Is air conditioning ruining the environment?

[marmar]

Published on Thursday, August 24, 2006 by the Independent / UK
Why Air Con is Ruining Our Environment
Our love of air con is making the world even hotter
by Jimmy Lee Shreeve

During this summer's record-breaking heatwave judges removed their wigs in court, Buckingham Palace guards headed for the shade and the lions at Colchester Zoo were given blood-flavoured ice blocks to lick. It's no wonder we've been snapping up portable air-conditioning systems in a big way to cool down. Currys says it was selling two air-conditioning units every minute during the hottest periods. Other retailers say they have been selling 10 times as many units as usual.

And it's not just about comfort. In the heatwave of 2003, 30,000 people died across Europe, the continent's biggest ever natural disaster. Since then, governments have put measures in place to prevent heat-related deaths, including the installation of portable air-conditioning systems in care homes, older hospitals and schools.

We can hardly be blamed for cocooning ourselves in air-conditioned offices, cars, shops and increasingly our homes - especially with temperatures last month averaging 7C higher than usual across southern England and Scotland. Global warming forecasts predict that, within 40 years, every summer will be as sweltering as the 2003 heatwave. But the irony is, as we run away from the effects of global warming, we only add to the problem.

Air-conditioning to control heat and humidity was first developed in the US, and has been around for more than 100 years, but did not become popular until after the Second World War. It works by ducting air across the colder, heat-absorbing side of a thermostatically controlled refrigeration system and directing it back into the living environment. In water-cooled air-conditioning units the waste heat is carried away by the flow of water. In portable units, the heat is generally fed away via a flexible hose that has to be put out of a window. While this might stop us sweating on stifling summer days, it also adds around 50 per cent to the energy costs of a building and in cars increases fuel consumption by 10 to 14 per cent - a major concern when it comes to the environment.

Up until now, this hasn't been a big issue in Britain - unlike in the US, where roughly one-sixth of all electricity generated is used to cool buildings. But with record sales of air-conditioning systems, and 75 per cent of new cars in the UK coming with air-con (reducing fuel efficiency by up to four miles per gallon), it's a different story. For the first time the power-grid operator, National Grid, is reporting noticeable surges in power consumption on hot summer days - a situation previously confined to cold winter days when heating systems are turned to full.

The complete article is at: http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0824-06.htm

[tridim]

1. What bugs me is hearing people's AC kick on when it's 65 degrees

at night. Open a freaking window people!

I use a swamp cooler, and only when it gets up to around 95 degrees.

[marmar]

3. True that.

On the really hot, humid 90+ days, I'll set the central air thermometer at 81 or 82. But you're right, some people run the things when there's plenty of air flowing outside.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

13. we've become wusses

"it's too hot" "it's too cold" bah! take a cold shower or put a freakin sweater on... or you can puss out and make the temp "perfect" while killing us all sooner, whatever.

Not that this is one of my Hot Buttons or anything... :eyes:

[trogdor]

18. I take it you live someplace dry.

Just because the outside temp is 65 doesn't mean the upstairs bedrooms are 65, or less humid than outside. We run 5000 BTU window units upstairs in the summer - just enough to take the edge off.

[tridim]

22. I do now, but I used to live in Kansas City

Several of my places didn't have AC and I survived somehow. Of course that was pre-global warming.. 100+ degrees and 90% humidity.

[SmokingJacket]

2. Vicious circle.

We would all do well to put on an extra sweater in the winter and allow ourselves to sweat a little in the summer, and leave air conditioning for areas of extreme heat and for hospitals, nursing homes, and other places where health needs demands it.

Where I live in upstate NY, for instance, air conditioning is merely a luxury for the average healthy person, not a necessity. I don't even need it in my car.

I lived for a couple years in Louisiana without AC and survived, though I admit it was RATHER uncomfortable!

[marmar]

4. So true...

Europeans manage to do OK without it, even in sultry Spain.

[hedgehog]

25. But they used to nap in the heat of the day

and then stay up until midnight!

[Retired AF Dem]

26. RATHER

bit of an understatment. :)

[ComerPerro]

5. I hope not. Its at least 95 with high humidity EVERY DAY here

[Jed Dilligan]

6. What's interesting here is that Britain's moderate paper,

the Independent, takes anthropogenic climate change as a simple fact that can be used in a news article.

[marmar]

7. Good catch...

It's not treated as a disputed assertion that's the subject of intense debate.

[Jed Dilligan]

9. Quite jarring, really

Our media has taken such a course away from reality--little things like this remind us.

[Ezlivin]

8. If I don't have it MY environment is ruined

It's hard to properly program while sitting in a pool of your own sweat. I didn't grow up in Bangalore.

It's Africa hot here in Texas. 102° on my back porch. We set our HVAC thermostat at 80° and I spend at least an hour a day out in the heat, but I'd still have a hard time working in that heat.

Besides, I don't think my computer could even work in those conditions.

[CrispyQ]

11. The poor little fan in my computer whirs non-stop in the summer!

I'm surprised it still works!

It's not so hot where I live -- upper 90's in the summer with a few 100+ days, but it is dry, dry, dry. I get by just fine with a fan & a spritzer of water. I spent a few weeks one summer in Houston when I was a youth & I couldn't wait to get home.

[AndyA]

10. I have 35 big mature trees on my property, such as

Oak, Walnut, Elm, etc. These trees create a considerable amount of shade, and are on all sides of my house. The temperature between the shade and sun is easily noticeable on hot summer days. My A/C runs much less than one of my neighbors, since they have no big trees in their yard. They have at least two central units, and one or the other is almost always running on hot summer days, and a good deal on warm nights as well.

I can go outside and sit on my deck, and my A/C units may come on for awhile then shut off, while their units run nonstop.

PLANT SOME TREES, PEOPLE! They add to the value of your property, they add beauty, and when they are mature, they will provide shade and reduce the sun load on your central air conditioning system. Not an instant fix, but an environmentally friendly one that future occupants will appreciate.

[earth mom]

12. What a great post!

:thumbsup:

We have 26 trees on our property, some which are near the house and you are so right-that's probably why we've been able to live without air conditioning since we moved here. :D

[pitohui]

15. plant some trees and get your house crushed -- twice in my case

i am glad your trees have not (yet) fallen on your home or nearly killed any member of your family

but don't you dare blame us for not having trees around this house

once you have seen a huge oak crush your house and almost kill someone you love in front of your eyes, you will have a different idea of the wisdom of having large trees over your house

[AndyA]

20. I suppose there's always a chance of that happening.

I have my trees trimmed and inspected yearly. They are fertilized and watered so they stay healthy. I don't worry too much about them crashing down, but I do worry about what is happening to our environment. Trees help keep the air clean, provide oxygen, and stabilize the soil.

Why did your trees fall? Tornado? Disease? Improper care?

[Retired AF Dem]

28. I agree with you

When my wife left Germany to work at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville AL she told me whe wanted to buy a house. I told her first get a house with a basement, no luck, second I told her to buy a house with a storm shelter and if no luck with that buy a house that is not within falling distance of a large tree. She bought a house with no large trees within falling distance. Large tornados are a rarity in AL, trees falling on houses from the winds of small tornados destroy more houses here than tornados themselves do.

[Jed Dilligan]

19. Well, now, there's a solution.

Oh wait, I live in an apartment building and besides, I don't have a hundred years to spare while I wait for trees to grow tall enough to shade it.

But congratulations on owning so much land.

[Burma Jones]

14. I dunno, but it has contributed mightily to the south's population boom

you may interpret that as you please..............

[Ganja Ninja]

16. It wouldn't be so bad if people didn't keep building larger and ...

larger homes. We should also be giving out tax credits for home improvements to increase energy efficiency. Newer units are more efficient and people should be encouraged to replace them with the most efficient models available.

[marmar]

17. True. There's little incentive in America for people to conserve energy...

Unlike a country such as Germany, where conservation and eco-friendliness are much more ingrained in the conscience. I was at a grocery store buying coffee in Frankfurt, and was the only person who requested a bag. Everyone else brought their canvas sack with them.

[Lorax]

21. We never used to have ours on so much.

I don't even like air conditioning. We have ceiling fans in every room and we used window fans as well. But this year my husband is working nights so he has to sleep during the day. If he opens the windows to let the air in, then it is too bright in the room. So the windows have to stay closed and the air has to be on. So we end up running the AC much more than I would like. I wish I could come up with an acceptable compromise. We tried putting a window unit AC in the bedroom so we could open the windows in the rest of the house but it ended up being more cost effective to just run the central AC.

[NaturalHigh]

23. I'm in the same boat.

I work shifts, and I can't sleep when it's hot. Besides that, I just don't like the heat. I set the AC on 72, and I still like to sit in front of a fan.

[Nutmegger]

24. Reagan removed Carter's solar panels

and the M$M made cracks about him because he wore sweaters. This is a society that doesn't value restraint. :(

[hedgehog]

27. I wonder if that's the same National Grid that just bought out

Niagara Mohawk here in Upstate New York. One of their lines runs the length of our property and several of the poles need to be replaced. We've notified them several times, but I guess they've decided to wait until the next ice storm. (They lost one of these poles in the last ice storm!)They used to run a bush wacker through here on a regular basis, but it's been several years now and some fair sized trees are growing under the line.

[lonestarnot]

29. I live in AZ, and I am limiting my use.

[cobalt1999]

30. I'd ban it all A/C and I live in Florida.

Grew up without it, lived in an un-airconditioned dorm (at UF), you can get used to the real weather. Another huge plus, half these people would leave the state!