Overview
- Sales of residential cooling have jumped sharply this summer, with trade groups reporting multi‑hundred‑percent year‑on‑year increases for split systems and widespread sell‑outs of mobile units and fans.
- Specialist firms and local tradespeople are overwhelmed by calls and orders, causing long waits because of a shortage of skilled installers and limited component availability in wholesale channels.
- Consumers face clear technology tradeoffs: monoblock mobile units are quick and cheap but noisy and power‑hungry, mobile split units avoid building work, and fixed split systems or heat pumps deliver much higher efficiency but need professional installation.
- Legal limits shape what renters and owners can do: tenants normally need landlord approval for wall penetrations, while the Bundesgerichtshof recently ruled condominium communities must tolerate balcony outdoor units within specified limits.
- Safety, cost and longer‑term choices hinge on refrigerants, subsidies and electricity: most fixed systems use R32 and require certified installers, propane options are rare, PV or balcony solar can cut running costs, and state aid favors heat pumps in major renovations.