The Mayor of London must reform planning rules to make it easier for sweltering new build homes to have air conditioning installed, experts and campaigners have said.
City Hall are currently consulting on London’s Heat Risk Delivery Plan in a bid to cool down residents despite summers becoming hotter and drier every year.
The plan, currently in its public consultation stage, will lay out a series of measures that can be taken to combat the impact of heatwaves.
The Mayor has already talked up ‘cool spaces’ around the city, thousands of water refill points and plans to plant thousands more trees to reduce the temperature for Londoners moving around the city.
But experts have now warned that the real danger could be an effective ban on installing air conditioning in highly insulated new build developments.
The London Plan, drawn up in 2021, instructs developers to prioritise “passive ventilation”, such as shading from trees, high ceilings and utilising airflow.
It says the use of air conditioning is not “desirable as these have significant energy requirements and, under conventional operation, expel hot air, thereby adding to the urban heat island effect”.
If such systems are “unavoidable”, developers must design them in order to “reuse” any waste heat produced.
Similarly, the London Climate Resilience Review recommends that “mechanical ventilation is prioritised over air conditioning”.
When it comes to new build homes, however, passive cooling measures may not work as effectively as needed.
Developers often add extra fire resistant insulation and thicker windows to ensure buildings are kept warm in winter – but leaving residents helpless in the hotter months.
Image: Wikipedia
“In many cases it will be easier to provide air conditioning instead of complicated ventilation systems. The growing solar power sector can provide the energy to run this at minimal cost to the environment.”
“Overheated homes are a serious health risk to children, older people and pets. Yet London’s housing rules mean new homes are being built without modern technology like air conditioning. Allowing new homes to have air conditioning built-in is an easy first step to creating a more heat-resilient London.”
In June, polling from More in Common found that 46 per cent of those in Greater London supported the effective ban on air conditioning, with 38 per cent suggesting it was not a “sensible policy”.
A report from the Centre for Cities the month before also claimed that the London plan was “neglecting the helpful potential of air conditioning.”
Referring to the energy cost of air conditioning systems, it added: “It is not obvious why spending energy and emitting carbon to keep buildings comfortable is unacceptable in summer but tolerable in winter.”
Ed Hezlet of the Centre for British Progress told the LDRS: “It is encouraging to see that City Hall is actively engaged with the risks associated with overheating in London.
“However the survey’s exclusive focus on passive cooling measures will limit the effectiveness of London’s heat plan when temperatures are at their highest.
“Air conditioning in domestic settings must also be part of the conversation, rather than being relegated to the bottom rung of London’s cooling hierarchy.”
Air conditioning also has the potential to become a political issue in London.
Professor Mehri Khosravi, an Energy and Carbon Senior Research Fellow, at the University of East London, warned that air conditioning alone is not the answer.
She told the LDRS: “New builds in London are particularly at risk of overheating. Many are designed to be airtight for winter energy efficiency.
A spokesperson for the Mayor of London said: “The London Plan allows for air conditioning to be installed in new builds but requires developers to maximise the benefits of passive cooling measures, which includes helping reduce carbon emissions and lowering energy costs for households.”
