As most of the United States is preparing for a hotter summer than the average, many could be inclined to stay inside and increase the AC.
But air conditioning has a large environmental footprint. “Air conditioners are not the most user -friendly solutions because they are extremely strong to energy, they use a whole order of size more electricity than fans, and because they are so gained, they exert a fairly high pressure on the [fossil fuel] Electricity grid, ”explains Radhika Khosla, associate professor at the Smith School of Enterprise and Environment from the University of Oxford.
Air conditioning represents 7% of global electricity and 3% of carbon emissions – The International Energy Agency estimates that electricity for cooling produced 1 billion tonnes of CO2 in 2022. It is almost equivalent to Japan annual emissions. During heat waves, when everyone exceeds the temperature, cooling requests can put significant strains on energy systems.
However, this does not mean that you should suffer through the stifling heat. Experts say that, during a heat wave, there are both ways to be cool and reduce your environmental impact.
Make sure your unit is clean
If your air conditioning system is not well maintained, it will block the air flow and require more energy to operate, explains the Codirector of Yunho Hwang of the Environmental Energy Engineering at the University of Maryland. “If the filter is not [clean]Then the air flow will be reduced, which means the ineffective operation of the cooling system, etc.
Find out more: How to keep your home cool in extreme heat
“Pre-refuse” your home
Hwang suggests cooling your home four to six hours before peak temperatures. The starting of a lower basic temperature helps reduce the amount of energy necessary to cool your home before the heat outside makes things too uncomfortable, which also reduces energy requests on electrical networks during peak hours. “Because the building has a larger thermal mass, your building can keep the freshness for a while,” he said. If your system has one, you can also use a timer to make sure that your air conditioning does not work beyond what is necessary, especially if you are not at home.
Decarbonize your grid
Many electrical networks are executed on fossil fuels, which emit greenhouse gases. Using fossil fuels to feed ACs, only aggravates global warming that causes overlapping air conditioning.
“So we are stuck in a vicious circle where you have the use of air conditioning as a means of [adapt] Against heat, but this same attenuation solution is that which really causes the problem and exacerbates it, ”explains Khosla.
But fossil fuels are not the only option. In the United States, many public service companies are starting to offer consumers the opportunity to move to green energy suppliers. The widespread adoption of the network decarbonization would help to considerably reduce air conditioning emissions, especially when associated with an edition of the global warming gases used in cooling equipment, according to a 2023 Report on the global cooling watch published by the United Nations, on which Khosla was a main author.
Consider other options
There are many other ways to stay cool and prevent your air conditioning from overtime. If your house receives a lot of sun, remember to draw blinds or curtains to prevent excess heat from entering.
Make sure you have a ventilation, whether you run a fan or open a window. “Always use a ceiling fan … because it helps air traffic around people, and it cools your body so you don’t have to lower the room temperature as low,” said Hwang.
While global temperatures continue to increase, it is imperative to rethink the way we approach and manage heat. “Our response to extreme heat will be the one that should be holistic, and it cannot be the one where we only rely on the air conditioner, because this will not be a long -term solution,” explains Khosla. “The more awareness and investment can be formed in advance in infrastructure design solutions and in technological approaches around energy efficiency, the more we will terminate to mitigate and adapt to these extreme temperatures that arrive.”
