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We should talk more about air-conditioning (www.technologyreview.com)

submitted 1 month ago by misk@sopuli.xyz to c/technology@beehaw.org

21 comments fedilink hide all child comments

One twisted thing about cooling and climate change: It’s all a vicious cycle. As temperatures rise, the need for cooling technologies increases. In turn, more fossil-fuel power plants are firing up to meet that demand, turning up the temperature of the planet in the process.

“Cooling degree days” are one measure of the need for additional cooling. Basically, you take a preset baseline temperature and figure out how much the temperature exceeds it. Say the baseline (above which you’d likely need to flip on a cooling device) is 21 °C (70 °F). If the average temperature for a day is 26 °C, that’s five cooling degree days on a single day. Repeat that every day for a month, and you wind up with 150 cooling degree days.

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[–] kubok@fedia.io 19 points 1 month ago (8 children)

As US-centric as the article is, here's a perspective from the EU.

I have a strong opinion on air conditioning. I hate it as I have worked in too many poortly ventilated offices with the AC as its only source of slightly less stale air. There should be laws against poorly maintained office ACs. However, I am going to need it at home, even if I do not like it. I live in a temperate climate that is getting hotter in summers. Fast. The house I live in was never intended for extremely hot weather: flat roof, lots of glass, poor insulation. I did upgrade the insulation, but the huge glass facades of my house make it a greenhouse in the summer unless I take some measures like sun blinds and whatnot. Even then, our top floor gets uncomfortably hot.

I have installed solar panels that allow me to generate more electricity than I need. However, over the years our neoliberal and current far right government has made it very unattarctive to invest in this as they allowed the commercial energy businesses to impose tariffs on the surplus of generated electricity.

So now I am seriously considering installing AC to use on hot summer days. Not only do I get my house cooler, I also won't be charged for generating too much electricity. What I am not going to do, is keep the AC running all day though.

Fuck this government and its predecessors.

[–] HumbleFlamingo@beehaw.org 10 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Have you added a UV filter to your glass? They can significantly limit how much the sun heats up your house.

[–] kubok@fedia.io 5 points 1 month ago

We are actually considering replacing our windows entirely with triple layer panes and in-built UV filters. Our current windows are double-layered and ~30 years old.

[–] HubertManne@piefed.social 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Is that an issue. I thought glass did not allow uv through.

[–] HumbleFlamingo@beehaw.org 5 points 1 month ago

Glass blocks UVA pretty well but not UVB.

The tinting I have on my windows produces a very noticeable difference as to how much the window sill heats up. Without blocking too much visible light.

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