How 2025 broke temperature and wildfire records across Europe
If you felt this summer was hotter than usual, you’re right. Summer 2025 wasn’t just hot, it was record-breaking hot. And for some countries, it’s not over yet.
Britain recorded its warmest summer since 1884, a record set by four separate heatwaves (Met Office / Reuters). In Spain and Portugal, June-August highs passed 46 °C, breaking national records. Across southern Europe, wildfires destroyed over 1 million hectares of land, the worst season since records began (AP News). Meanwhile, electricity grids buckled under demand, with Spain’s power use jumping 16% and wholesale prices spiking above €470/MWh (Financial Times).
And the impact wasn’t just heat. Air quality across Europe plummeted. Wildfire smoke blanketed regions from Portugal to Greece, while stagnant hot air trapped pollutants over cities such as London, Paris, and Madrid. For vulnerable people, the combination of heat and dirty air meant not only dangerous temperatures but also dangerous breathing conditions.
Heat doesn’t just bring discomfort — it brings consequences. During Europe’s 2022 heatwave, nearly 3,000 excess deaths were recorded in the UK alone, with thousands more across Spain, Portugal, and France. Big cities like London, Madrid, and Paris also trap more heat than surrounding areas, often running 5-10 °C hotter (the urban island effect). And these trends are continuing.
It’s no surprise that many people are turning to quick fix air conditioning. But here’s the critical point: what you choose to install matters. That quick fix may keep you comfortable today but make future heatwaves worse.
Why VRF can worsen climate change
It’s easy to see why Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) and other direct-expansion (DX) systems are popular. They’re effective and widely available. But they come with hidden downsides that affect both the climate and your wallet:
- Refrigerant leakage: VRF systems use gases like R-410A, which has a global warming potential (GWP) of 2,088. This means it traps over 2,000 times stronger than CO₂ when released (EPA / Wikipedia). Studies show these systems can leak about 6% of their refrigerant each year. Over the system’s life, refrigerant leaks can account for up to 13% of its total carbon footprint (CIBSE Journal).
- Shorter lifespan: VRF units typically last around 15 years, meaning higher replacement costs and more waste.
- Locked-in risk: Installing thousands of VRF systems across Europe adds millions of tons of CO₂-equivalent emissions, reinforcing the very climate conditions that created the heatwave crisis in the first place.
- Regulatory pressure: The EU and UK are phasing down the use of high-impact refrigerants. That means if you install VRF systems today, you could end up paying for costly replacements before you’ve had the full value from your investment.
The danger isn’t installing air conditioning itself. It’s choosing the wrong kind of air conditioning. VRF cools well, but it locks you into a technology that makes future heatwaves more likely and could cost you more in the long run.
How hydronic cooling and heating is better than VRF
Hydronic systems work differently as they use water as the main energy carrier. Instead of running refrigerant through every room, refrigerant stays in one central unit to heat or chill the water, which is then circulated to fan coil units in the building to provide heating or cooling. That makes a big difference:
- Less refrigerant: Up to 75% less than VRF, cutting both leakage risk and climate impact (Xylem / R.F. MacDonald).
- Lower energy use: Pumping water uses far less energy than circulating refrigerant, delivering 57–84% less energy for cooling compared with VRF in like-for-like installations (Armstrong Fluid Technology).
- Dual-use simplicity: One system provides heating and cooling, making them ideal for variable European seasons. You don’t need separate systems or units for heat or cool, just one that works year-round for both.
- Longer lifespan: Hydronic systems often last 20–25 years versus VRFs’ average of 15. Plus, their modular nature makes future upgrades easier.
- Better for retrofits and renewables: They integrate smoothly with solar, air-to-water heat pumps, district energy, and thermal storage options. Hydronic piping can often stay in place during upgrades.
- Safety and maintenance benefits: Because refrigerant is kept out of occupied spaces, there’s no risk of leaks into bedrooms or offices. And servicing pumps and coils is simpler than managing refrigerant circuits, which makes it cheaper to maintain.
This flexibility makes hydronics not just a technical choice, but practical.
Real-world relevance for air conditioning across Europe
When you’re weighing up cooling options, you hold the power to decide whether your air conditioning system adds to the climate problem or helps solve it.
You can install the quickest, cheapest VRF system and stay cool for now. But those carry risks: higher emissions, shorter lifespans, and future regulatory headaches. Plus they can contribute to further heatwaves due to climate change in the future. Or you could choose a hydronic system. You’ll get heating and cooling in one, lower running costs, and a design that works with the climate, not against it.
The benefits aren’t theoretical. They map directly onto Europe’s diverse construction industry.
In southern Europe, hotels and resorts are already switching to hydronics to reduce energy use during tourist season. In northern markets like the UK, hydronics present a way to tackle both inefficient heating in winter and overheating in summer with a single investment. In France and Germany, hydronic retrofits are already being used to meet EU renovation mandates.
And the stakes go beyond comfort. Every increased heatwave brings more pressure on hospitals, more excess deaths, and more strain on already fragile energy grids. Choosing smarter cooling now isn’t just about your comfort. It’s about resilience for your city, your community, and your future.
Conclusion: your choice today shapes Europe’s response to tomorrow’s heatwaves
Cooling is no longer optional. Europe’s record-breaking summer has made that clear. But how you cool (and heat) will decide whether we make the future more endurable or more dangerous.
Installing VRF air conditioning may feel like an easy option, but it risks deepening the problem. Hydronic systems give you another path: comfort without compromise, heating and cooling in one, and a fraction of the climate impact.
Europe doesn’t just need more cooling, it needs smarter cooling. Your choice today can make tomorrow’s summers more bearable for everyone.
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