tip: if your dear ones complain about energy prices (valid) and the cost of running ac, point out that it costs less money and energy to just keep the system running than it does to start and stop it every time you wanna cool off
ENDURING HEAT IS NOT A MORAL VIRTUE FFS. IT WILL KILL YOU DEAD.
bex
Your annual reminder that elderly people are the most vulnerable demographic to death and severe injury during heat waves - and many of them, especially those raised in cooler times, struggle or outright refuse to believe heat can kill them.
Keep close tabs on them on hot days.
My dad lives in a Cape Cod with baseboard hot water heat. He (and my late mom) refused to consider switching to forced air and have now paid twice for new boilers (plus maintenance) instead of converting. He's convinced they don't need it.
None of our elder relatives come use our AC.
Chelsea
And yes, I totally get that retrofitting old European housing for AC is an expensive pain in the ass -the Northeastern U.S. has very similar challenges - but unfortunately, it’s either that or accept an ever-escalating number of really miserable deaths, primarily among vulnerable people, from heat.
