Eivor (@Eivor_Koy)

Renting this thing for two days? 240 euros. In China that’d get you a brand-new 1.5HP unit with free installation. Never seen such a heavy, tank-like Midea AC in China. Just checked Taobao — turns out this beast is specially made for the German market. Similar portable units back home cost literally 28 times less. I guess life for regular folks in developed Europe is tougher than it looks🤷

Meanwhile in China? People are living in full “AC freedom” — running it whole day like it’s nothing. Real numbers: A decent 1.5HP inverter air conditioner costs 1,700 RMB (€220). Installation: 300 RMB (€39). Total: just 2,000 RMB (~€260). Even in Beijing with tiered electricity pricing: • 0–240 kWh: 0.49 RMB (~€0.06) • 241–400 kWh: 0.54 RMB (~€0.07) • 400+ kWh: 0.79 RMB (~€0.10) Running the AC 12 hours a day (400 kWh for cooling) still only adds about 200 RMB (€26) to the monthly bill. How do they pull this off? 1. Massive power infrastructure 
China’s total electricity use hit 10.4 trillion kWh in 2025 — more than twice the US, and bigger than EU + Russia + India + Japan combined. Meanwhile, renewable energy now accounts for about 60% of total installed power capacity (23.4 billion kW), and nearly all new electricity demand is being met by fresh renewable generation. 2. They dominate AC manufacturing 
China produces around 80% of the world’s air conditioners. Complete supply chains + huge scale = super affordable prices for normal families. This is what real “AC freedom” looks like.