Seriously, what's with the AC-shaming in this thread and in this article, which doesn't once mention the energy required to heat homes, and that it's several times that to cool [1]. Must be some northern elitism.
Heating/cooling is one of the few large energy consumers in a home with a strong behavioral component. Many appliances that consume a lot of energy don't have the same opportunity for behavioral intervention. I mean, it's not like you're going to unplug your fridge to save energy.
I think one of the key difference between heating and cooling is that the majority of energy used for heating is natural gas while AC uses electricity. Natural gas flows through pipes into the home when you need it without much change on the utility side, while electricity requires the utility to be generating more than enough energy. It's not easy/efficient to store electricity, which is a good reason to try to use less of it.
Heating uses more energy in part because more people live in areas with more heating degree days (HDD) and fewer cooling degree days (CDD).
Because nearly all warm weather is objectively livable, whereas cold weather is actively dangerous. If you're using AC to be able to survive then you aren't the target. The target is the Walmarts that cool the building to 68 degrees when it's 80 and beautiful outside or the people who just refuse to open a window and use AC instead, or the people who can't stand a single iota of sweat or slight discomfort.
The same applies to heating. Even when it is below-freezing people heat buildings to the point that you can wear a t-shirt indoors. Instead of wearing more clothing, or enduring slight discomfort, people waste energy.
One particularly annoying example is the train. The trains always have the heat blasting. I, like most people, have to walk to the train, and stand on the (often outdoor) platform, so I wear clothing that will keep me comfortable while walking, and while waiting on the platform. As soon as I'm on the oven-like train, I have to strip off all layers to avoid sweating. I assume this is for the benefit of people who do not dress appropriately for the cold. I would prefer that they optimised for the opposite.
[1] https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=10271