Amid record-breaking heat, increased access to air conditioning could save lives – but AC units are damaging the environment. Are there other options?
record for most 110F (43.3C) days. California’s Death Valley had its highest temperature ever. An airport in coastal Iran saw a heat index of 152F, while Beijing saw a record stretch of 95F days.
Oppressive heatwaves have become more frequent and more severe as a result of the climate crisis – a trend that’s expected to continue, and could worsen in proportion to how quickly we can transition from fossil fuels.
Many are working to make air conditioners more affordable and to improve the reliability of electricity grids. Yet there is another problem: air conditioners warm the Earth.
To beat the heat, people are increasingly turning to air conditioning. The number of AC units globally could increase by 244% by 2050, according to the International Energy Agency, and demand could rise by 59% within the US, according to a 2020 analysis by independent research group Climate Central.
Increased access to air conditioning could save lives; after all, in the US, extreme heat is the single deadliest form of extreme weather. But it could also come with drawbacks.
Below we look at the challenges today and in the years ahead, and consider some of the alternatives.
Billions of people don’t have access, and the energy costs are huge
The technology can be expensive to purchase and run, often rendering it inaccessible to poor communities in the US and globally. In the US, research shows lower-income households are much more likely to lack access to the technologies. And one 2019 study found that between 1.8 and 4.1 billion people in developing countries who regularly experience dangerously high temperatures lack access to cooling technology.
The appliances use a lot of energy. Between now and 2050, cooling technologies including AC units are projected to be the biggest contributor to growing energy demand, according to the Intergovernmental Energy Agency – a problem, since most global energy currently comes from fossil fuels. The US broke its summer record for daily gas consumption on at least two separate occasions, data from S&P Global Commodity Insights shows, and AC usage is a key contributor.
Most AC models also require the use of planet-heating chemicals to cool the air. The most commonly used refrigerants in ACs are hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) are potent greenhouse gases – thousands of times more effective at trapping heat than carbon dioxide.
www.theguardian.com/…
AC usage also puts pressure on electricity grids. That can be risky: if a five-day heat wave and a power outage hit the city of Phoenix at the same time, more than 50% of the city’s current population of 1.4 million could end up in the emergency room, one recent study found.
- GROUND SOURCE HEAT PUMP *
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Cooling the house for a month is maybe $10 worth of electricity, and this is the most efficient way to do it,” said Maioli. During the coldest winter month, their highest heating bill was around $70....archive.li
In hot and dry heat, another useful low-energy technology is the air cooler, also known as the swamp cooler. These devices use a fan to recirculate air across a cool, wet material and then disperse the freshly dampened, cool air into the home. Like dehumidifiers and fans, swamp coolers are cost and energy efficient, and are also widely available.
But there are low-tech ways to keep homes cool, too buildings can be better designed to keep temperatures down.
Homes – especially roofs – can also be painted white to lower indoor temperatures. White roofs products stay coolest under the sun’s rays because they reflecting away between 60 and 90% of sunlight, according to the Department of Energy. And buildings can be designed with ventilation in mind to lower temperatures. Wind towers, for instance, can be built to draw cool breeze indoors; placing ponds of water underneath them can make the structures even more effective.
What about shade?
Shade can make a big difference within the home and outside of it. The simple act of drawing opaque curtains closed, for instance, can help push down indoor temperatures, said Shandas. Communities can employ that same strategy by planting trees throughout neighborhoods.
One crucial strategy is weatherization
“We are not in a position as a species to necessarily think that we are going to be able to find that silver bullet out of this extreme heat,” said Shandas. “We need to be finding the myriad different effective solutions that are socially and politically palatable, and that are sustainable in the long run.”
More options for cooling
Other common technologies can play a major role in cooling homes. Fans, for instance, are much cheaper and far less energy consuming than ACs, said Rao, the Yale professor. They can also be surprisingly effective, especially in hot, dry environments.
experts say that by employing other strategies to lower temperatures in homes, we can lessen the environmental toll of air conditioning, allowing people to stay cool without warming the planet.
There are more energy-saving cooling technologies
One of the buzziest air conditioning technologies are electric heat pumps, which can both heat and cool homes. On hot days, the appliances pump hot air out of the home and draw cool air in.
Close houses up after leaving open at night and pull the shades down
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Aug 2, 2022 — Here are a few tried-and-tested tips from India on how to stay cool without an ac
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How can I keep my car cool without AC?
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Here's how you can stay cool when your car's air conditioning is broken.
- Roll the windows down. Photo: istockphoto.com. ...
- Park in the shade. Photo: istockphoto.com. ...
- Crack a window open. Photo: istockphoto.com. ...
- Buy a cooling seat cover. ...
- Bring a cold drink. ...
- Grab a cooling towel. ...
- Plug in a portable AC. ...
- Try a DIY fix.
Aug 9, 2022 — 1. Sleep in a wet sheet (really) · 2. Utilize frozen water bottles · 3. Deflect the..…
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HELP SAVE THE PLANET AND OURSELVES:
*Turn out the lights when- not in use/use less*
- Turn down the heat or AC
- vent out at night if cooler
- Avoid creating nighttime light pollution
- Don’t waste water
- use recycled paper toilet paper or bamboo products
- Avoid burning wood (or other things), as wood fires are both pollutant and carcinogenic
- Don't use pesticides
- Limit your use of cars and planes (if possible)
- Don't use gas powered vehicles
- Take out grass and put in a garden or pond (or xeriscape )
- Mow, blow, and whack with electric or by hand
- Plant for the animals (bees, birds etc)
- Plant trees
- Don't micro manage yards, go wilder
- Try to use solar
- Take a bus, trolley or train
- Encourage your city/town to use electric buses
- Use energy efficient products or products that work on clean fuels
- Reduce dependence on non-biodegradable items
- Walk, bike or carpool
- Reuse items- give to Goodwill or Craig's list rather than dumping
- Cut down or cease eating meat
- Use reusable carry bags for grocerie; second choice, paper bags; not plastic
- Compost
- Save the bees
- Be informed
- Write your representative, sign petitions
- Elect pro-environment candidates and demand action
- Support the Green New Deal
- Get involved
- March
- Blog about the environment
- Control population
- * GROUND SOURCE HEAT PUMP *
- Cooling the house for a month is maybe $10 worth of electricity, and this is the most efficient way to do it,” said Maioli. During the coldest winter month, their highest heating bill was around $70....archive.li/...