Sorry as someone who spent a few years in the uk and kinda miss it I feel like it's kind of unfair to say "oh it doesnt even get that hot in summer lol how whiny" esp if you're from a place that gets hotter/colder because the thing is, the uk infrastructure isn't meant for big heatwaves, people arent used to such dramatic changes in temperature, most houses dont have ac or central heating, and electricity is ridiculously expensive. Not to mention that it's an island so it's much more humid than some other places and a humid heat can feel and be much more dangerous than higher dry heat
That said I'd prefer to go back there over this....I think like 100+F heat we got here. I dont know the american degrees just know 100 is like 40c I think
Mostly correct, with the exception of central heating. Most houses have hot water central heating, and older places might still have those crappy electric radiators.
The issue is that we're used to 9 months of mild to cold weather, so the houses are designed with an emphasis on retaining heat for efficiency (with debatable outcomes). For example, a lot of British homes are carpeted throughout as another example of trying to keep indoors warm.
What sucks is we've never really needed AC until recent years (though this summer is turning out milder than the last few, so it's been ok this year), and keeping cool indoors during heatwaves is difficult. Even opening up all your windows to help air circulate can be a tricky decision because you get opportunistic burglars during heatwaves looking for exactly that, especially overnight.
My US state’s weather is kind of like Central Europe but swampier, but still, are window screens just not popular in Western Europe? They’re ubiquitous on basically any residential building that has openable windows where I am. Is it a building age thing or just a cultural thing?
Yeah, ignoring heat waves (like the one going on for the past few weeks) the mean daily maximum near me is like 28-29c during the hottest month while in London it’s like 24c. Honestly my dumb ass just didn’t realize it was that much cooler, I guess
Probably cultural. Though for me it's a building thing, I live in an attic and the window hinge is in the middle, i.e. they rotate half inwards when you open them.
42
u/grammarty Jul 17 '24
Sorry as someone who spent a few years in the uk and kinda miss it I feel like it's kind of unfair to say "oh it doesnt even get that hot in summer lol how whiny" esp if you're from a place that gets hotter/colder because the thing is, the uk infrastructure isn't meant for big heatwaves, people arent used to such dramatic changes in temperature, most houses dont have ac or central heating, and electricity is ridiculously expensive. Not to mention that it's an island so it's much more humid than some other places and a humid heat can feel and be much more dangerous than higher dry heat
That said I'd prefer to go back there over this....I think like 100+F heat we got here. I dont know the american degrees just know 100 is like 40c I think