It’s long been a must-have feature in hotel rooms and holiday apartments when Britons travel to hotter climes.
But now it seems we want air conditioning in our homes too.
Some 95 per cent of estate agents say they are seeing an increase in demand for properties with air conditioning as temperatures rise. And 88 per cent also reported a rise in homes coming to the market with built-in air conditioning, with 36 per cent saying it will increase the price offered for a property, a survey for insurer Direct Line found.
Some 95 per cent of estate agents say they are seeing an increase in demand for properties with air conditioning as temperatures rise (stock image)
More than half of UK adults (52 per cent) said their home can become ‘unbearably’ hot in the summer, rising to 62 per cent in the London area.
Four-fifths of adults (80 per cent) said higher temperatures create difficulties with sleeping. More than a quarter (28 per cent) said they sleep naked in high temperatures and 47 per cent sleep without covers.
Maria Lawrence, Direct Line’s product manager for home insurance, said: ‘As continental living styles are increasingly adopted in the UK, the latest trend is to install air conditioning in the home.
‘Being able to turn down the temperature to reduce heat stress is attractive for homeowners as it can impact physical and mental wellbeing.’
More than half of UK adults (52 per cent) said their home can become ‘unbearably’ hot in the summer, rising to 62 per cent in the London area (stock image)
She added: ‘Alternative, cheaper and quicker steps for keeping cool include installing ceiling fans and keeping the curtains shut during the day.’
The data came from a Censuswide survey of 250 residential estate agents across the UK between July 17 and 22, and a poll of 2,000 UK adults between June 4 and 7 by market research firm Opinium.
