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> They'd still have a better lifestyle if they used the same amount of energy and used it more efficiently.

Only if you're assuming some kind of linear relationship between energy consumption and happiness, which seems extremely dubious.

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Maybe not happiness but definitely living standards. In the US air conditioning systems are common in Germany not so much.

Right but you can't jump from that to assuming that US homes are nicer to live in - the difference is at least partly because more solid construction, traditional styles, and environmentalist design mean that German homes passively hold a comfortable temperature better than US ones. Air conditioning is a very brute-force solution to the problem and it comes with a significant downsides (noise, dry air that you then have to add more appliances to address, ugly, have to keep your windows closed...).

Lots of housing in Germany is well-insulated enough that AC is not needed. This argument seems dubious.

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