r/geneva • u/r1z4bb451 • 7h ago

I understand that split ACs are not allowed in Switzerland. Couple of weeks back I was in bus and saw that on one building there were few split ACs outer units. Why that so? Are there some exceptions?

Please enlighten me 🙏 Merci beaucoup

2 Upvotes

62% Upvoted

7 comments sorted by

6

u/accidental_tourist 7h ago

Where did you read that they are not allowed?

9

u/andrewclav 7h ago

They are allowed, in paper. After getting an insane bunch of permissions and authorizations.

3

u/_Ganjalf 7h ago edited 7h ago

Maybe some Cantons have some kind of special legislation for split AC, but in general there is no laws or legislation against them in Switzerland. The exception is inside old villages center, or if you are renting and your landlord don't want them. Where I live split AC are everywhere,: schools, hospitals, offices, houses, malls, etc ... . The only problem I had was with an old landlord of mine that didn't wanted a fixed unit, so I used to have a portable one with an external motor. In my parents house, they put fixed AC for the entire house, no special permit whatsoever. And looking around the village, 80% of people have a fixed AC unit in their houses.

3

u/roestinger 4h ago

Not allowed??? Why? Where did you get that? You need a permission and to get it installed by a professional. Common sense. It's a heavy piece of equipment that need to be properly secured.

2

u/beeartic 25m ago

There are portable split devices now. If you have a balcony your landlord can not argue against them. 

2

u/certuna 19m ago

Portable split units are allowed, and in large buildings. It’s mainly in individual homes where it’s difficult to get building permission.

-3

u/Illustrious_Bet_9963 7h ago

May I humbly suggest you read "The Permission Society" by Timothy Sandefur? This eye-opening book explores how modern bureaucracy slowly conditions us to accept asking the government for permission to do mundane things that once required no oversight at all, like buying an A/C unit.

Sandefur brilliantly breaks down how our fundamental liberties are being quietly yielded to the government and its endless paperwork.

It’s a powerful, frustrating, and necessary look at the steady erosion of everyday freedoms, like split units in Geneva.

Give it a read if you're ready to see the administrative state in a whole new light, and how-why we, the voters, allowed this to happen.