{"id":9047,"date":"2022-10-14T11:42:54","date_gmt":"2022-10-14T11:42:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lonecandle.com\/?p=9047"},"modified":"2022-10-14T11:42:54","modified_gmt":"2022-10-14T11:42:54","slug":"the-search-for-an-ac-that-doesnt-destroy-the-planet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/?p=9047","title":{"rendered":"The search for an AC that doesn\u2019t destroy the planet"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

“The IEA predicts that within the next three decades, two-thirds of the world\u2019s homes could have air conditioners. About half of these units will be installed in just three countries: India, China, and Indonesia. The extent to which these new air conditioners will exacerbate climate change hinges on replacing the cooling tech we currently use with something better. Right now, ideas range from\u00a0retrofitting our windows<\/a>\u00a0to more far-out concepts, like rooftop panels that reflect sunlight and emit heat into space. To succeed, however, the world will need to boost the efficiency of the appliances we already have \u2014 as quickly as possible \u2014 and invest in new tech that could avoid some of AC\u2019s primary problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


The AC\u2019s noxious environmental impact stems from its core technology: vapor compression. This tech involves several components, but it generally works by converting a refrigerant that\u2019s stored inside an AC from a\u00a0liquid to a gas<\/a>, which allows it to absorb heat, removing it from a room. Vapor compression uses an immense amount of electricity on the hottest days, and there are\u00a0growing concerns<\/a>\u00a0that the technology might eventually overwhelm the grid\u2019s capacity to provide power. And\u00a0hydrofluorocarbons<\/a>, the chemical refrigerants that many ACs use to soak up heat, are greenhouse gases that trap lots of heat in our atmosphere when leaked into the air. The challenge is that, for now, vapor compression ACs are still a critical tool during deadly heat waves, especially for high-risk\u00a0populations<\/a>, young children, older adults, and people with certain health conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Technology to build cleaner, more efficient air conditioners does exist. Two major AC manufacturers, Daikin and Gree Electric Appliances, shared the top award at last year\u2019s\u00a0Global Cooling Prize<\/a>, an international competition focused on designing climate-friendly AC tech. Both companies created ACs with higher internal performance that used less environmentally damaging refrigerants; the new units could reduce their impact on the climate by five times. These models aren\u2019t yet on the market \u2014 Gree plans to start selling its prototype\u00a0in 2025<\/a>, and Daikin told Recode that it hopes to use the new technology in future products \u2014 but the IEA estimates that using more efficient ACs could cut cooling\u2019s environmental\u00a0impact by half<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Another strategy is to double down on\u00a0heat pumps<\/a>, which are air conditioners that also work in reverse, using vapor compression to absorb and move heat into a home, instead of releasing it outside. Heat pumps usually cost\u00a0several thousand dollars<\/a>“
…
“heat pumps are not the easiest appliance to install, especially for renters, who don\u2019t necessarily have the money or ability to invest in\u00a0bulky HVAC systems<\/a>.”\u00a0\u00a0
…
“While many of these technological breakthroughs are promising, the movement to revolutionize air conditioning still faces some major challenges. Right now, AC manufacturers primarily focus on meeting minimum performance standards, rather than competing for higher levels of efficiency. Consumers also tend to buy air conditioners based on their sticker price, not an AC\u2019s overall impact on their energy bills. And even though there are a growing number of AC-focused startups, the industry is still dominated by a small handful of large companies, all of which primarily focus on\u00a0far-from-ideal vapor compression tech<\/a>.”\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0
…
“if better, more affordable AC doesn\u2019t come to market fast enough \u2014 especially for the vast number of people in developing countries who will buy these appliances in the coming decades \u2014 significantly worse air conditioners will take their place, warming the planet even faster.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.vox.com\/recode\/2022\/8\/10\/23300032\/air-conditioner-planet-climate-change-heat-pumps<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“The IEA predicts that within the next three decades, two-thirds of the world\u2019s homes could have air conditioners. About half of these units will be installed in just three countries: India, China, and Indonesia. The extent to which these new air conditioners will exacerbate climate change hinges on replacing the cooling tech we currently use with something better. Right now, ideas range from retrofitting our windows to more far-out concepts, like rooftop panels that reflect sunlight and emit heat into space. To succeed, however, the world will need to boost the efficiency of the appliances we already have \u2014 as quickly as possible \u2014 and invest in new tech that could avoid some of AC\u2019s primary problems.<\/p>\n

The AC\u2019s noxious environmental impact stems from its core technology: vapor compression. This tech involves several components, but it generally works by converting a refrigerant that\u2019s stored inside an AC from a liquid to a gas, which allows it to absorb heat, removing it from a room. Vapor compression uses an immense amount of electricity on the hottest days, and there are growing concerns that the technology might eventually overwhelm the grid\u2019s capacity to provide power. And hydrofluorocarbons, the chemical refrigerants that many ACs use to soak up heat, are greenhouse gases that trap lots of heat in our atmosphere when leaked into the air. The challenge is that, for now, vapor compression ACs are still a critical tool during deadly heat waves, especially for high-risk populations, young children, older adults, and people with certain health conditions.<\/p>\n

Technology to build cleaner, more efficient air conditioners does exist. Two major AC manufacturers, Daikin and Gree Electric Appliances, shared the top award at last year\u2019s Global Cooling Prize, an international competition focused on designing climate-friendly AC tech. Both companies created ACs with higher internal performance that used less environmentally damaging refrigerants; the new units could reduce their impact on the climate by five times. These models aren\u2019t yet on the market \u2014 Gree plans to start selling its prototype in 2025, and Daikin told Recode that it hopes to use the new technology in future products \u2014 but the IEA estimates that using more efficient ACs could cut cooling\u2019s environmental impact by half.<\/p>\n

Another strategy is to double down on heat pumps, which are air conditioners that also work in reverse, using vapor compression to absorb and move heat into a home, instead of releasing it outside. Heat pumps usually cost several thousand dollars”<\/p>\n

…<\/p>\n

“heat pumps are not the easiest appliance to install, especially for renters, who don\u2019t necessarily have the money or ability to invest in bulky HVAC systems.” <\/p>\n

…<\/p>\n

“While many of these technological breakthroughs are promising, the movement to revolutionize air conditioning still faces some major challenges. Right now, AC manufacturers primarily focus on meeting minimum performance standards, rather than competing for higher levels of efficiency. Consumers also tend to buy air conditioners based on their sticker price, not an AC\u2019s overall impact on their energy bills. And even though there are a growing number of AC-focused startups, the industry is still dominated by a small handful of large companies, all of which primarily focus on far-from-ideal vapor compression tech.” <\/p>\n

…<\/p>\n

“if better, more affordable AC doesn\u2019t come to market fast enough \u2014 especially for the vast number of people in developing countries who will buy these appliances in the coming decades \u2014 significantly worse air conditioners will take their place, warming the planet even faster.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[1669,105,103,104],"class_list":["post-9047","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article-share","tag-air-conditioning","tag-climate-change","tag-environment","tag-global-warming"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9047","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9047"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9047\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9048,"href":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9047\/revisions\/9048"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9047"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9047"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9047"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}