Air Conditioning: Friend or Foe?

As the world continues to modernize, and our technology reaches all corners of the globe, we are left to wonder how this effect our world.

Temperature and climate is something that everyone struggles with. So, the 1902 invention of air conditioning was, and continues to be, revolutionary. With the ability to control the weather inside, countries such as India and China, are installing air conditioners at unprecedented rates. In a report by the Berkeley Lab, researchers predicted that an estimated 700 million air conditioners were installed in 2017. With increased access to electricity in even the most remote areas, the expansion of air-conditioning has had far-reaching and unexpected effects.

For many reasons, the boom in air conditioning has been positive. Cooler buildings lower mortality rates during heat waves and make societies more productive in general. In fact , the availability of air-conditioning helped US government typists do 24% more work. Economists have since confirmed a strong relationship between productivity and keeping cool.

However, there is an “inconvenient truth” emerging from the abundant use of these cooling machines. “You can only make it cooler inside by making it warmer outside,” writes the BBC.

The electricity that powers air conditioning and the coolants used, many of which are powerful greenhouse gases, are an environmentalist’s nightmare. The 700 million machines installed were equivalent, “in terms of electricity use and greenhouse gas emissions, to adding several new countries to the world.” So, while air conditioning technology is getting cleaner, the rising demand will lead to a major increase in energy consumption by 2050 — worrying news for climate change.

Yet, this energy crisis does have a more hopeful side. Berkeley Laboratory also found that if the world can shift toward 30 percent more efficient air conditioners, and phase out hydrofluorocarbons (HFC) used in manufacturing of the machines, we could avoid emitting 4 billion tons of carbon dioxide annually.

So how do you shift the global air conditioner market to greater efficiency machines? The world needs stronger emphasis on research and implementation. So as developing technologies produce higher efficiencies, individuals and businesses, especially those selling or purchasing large volumes of air conditioning, must commit to using only highly efficient models.

Our ability to invent has served us well in the past, so let’s invent for the future.