Steven Scholtysek, 36, is no stranger to Europe’s heatwaves. The German engineer has lived through sweltering summers since his childhood.

But this year the heat has been especially unbearable. Western Europe has experienced its hottest June on record, and cities across Germany saw temperatures rise above 40C (104F). The region is bracing for more heatwaves before the summer ends.

To make things worse, a few months ago Scholtysek moved into an attic apartment – the kind that’s notorious for overheating.

“It’s not possible to live a normal life in those flats, below the roof, in summer heat,” says Scholtysek, who lives in the town of Hamelin, north-central Germany.

He soon stumbled upon a portable split air-conditioner made by Chinese home appliance giant Midea, which was specifically designed to meet European regulations.

His experience is one that is becoming increasingly common across Europe – a region with typically low air-conditioner ownership rates.

While air-conditioners exist in many households from the US to Asia, most of them are not compatible with European homes as they require drilling for installation. But some of these newer Chinese models don’t, which means they meet Europe’s strict historic-preservation rules.

Now, as heatwaves grow more intense, more and more Europeans are turning to air-conditioners. And Chinese brands are meeting that surging demand.

Denis Yurchak, a Vienna resident, tells the BBC that he first came across one such Chinese air-conditioner a few weeks ago, while researching his options.

During the worst of the heatwave, Yurchak said he “basically had it on 24/7”.