China's cool reply to heated air-con debate

The recent severe heat wave in Europe has subsided, but with another one already on the horizon, the rush to find air conditioners continues.

As late as July 6, searches for "air conditioner" on Amazon and JoyBuy across much of Western Europe still returned the same message: "out of stock".

The heat wave was at its most severe in the June 22-28 week, when daytime highs exceeded 35 C in many major European cities. Milan recorded 37 C on June 26, while Paris climbed above 40 C. Even Brussels and Berlin, located farther north, reached 38 C and 39 C respectively.

Yet in much of Europe, where summers were historically shorter and milder, household air-conditioning ownership remains as low as 20 percent, according to the International Energy Agency.

This summer, however, Chinese suppliers are reporting surging orders from Europe, driven by products that offer affordable prices, low energy consumption and compliance with local regulations.

Europe has barriers holding back air conditioner penetration. Installation fees can exceed 1,000 euros ($1,143), and consumers usually have to wait weeks for installation slots during peak periods. There are also other restraints that need to be considered, such as strict noise regulations, bans on exterior wall modifications for historic buildings, and widespread public concerns that the mass use of air conditioners will push up energy consumption and derail climate action targets.

In response, Midea home appliances said it spent three years developing the PortaSplit, which features an outdoor unit that fixes onto a window bracket with no drilling required. The weight of the outdoor unit has been reduced to less than 10 kilograms, allowing most adult users to install it by themselves. Addressing Europe's high electricity prices, the product also boasts industry-leading energy-saving technologies.

"Made in China is far from simply duplicating products originally developed for the Chinese domestic market and launching them directly overseas. Instead, it means redefining product lines to align with the specific demands of local consumers," said Xiong Xueqin, sales director of Midea RAC Europe Region.

"From this targeted product, what European consumers could see is that Chinese enterprises excel not only in manufacturing, but also in innovation."

Other Chinese home appliance manufacturers have also rolled out innovative cooling products designed for the European market.

In response to Germany's strict nighttime noise control rules, Haier has lowered the minimum operating noise of its air conditioners to 18 decibels, "which is roughly the volume of turning pages in a quiet library," said Yu Shipeng, director of Haier Air Conditioning Overseas Market.

At Ningbo Heallux International Trading Co in Zhejiang province, workers have been busy packing tower fans fitted with intelligent display screens, a product that has become a bestseller in Europe. Hu Benchun, director of the company, told Xinhua that the product was designed for the European market. Between January and May, export of the fan surged roughly 60 percent from last year.