[flagged]
The main reason why EU has few AC installations is that the climate is generally much more temperate than the US or Asia and until the last decade it made no sense to have AC when outside temperature rarely went above 27°C or so in the summer.
Where did you see me arguing this? Split ACs must everywhere be installed by professionals, I never said they don't. You missed the point completely. Building regulations in some EU countries forbid installation of split AC units period, even by professionals because you're not allowed to do modifications to the outer walls and facade, even if you're a owner, let alone a tenant.
>until the last decade it made no sense to have AC when outside temperature rarely went above 27°C or so in the summer
It makes no sense to not let people adapt their residences to the new environmental conditions.
I've only been able to find a source for recently instituted rules in Croatia: https://www.croatiaweek.com/new-rules-on-where-you-can-insta...
is not true for Germany and Austria at least. And none of the things that make it difficult are related to "greenwashing propaganda that their sacrifice of personal comfort is "for the environment"". (indeed I'd rather argue that the anti-green pushback is hurting the rollout of AC)
Maybe all of this is allowed in the US, but it's not a factor for the low penetration of AC in Europe anyway.
And obviously ownership law like that has nothing to do with "greenwashing propaganda".
Some areas can have local restrictions facade design, but that's neither universal nor something that can't be mitigated.
Apartments buildings with multiple owners are governed by a "syndic" that is comparable to American HOAs (as far as I understand HOAs) and they can put restrictions on AC installations if a majority of owners agree. Usually the most annoying part is that you need to wait a couple of weeks for permission to drill through the exterior wall (which is common property obviously).
Split systems are sold OTC in chain home improvement stores here in California, and are ordinarily self installed.
Perhaps there is some regulation somewhere in the US god knows, but if so there is little to no enforcement of it.