:22Z")
> [@hibernicus](#): > > I get the impression this is fairly uncommon around the world. Are there other places that don’t have any need for air conditioning? I don’t just mean you can live without it, I mean where it would not even be desirable as a luxury? I get the impression it is pretty common? If we define the upper limit of “room temperature” as 25°C, plus allow a little extra tolerance, just pick anywhere where it does not (usually) get hotter than that. That covers a lot of ground, even in the tropics, and certainly subtropical and Mediterranean climates. Sometimes _humidity_ is a problem (notice all the condensate when you turn on an air conditioner), but I have lived in a couple of major cities where air conditioning or cooling was not really a thing. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2024, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-places-in-the-world-dont-need-air-conditioning/1011129/11 "2024-12-03T20:30:09Z")
> [@hibernicus](#): > > I live in Ireland. I should have said, wasn’t trying to be mysterious! I’ve always assumed that, based on your user name. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2024, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-places-in-the-world-dont-need-air-conditioning/1011129/12 "2024-12-03T20:45:46Z")
Born and raised on the Monterey Peninsula, California. In the summer we were lucky if the fog ever retreated at all and we saw the sun. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2024, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-places-in-the-world-dont-need-air-conditioning/1011129/13 "2024-12-03T20:58:21Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > When I lived in San Francisco, I didn’t know anyone who had AC. Yeah, and out here near Sacramento we can hear them crying when it gets above 80F. 😂 Is the OP looking for a whole country that does not need AC? A State/Province/Prefecture, etc? Because there are many cities that don’t generally have it for residential areas (as mentioned, coastal CA and northward along the US Pacific coast). ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2024, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-places-in-the-world-dont-need-air-conditioning/1011129/14 "2024-12-03T21:14:23Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > > [@hibernicus](#): > > > > I live in Ireland. I should have said, wasn’t trying to be mysterious! > > I’ve always assumed that, based on your user name. That and the fact his location says “Dublin” seemed like pretty strong hints to me. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2024, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-places-in-the-world-dont-need-air-conditioning/1011129/15 "2024-12-03T21:14:28Z")
Does the term _air conditioning_ exclusively refer to cooling indoor air that is too hot for the comfort of the inhabitants of the space, or can it be expanded to mean _making the indoor space comfortable for the inhabitants_? If the former, I’d nominate Point Barrow, Alaska. ---
**Author:** ![Orville\_mogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/aeb1de/32.png) [@Orville\_mogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orville_mogul)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2024, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-places-in-the-world-dont-need-air-conditioning/1011129/16 "2024-12-03T21:30:51Z")
Switzerland here. Domestic AC is pretty rare. No one I know has it ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2024, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-places-in-the-world-dont-need-air-conditioning/1011129/17 "2024-12-03T22:09:54Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > Is the OP looking for a whole country that does not need AC? A State/Province/Prefecture, etc? Areas, regions generally. I’m surprised about California. Switzerland and Sweden didn’t surprise me. ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2024, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-places-in-the-world-dont-need-air-conditioning/1011129/18 "2024-12-03T22:12:18Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Does the term _air conditioning_ exclusively refer to cooling indoor air that is too hot for the comfort of the inhabitants of the space, Yes, that’s what I meant. Places that may need heating but never need cooling. Of course Arctic regions, but not many people live there! ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2024, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-places-in-the-world-dont-need-air-conditioning/1011129/19 "2024-12-03T22:34:21Z")
Large office buildings everywhere need air conditioning. The people and other equipment (lights, computers, etc.) inside generate more heat than you can passively shed through the walls. It’s a manifestation of the square-cube law: Passive cooling is proportional to the square of the size, but heat generation is proportional to the cube of the size. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2024, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-places-in-the-world-dont-need-air-conditioning/1011129/20 "2024-12-03T22:39:17Z")
It’s worth considering that the notion of what constitutes ‘too hot’ weather varies quite a lot by locality and I would venture to suggest that almost anywhere that has a range of seasonal temperatures, and isn’t in the polar circles, you’ll find people saying the local equivalent of ‘phew, it’s a really hot one today’ at some point in the year. I’ve got a friend in Nigeria who I chat with most days and there have been numerous occasions where I’m talking about how warm it is, and how I’ve had to break out the shorts and short sleeves, and he’s been saying how cold it is, and how people are wearing coats and scarves, and when we start talking actual numbers, the temperature here (my 'warm day) is significantly cooler than the temperature there (his ‘cold day’). If I went there, I would probably want AC all year round. If he came here, he would _never_ want AC and would probably want heating instead, year round (until we eventually acclimated to the local temperatures, assuming that we ever did). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-places-in-the-world-dont-need-air-conditioning/1011129.md?page=2)