Energy Conservation in Mallorca – Use of Air Conditioning Restricted
Saturday, August 13th, 2022
Following an agreement by EU countries to reduce gas consumption, the Spanish government has introduced a number of energy-saving measures in Spain and Mallorca. These took effect on Wednesday, the 10th of August 2022 and include rules around temperature regulation in public buildings.
For the rest of the summer it is, therefore, no longer allowed to air condition public buildings to temperatures below 27 degrees Celsius, while in winter, the heating cannot be set to more than 19 degrees Celsius. This applies to premises such as shops, department stores, airports and railway stations as well as cultural facilities, e.g. cinemas, theatres or museums.
If you are staying in a hotel, you will notice that the communal rooms, including the restaurant and bar area, are also affected by the energy-saving measures. Bedrooms, on the other hand, are exempt and it is up to each individual guest to set the air conditioning unit to the desired room temperature.
Private holiday accommodation is excluded from the energy-conservation plan, as are a number of public facilities with special exemptions, such as hospitals, schools, hairdressing salons, fitness studios and public transport.
The hotel and catering industry has already voiced concerns over the new measures. There is fear that premises without sufficiently large outdoor areas will experience a loss of trade if guests are no longer able to dine in a pleasantly cool environment. The government has, therefore, announced that the rules can be applied slightly more flexibly in some places, where temperatures as “low” as 25 degrees Celsius will be permitted. This also applies to bars and nightclubs.
Energy consumption will also be reduced by turning off the exterior lighting on public buildings earlier than usual. The spotlights illuminating Palma cathedral and the town hall, for example, will be extinguished at 10 pm from now on.
Whether these rules will indeed remain in place until November 2023 is still a matter of debate. The opposition has already formally asked the government to withdraw the measures, fearing a negative impact on tourism and the economy.
