PalenQ

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/06/w...heat-wave.html

In an article about the heat wave called Lucifer hitting much of Europe it was said "In Italy air conditioning is viewed, even by doctors in offices with AC, as a maleviolent force responsbile for stiff necks, respiratory ailments and anything else not diagnosable. Taxi cab drivers refuse to turn it on as a public health service."

Folks familiar with Italy -can this possibly be true?

I think hotels used by foreigners must have AC but do locals in such hot places as Florence and Rome?

Curious if this NYTimes take is for real? Many Italians even doctors view AC as a health hazzard?

fmpden

Don't know. But remember that my old German grandmother that it was unhealthy to sleep in a draft or with an open window with the night air blowing on you.

Dukey1

I can say with 100% reliability that none of the several "taxi drivers" we used over the past several days here in Bologna where the temperatures easily exceeded 100 degrees F refused to "turn on the A/C."

Trenitalia did not "refuse" to turn on its' A/C either and it obviously carries a lot more people at one time than any taxi driver.

massimop

https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/...se-colds/?_r=0

http://www.nytimes.com/1986/08/20/ga...-the-30-s.html

Michael

I remember a time when air conditioning was rare in NYC. It was not until we were in our mid-thirties that my wife and I had AC in car and home (1977 to be exact) when we moved to Texas, and we had survived summers in Chicago and Michigan. A friend rented a house in Albuquerque in the late 70s that only had a swamp cooler, no AC.

There is the opinion that going from excessive heat to excessive coolness is unhealthy (except when it comes to saunas in Finland?).

PalenQ

Grammar police - Hazzard in headline should be Hazard.

vinoroma

I live in rome. Trains, shops etc have it, and taxis mainly have it (i had one in the last weeks who refused to turn it on), bises and trams are 50/50. But private people really do not like it, complain about it if they have to work/enter a place with ac, start putting on scarves, jackets etc (although it is never *that* cold) and complain about exactly the things mentioned in the article. Everyone i know has a fan at home but few have an ac, and then they turn it on only sometimes. We have a so called pinguin (a somehow portable unit) that runs 24/7 in the last month or so and everyone is telling us how unhealthy it is. (We still have no issues, though )

Dukey1

Does anyone think the price of electricity over here has anything to do with some of this thinking?

sundriedtopepo

What hello seems to hate it though he's Belgian not Italian.

hetismij2

It's not only the price of electricity it is the cost of installing it in an ancient home, with all sorts of planning restrictions upon it,especially when it is not needed constantly. Don't forget many Italian (and other European) houses have been around from long before A/C was invented and have survived previous heat waves. They have thick stone walls, and small windows with shutters which are closed during the day to keep the heat out.
Modern houses are insulated well and that also keeps the heat out as well as heat in in winter.
Besides it is better for the world if the majority of people don't have A/Cs burning up electricity all the time.

Unless A/C units (incuding in the car) are regularly serviced and cleaned they can be a source of germs and fungi, and a health hazard.

ticino

Yes, it's true for most Italians. And I also think it's true for many other Europeans. I live in Sweden and I have lost count of the number of Swedes I have heard complaining about AC in the US. And Swiss, Austrian, French...

Also in my experience very old Italian buildings in stone are excellent at keeping the heat out. It may take days before you really need to turn on the AC (and then only to sleep) whereas here in Stockholm in some modern buildings you need AC right away to to put up with only 23-24 degrees outside if it's a sunny day.

Btw Italian electricity tariffs are designed to penalise having lots of devices on at the same time, so that may play a role, not just the cost of energy (kWh) but the cost of power capacity (kW). Some people subscribe to as little as they can get away with, which is very good.

vinoroma

I do agree that Italian buildings are better than new, thin-walled, big-windowed buildings, but it doesn't make them into absolute paradise. The fix ac units do create some problems, true, that is why a lot of us who don't believe in the negative effects have so called pinguins (no installation and permits necessary). But, although I live in an old building exactly as described, and close all shutters etc, with this heatwave (the last month) it is impossible to live without one. The problem is that in the city the stone buildings, streets etc all heat up so at night it doesn't cool down significantly, you can't do the normal "keep everything closed and dark during the day, open all windows during the night" thing to cool the apartment down (which we did till the end of June). The pinguin runs 24/7 in the bedroom, with the door closed, and all other parts of the apartment cut off - still we manage to keep the room only at 28C/82,5F. With 24/7 ac! you can barely sleep at that temperature. The other rooms are at around 33C/91,5F. And yes, of course the cost (and the environment) is an issue - but one we have to live through.

Macross

We rented a Florence apartment with ac for May and it was very hot. I was not happy when I found out there was a law it could not be turned on in May. No screens on the windows and we were infested with biting bugs. In the UK we noticed the windows are only allowed to open a wee bit. We had one window that opened out of five. It was warm and no ac. I guess it is to prevent jumpers but without ac it was warm.

hetismij2

I believe that if you are used to constant A/C your body doesn't adapt well to higher temperatures. So you find it harder to cope with even what we in northern Europe would call very warm to hot weather (25- 30C).

I realise that Italy and much of southern Europe is experiencing something exceptional right now and that A/C of some sort will save lives there, but for normal summer weather it isn't really necessary, especially for those on holiday who can take things easy No one forces holiday makers to rush around and do stuff.

Macross I assume you were in a hotel or a tower block. Most UK windows open wide, even in some tower blocks.

Dukey1

I believe the actual ISSUE in this thread was the view that A/C is a malevolent force that is responsible for numerous illnesses an d conditions was it not?

I find it interesting that none of the people seem to be complaining about that other "air conditioning:" HEAT in the Winter and there's never any talk about the whole "stronger" thing and all that.

How about for "normal" WINTER weather? Do you really NEED all that heat?

PalenQ

wow -Italians are so ignorant of the science that I believe says they are irrational about the dangers of AC. Shocking. But if they can swelter and like it fine and Italians I believe do live longer than just about anyone.

So if it feels good and does no harm not having AC do it.

Waldo

My relatives in Naples don't believe in air conditioning. However, a few years ago, when they visited us here in Maryland, they sheepishly asked if we could please turn on the AC on one really not so warm night. Besides, those old solid stone buildings do keep out the heat pretty well for a while,, but you guys forget is that once that stone gets hot, it stays hot for a LONG time, making it torture.

massimop

https://www.today.com/health/office-...als-why-t36476

https://www.thehealthsciencejournal....ioning-health/

https://www.sciencedaily.com/release...0216094523.htm

http://time.com/3942050/air-conditioner-healthy/

massimop

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/10/s...ming.html?_r=0

massimop

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ai...oned_Nightmare