Spain has barred all commercial buildings from setting their thermostat below 80 degrees in summer. It would also ban setting thermostats above 66 degrees in winter. The moves are prompted by the country’s reliance on Russian gas.
If this applies to individual hotel rooms (rather than just public areas), then I'd put a lot of money on demand soaring for Airbnbs and other private apartment rentals next summer. 27C (80F) is wayyyyy too warm to sleep IMO. https://t.co/yZxSRy8BYW
— Becky Pokora (@sightDOING) August 3, 2022
These rules are also recommendations for homes though fewer than 10% of homes across Europe have air conditioning (with greater penetration the further south in Europe you go, and Western Europe having more air conditioning than Eastern Europe).
And since these rules apply to airports, too, some of you will want to reconsider connections through Madrid. And while we’re planning watch out for homes with coin-operated air conditioning in Airbnb’s in Spain.
It seems like Spain should be doubling down on nuclear power, rather than phasing it out, since it wouldn’t just expand their power-generating capacity it would be better for the environment than Russian gas. Even if you somehow think nuclear power entails risk (it’s less risky than you think) that has to be weighed against the environmental risks of the power sources they’re actually using right?
