Searches for UK homes with air conditioning more than double

Most owners would consider installing aircon as heatwaves lead buyers to focus on ability to stay cool, Rightmove says

Searches for homes for sale in the UK with air conditioning have more than doubled this summer as heatwaves push staying cool up the list of priorities for homebuyers, alongside nearness to good schools and transport links.

In the week of the UK’s fifth heatwave, in which temperatures in parts of England hit 38C , the property website Rightmove said the heat was influencing how Britons thought about their homes, with more people paying attention to how comfortable a property would be during hotter weather.

Searches on its site this summer for homes for sale with air conditioning were up 104% compared with the same period last year.

The website also published consumer research showing that 61% of people said they would consider installing air conditioning, though only 12% had already done so. Meanwhile, 87% said that a property’s ability to stay cool was important when choosing their next home.

A report published in May by the UK’s Climate Change Committee said hotter heatwaves could lead to 92% of existing homes overheating by 2050, adding that they may require air conditioning . Passive measures such as drawing curtains and opening windows were unlikely to be enough.

An estimated 4m homes in the UK now have air conditioning , double the figure from three years ago. The rise in working from home is thought to have fuelled demand.

Some of the UK’s warmest summers have been in recent years, and the UK’s hottest day was in July 2022, when temperatures hit 40C.

In May, the air conditioning specialist Debonair Cooling told the Guardian that owners of both period and new-build properties were enquiring about its cooling systems – which cost about £2,500 per room. “They are struggling to sleep at night, or have children with breathing problems,” it said, adding that loft conversions were also posing problems, with some loft rooms reaching highs of 50C.

In the US and Japan at least 90% of households are said to have air conditioningwhereas for Europe as a whole it is estimated that fewer than a quarter have air conditioning.

Air conditioning is controversial as it is energy intensive, accounting for about 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions. However, some people in the UK with heat pumps have been able to use them to cool their homes as well as heat them, which could increase demand for the technology.

Rightmove’s property expert, Colleen Babcock, said: “While location, space and affordability remain key priorities, our research suggests that people are paying closer attention to how comfortable a home will be during hotter weather.

“Many households are already making practical changes to keep cool, while others are factoring these considerations into their next move.”

James Waight, head of sales at the estate agent John D Wood & Co, said a home that could stay cool in summer while also retaining heat in winter was “no longer simply a nice-to-have but an important factor in the decision to buy a property”.