More and more people want to cool down their home with air conditioning

Seller Carl Dahlgren at Elgiganten in Sickla in Stockholm shows empty pallets in the store where the products have been.

- We have had six different models at AC.s here, a total of maybe 30-40. We finally sold it the first day, he says.

According to Communications Manager Li Persson at Elgiganten, the company has in the last week had a threefold sales of fans and portable air conditioners compared to the same period last year.

And at Bauhaus stores in Stockholm, it turns out to be AC ​​on this hot day in early July when SVT News calls.

On the wholesale side, the company Beijer Ref states that sales have increased substantially over the past two years, both to the European market and in Sweden.

"The hot summers of recent years have meant that air conditioning is not just on the wish list, it is a real need and a standard of living," says Per Bertland, CEO of Beijer Ref. The company increased its sales of air conditioning, ventilation and heat in Sweden by 25 percent in the first quarter of this year compared to last year.

Emmely Christiansen bought her portable AC already in the spring of 2018. When the hot summer came, she could still sleep coolly at home in the apartment in central Stockholm, thanks to the air conditioning.

- It runs hot afternoons and evenings. Otherwise, it gets incredibly hot in here, 35-40 degrees.

But increasing the use of AC is a problem for the climate. Globally, air conditioning accounts for about 3 percent of the world's carbon dioxide emissions - roughly equivalent to emissions from aviation. And even Swedes need to think about how we cool our homes in the most climate-smart ways, says Kristina Östman, an expert in Energy at the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation.

- Sweden generally has almost fossil-free electricity production, but at the same time our electricity system is connected with the rest of Europe. If we significantly increase our electricity generation here for a certain period of time, it could lead to another country where one has more fossil electricity production, increasing its production. Our electricity consumption can thus increase emissions elsewhere.