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On a steady note, the temperature is rising, and the once warm summers become unbearably hot. In the desert of Las Vegas, Nevada, the temperature reached an all new peak of 120 degrees and it is doomed to rise. In the South climate change is not only pushing forth a rise in temperature, but an increase in the number of natural disasters, contributing to events such as hurricanes like Helene and Milton. The irony of such a fact is that the natural human response to a rise in temperature is most always to combat such with AC. Whilst the home gets cooler the repercussions of constant AC usage are counteractive.
The basic actions of AC units aren’t particularly detrimental to the climate, they literally make the surrounding area cooler, but to do so they require power, and that requirement and production prove to be
negative for the ozone layer. Measuring greenhouse gas emissions, the almost 2.5 billion number of AC units in the world contribute to about 3% of total emissions, and whilst 3% may not seem a lot, in the grand scheme of things, each minute percent counts. Especially with future projections, with the exponential rise in homeowners, and buildings, since in 2050 the number of units could rise to at least 5.5 billion, attacking this issue before it becomes too large to handle could prove to be more important than we could imagine in terms of reversing climate change.
Just ignoring the need for climate control within the house, especially for those in desert climates, isnt the answer and could lead to even more peril, so instead what is needed are sustainable, and climate friendly alternatives. One means of curbing the constant usage of electricity is to make sure that the energy used is being used in the most efficient way possible. In a study of AC efficacy in Ghana, over 85% of units ranked at the lowest level of efficiency on the SEER grading scale. Through fixing the crisis of poorly efficient units, less power would go to waste, greatly reducing the power needed to be produced. In the context of hot climate areas, such as deserts, researchers from McGill University, UCLA, and Princeton have found an inexpensive and sustainable alternative roofing material that radiates heat away from the building to regulate the heat inside. With this new radiating roofing, the building would contain less of a need for AC to regulate temp, and reduce the power used. Another alternative for the average, consumer
purchased AC unit would be to invest in newer systems, rather than to keep to older model. One of the large issues with AC systems is that they tend to leak hydrofluorocarbon refrigerants which can be up to 2,000 times or potent and detrimental to the ozone layer. With new investments in manufacturers such as Daikin and Gree which have developed prototypical models that not only are more efficient, but use less harmful refrigerant, and systems that use alternative cooling techniques such as drying the air.
Taking in the collection of what has been stated, AC units if not addressed, could drive the climate into higher temperatures, instead of lower. Through addressing the efficiency, and enhancing the use of alternative cooling methods (i.e. drying air, roofing materials) the power usage could be lowered enough the help reverse climate change, and sustainably cool the earth. For future research, we must ask what must the government do to help, how could we mandate climate safe procedures, and how can we dig out of the hole we created.
Works cited:
Guardian News and Media. (2021, September 3). How to make Air Conditioning Less of an environmental nightmare. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/sep/03/air-conditioning-climate-crisis-clean-tech-solutions
Ritchie, H., & Roser, M. (2024, July 16). Air conditioning causes around 3% of greenhouse gas emissions. how will this change in the future?. Our World in Data. https://ourworldindata.org/air-conditioning-causes-around-greenhouse-gas-emissions-will-change-future#:~:text=In%20summary%2C%20air%20conditioning%20in,emissions%20when%20refrigerants%20are%20included.
ScienceDaily. (2023, October 30). A sustainable alternative to air conditioning. ScienceDaily. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/10/231030110826.htm