Bismarck Analysis founder Samo Burja argues modern technological norms are surprisingly recent, prompting debate over Bay Area AC adoption

The replies here use the same exact arguments Parisians use. I think I made my point...

@SamoBurja SF doesn't need AC. There's nothing controversial about that. It's a tiny little micro-climate.

@SamoBurja I am an energy maximization maximalist but in SF, AC is almost useless!

@SamoBurja tbf it’s heating you need in the summer, not AC 🥶

@SamoBurja Idk I don’t think AC is needed in SF, you just need some box fans for like three weeks in September

@SamoBurja I live in Berkeley, which is slightly warmer. I have AC as a side effect of installing a heat pump when we electrified the house. We have used it an average of 3 days a year in the last five years

@SamoBurja Not sure why you want to climb this hill. I have lived in SF for 22 years and actually have AC in my house. Turned it on 3-5 times in 10 years, maybe. Sometimes bc of fires. I suppose a condo on the top floor of a house may need it, but definitely not needed in SF.

@SamoBurja I live in Oakland, don't have AC, it is only hot for a few days a year and easily solved with open windows. This is partly due to the way the windows are configured avoiding direct sun exposure. It's very specific to your unit / situation.

@SamoBurja June of 2019 had a terrible heatwave in SF. Yes, that was 100 degrees in the Sunset of all places.

@SamoBurja And yet, here in Texas it's the furnace of hell. Today's high was 101*F.

@SamoBurja To be fair, SF also has very atypical weather for the United States. Only 20 days a year with a heat index of 80+. Less than 1 day a year with a heat index of 90+.

I think you need AC in SF for comfort, but heat-related health risks are rare there.

@PathfinderEq @SamoBurja It would be nice to have three days a year.

@SamoBurja Everything built new or gut remodeled in the last ~decade was done under more stringent energy codes (mostly applying to insulation/R values). Ironically that necessitates AC, since it’s now a sealed envelope. But it simply is not necessary 90% of the year in coastal CA

@SamoBurja But you will need your heat every month except September and October.

@SamoBurja Sf doesn't need ac. It's hot maybe 6 days a year

@SamoBurja It’s just “amenity creep” - the gradual ratcheting up of what counts as standard comfort.

@SamoBurja There has been a noticeable change in weather patterns in San Francisco since the early 2000's. The "no AC" was a weather norm, not a technology norm.