In Germany, for example, of the 58,885 residential buildings completed in 2025, 4.3% had cooling systems. This percentage has more than doubled in the last ten years, and the trend is continuing to accelerate.
The percentage of residential buildings with air conditioning varies greatly by country. It ranges from 20% in Europe to 90% in the United States. In Saudi Arabia, nearly all residential buildings have air conditioning.
Comment from the IBN: Martin Renner, a professor of building and energy technology at the Department of Technical Systems, Processes, and Communication at the Munich University of Applied Sciences, says, “I strongly advise against installing air-conditioning systems in more and more apartments.” The United Nations Global Cooling Watch 2025 report states: “We cannot air-condition our way out of the heat crises!”
We fully agree with these statements. The reasons are easy to explain. Air-conditioning systems lead to high energy consumption and increased heating of the ambient air, which often causes health problems.
A better approach would be to properly design buildings, taking into account dimensions, window sizes, orientation, and energy efficiency. This could include planting more trees, adding green facades and roofs, restoring waterways, using blinds, and ensuring proper ventilation. More sustainable cooling strategies are detailed in the Global Cooling Watch 2025 report.