Can portable Air Conditioning units be purchase en masse to help alleviate the heat situation in Europe? I understand

[artemisia1]

that U.S. units use a different electrical system (110-120 V and 60 Hz), but couldn't step down transformers be used? I doubt there are enough European made systems presently in existence for immediate use in this present emergency, but could U.S. units be purchased? Is the 60 Hz (U.S.) vs. 50 Hz (Europe) an insurmountable issue?

In any case, Europe needs AC and they need it now. Their governments need to step up to the plate here and keep, or get, their priorities straight.

[canetoad]

1. Please take this the right way

This is the most impractical suggestion of all time.

[Polybius]

2. Second worst

The worst was when Trump suggested nuking a hurricane.

[canetoad]

3. Oh yeah. nt

[31j20b3]

12. Who will, in a timely way, manufacture the many millions of AC units for France this summer?

It just can't happen that fast

Manufacture probably wouldn't be in France, and in additions to lead time to assemble factory capacity and materials there would be shipping involved from far away states that still manufacture appliances. AC is probably in EUropes future but it just won't arrive in time for this summer.

France must figure out how to cool down with very old technology... like towels that wipe the wetness that makes sweating inefficient, and like misters that will introduce wetness that can cool as it evaporates, like spending time in subway tunnels, basements. and other innately cool locations. We can spread ourselves out spread eagle on the ground and exchange heat to the earth. Not particularly 'techy' but possible.

[GPV]

4. My son is in Amsterdam. The units would have to be

multiple per home if people don't want to share a common area I'm guessing conversions or not, the power grid would have a hard time with that kind of jump in power draw. But I wish we could do it, it's been crazy hot for them.

[usedtobedemgurl]

5. I wonder if they have splits over there.

The orange dummy will not lift a finger to help unless there was something in it for him. But the number of things manufactured overseas, a split may help folks, even if they have to remain in one or two rooms.

[obamanut2012]

9. Yes, they have splits there, at least in Spain

[DET]

6. A Question

Maybe a dumb one. Anyway… Are there any large, air conditioned government run facilities that could temporarily be used to house people during this heat wave (schools, subways, government offices, etc.)? They have to be suffering terribly.

[wnylib]

7. Not a dumb question, IMO.

In my community, a few places open up to the public during heat waves, for people who lack AC at home. Most of them are churches. Libraries here are open to the public during regular hours and do not extend them..

But they are only open during the day. They do not house people overnight.

[Johnny2X2X]

8. Logistical problems

Not only shipping them, but making them tailored for European homes both electrically and shape wise. European homes don't normally have the same up and down windows we are used to in the US. Our A/C units won't fit in their windows. Our A/C Units won't work with their electricity setups. And their homes might not have the ability to power something up to 1500 more watts in addition to their regular power use.

And this isn't even getting into their grids and the extra burden A/C units would put on them.

Central Air will be even tougher for them. They don't have the ducts for forced air heating like we do, almost all heat is radiant in Europe so there are no ducts built into homes to repurpose for A/C. There are other ways, but they aren't as easy to implement as central air is in the US.

If this is going to become a normal thing for them, it's going to take some new solutions.

[obamanut2012]

10. I suspect they mean the portable units

Not window ones.

[Johnny2X2X]

11. Most of the same problems

We're not talking a few hundred thousands homes, it's tens of millions of homes in need. There's simply not a big enough excess of units in the world.