> I lived somewhere that would get to 40c in the summers and an oscillating fan was good enough to keep cool, the AC was nice to have but it wasn’t necessary.
As others have said, that works if you lived in a very dry area. And perhaps it was a house or a building optimized for airflow. And you didn't have much to do during the day. And I'm guessing you're young, and healthy.
Here in central Europe, sustained 40°C in the summer would rack up a significant body count. Anything above 30°C sucks really bad if you have any work to do. Or if, say, you're pregnant or have small children. And you live in a city.
Residential A/C isn't a luxury anymore, it's becoming a necessity very fast. Fortunately, heat pumps are one of the most efficient inventions of humankind. In particular, "A/C blasting all day long" beats anything else you could do to mitigate the heat if it involved getting into a car. And then it also beats whatever else you're doing to heat your place during the winter.
As others have said, that works if you lived in a very dry area. And perhaps it was a house or a building optimized for airflow. And you didn't have much to do during the day. And I'm guessing you're young, and healthy.
Here in central Europe, sustained 40°C in the summer would rack up a significant body count. Anything above 30°C sucks really bad if you have any work to do. Or if, say, you're pregnant or have small children. And you live in a city.
Residential A/C isn't a luxury anymore, it's becoming a necessity very fast. Fortunately, heat pumps are one of the most efficient inventions of humankind. In particular, "A/C blasting all day long" beats anything else you could do to mitigate the heat if it involved getting into a car. And then it also beats whatever else you're doing to heat your place during the winter.