UCL event to consider domestic AC challenge
11th January 2026
UK: A special event at the University College London (UCL) will discuss whether the UK should embrace air conditioning in the face of climate change.
The in-person panel discussion, organised by the UCL’s London Institute for Environmental Design and Engineering, will consider the effects of increasing adoption of AC as a result of record-breaking hot weather in recent UK summers.
With recent surveys indicating a faster-than-expected shift towards residential cooling, the UCL event will discuss what this might mean for UK buildings, energy systems, and people’s health.
The seminar will explore the trade-offs surrounding residential AC adoption in the UK. It will look at whether there will be enough power available to support an increasing number of installations, the challenges for the electricity distribution network, and the role of AC in adapting to climate change.
It will also look at whether it should it be prioritised to protect only the most vulnerable, and whether widespread AC adoption would lead to summer energy poverty and unequal health protection. Whether an increased uptake will align or conflict with the UK’s net zero goals will also be considered.
The discussion panel will comprise Dr Charles Simpson of the UCL Institute for Environmental Design and Engineering, Bob Ward of the London School of Economics and Political Science, Lewis Bowick of Energy Systems Catapult, Dr Radhika Khosla of the University of Oxford and Christopher Pountney of Arup.
The free-to-attend event will take place on 28 January from 16:00-17:30 at Room 225, UCL Central House, 14 Upper Woburn Place, London WC1H 0NN.
Further details and bookings here.
