The Road To Achieving Sustainable Indoor Cooling

Air conditioning is ubiquitous in the United States, controversial in Europe, and coveted in South Asia. As heatwaves intensify worldwide, these power-hungry appliances have become one of the most common adaptations to a warming planet. However, for better or worse, ACs come at a cost to the climate crisis because they consume massive amounts of electricity and leak potent greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. These emissions contribute to global warming, leading to further AC demand and emissions and a vicious cycle.

According to the International Energy Agency, there are already about 1 billion single-room ACs in use around the world. By 2050, the number is expected to triple — enough to equal the current energy demand of China. The vast majority of this new growth will occur in emerging economies, where the demand for AC is projected to rise even faster than in developed nations.

The new demand for ACs will also significantly strain power systems, especially in high-temperature regions like the Middle East and North Africa (Isaac & Van Vuuren, 2009). This increased energy consumption will often lead to higher peak electric power demands, raising the risk of electricity shortages and blackouts.

Moreover, fossil fuels often power air conditioning, and this increase in demand will contribute to rising emissions of CO2 (Ahlquist et al., 2017). Moreover, because these carbon-emitting fuels are often burned in power stations, they also emit greenhouse gases such as nitrous oxide and fluorinated hydrocarbons into the atmosphere.

In addition, using ACs in homes and businesses often results in excessive indoor temperatures and overheating, which can harm human health and productivity (Ahlquist et a., 2017).

While the cooling industry has taken some steps to reduce its environmental impact, most of this progress has been based on replacing chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) and hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) refrigerants with ozone-friendly ones. These are scheduled to be phased out shortly, but reducing the impact of indirect greenhouse gas emissions from ACs will take much more work.

The future of sustainable indoor cooling requires a multi-faceted approach, including legislative measures to require efficient ACs and a drive for alternative energy sources like solar panels. However, the most crucial step is to educate consumers about the impact of their ACs and encourage them to adopt more energy-efficient habits. This includes promoting green building practices and leveraging innovative technologies such as smart thermostats that enable residents to monitor their usage in real time. It also involves developing and deploying passive cooling techniques, such as coating buildings in white paint or covering them in vegetation. Moreover, it is crucial to invest in research into more sustainable cooling technologies such as thermoelectric or magnetic cooling. Ultimately, these efforts will not only help to curb the demand for conventional ACs but will also improve human health and productivity while reducing the risks of global warming.