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The official advice of the German government's Federal Environmental Ministry, here conveyed by the state broadcaster, is that portable air-conditioning units are "not effective" because they vent hot air outside, causing a pressure drop which brings air into the room, making the room overall hotter. Here we see the midwit condescension of the European managerial elite in its purest form. First of all, this is all disingenuous. The environment ministry knows full-well that air-conditioners work, they just don't want people using them because it would strain the German electricity infrastructure -- which the environment ministry itself has done a good deal to weaken. Also, if portable AC units don't work, why have Germans bought 75% more of these machines in the last five years? Why are there literally millions of reviews on Amazon and elsewhere saying "This thing works great! Finally I can sleep through the night!". Why has pretty much nobody ever returned an AC unit, saying "It just made the room hotter!" How stupid do these bureaucrats think Germans are? It's as if the health ministry warned that you shouldn't drink alcohol because it doesn't really make you drunk, in fact it makes you sober because -- LOOK! A SQUIRREL!!

5:17 AM · Jun 26, 2026

David Watson 🥑

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The ministerial bureaucrats thinking this up and the "journalists" paid by de facto tax all sit in AC-cooled offices, of course...

You are correct, sir!

In that respect ( despite being German) I am quite americanized!

I would have installed a split long ago but I have a Dachgeschosswohnung with crooked walls. So far my monoblock is fine, but I'm eyeing a Midea Porta-split, which you can hang on a slanted window...

Steffen Schuldenzucker

@sschuldenzucker

I think they mean "efficient" instead of "effective". Which is true. I'd much prefer to have integrated split AC (US HVAC style) everywhere. Go Umweltbundesamt!

Unfortunately, the Umweltbundesamt is actively fighting the installation of efficient central A/C units on new buildings and the retrofitting of older buildings *right fucking now*, because they are ideological opponents of all air-conditioning.

Nicholas Martin

They presumably mean monoblocks, and what they say is basically true for them. The only portable AC I know of for which this is not true, is the Midea Porta SPLIT. (Which is humming along nicely in the background.)

But it's disingenuous because they know, like everyone else, that monoblocks are used as fans, not as room-cooling systems. Nobody cares if the room as a whole goes up by .5 degree if the air blowing on you is 15° cooler.

@Hammerklauender

Jepp, that's one of the reasons why monoblock devices are not effective

One of them is keeping me nice and cool right now.

AC doesn't move air from inside out or outside in, the inside unit simply recycles the air already in the room (it just passes room air over the coils that become cold from the fluid that runs in a loop between the inside and outside units)

Well, it’s true that you need dual exhaust to avoid the pressure, and due to insane EU regulation things, most ACs sold are single exhaust by default. Still, just a problem to solve, not a physical law

“Midwit condescension of the European managerial elite” is an incredibly well-written line.

Warren Laine-Naida

Let us also not forget the moral compass that lurks in the shadows

bought a portable one 2 years ago. works wonders. even though it isnt as efficient as fixed ones, it still manages to cool down the inside air by ~12C compared to the outside air, even though warm outside air has to come in to replace the evacuated inside air. If you sit in front

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Much better than 2003, where 15,000 seniors died in a heatwave. But the number of people who die because of 100% predictable, in fact actually *predicted* weather abnormalities is...zero.

About 1,000 deaths in France attributable to heat wave

From politico.eu

Translated from German

For all air conditioner fans with monoblocks -- The exhaust hose that's included is junk. Buy something like this -- it massively boosts the performance and you can place the unit 2-3 meters from the window without any issues and move it around freely:

A century ago a certain man convinced the Germans to wipe out people belonging to a certain group. At a meta level, this too falls under same template. Now the ideologues are working hard to convince the masses to do a certain act NOT based on science but on "morals".

In a window air conditioner air no air flows from outside to inside or inside to outside

Sorin Cristescu

@sorin_cristescu

The media could not be played.

Kötek Balığı

They are just acting like they care about the world until a new scandal leaks

en.wikipedia.org

Volkswagen emissions scandal - Wikipedia

I'm feeling really embarrassed to be from Europe right now, what the actual fuck...

It’s like refusing to use antibiotics because it contributes to antibiotic resistance which makes antibiotics less effective. Absolute madness

German third worldism is retarded but they are correct for ACs that have a single hose for hot air exhaustion. Not for ones with an outdoor condenser though. (I retrofitted a second inlet hose to my AC which drastically improves efficacy)