What I learned when I went without air conditioning for 90 days
In a world where people are getting richer and the climate hotter, air conditioners (AC) are increasing in demand. For countries like India, where the temperatures can skyrocket to 51 degrees celsius, they are a saving grace.
I live in the Philippines, a country much less hot than India, but where sweltering heat can leave a person debilitated.
But I am privileged. I get to come home to a blasting air conditioner that I can turn to its highest setting and leave switched on for the entire day, forgetting about what lies outside.
But on a particularly scalding day this summer, when I practically had my AC switched on for the entire day, I finally felt the chill. I wouldn’t say I’m a staunch environmentalist, but I do try my best — reading Grist, the Guardian’s environment blog, and keeping my ear on the ground for the latest climate (bad) news. So when I realized that I had my AC switched on the entire day, my first instinct was to think, “Well, I do my part. Today was just a particularly hot day. I couldn’t help it.”
That’s what I truly felt at the time. That is until I started tracking my AC use and realized that I averaged almost eight hours a day.
You see, I work from home. So, eight hours a day compounds to a pretty stellar number. I decided then and there that I had to do something about it.
What I did
I knew that if I wanted to curb my AC use, I’d have to do it no holds barred. No excuses; I’d have to completely cut it out.
Lucky for me, I was in the middle of summer in the Philippines. The perfect time to test this out. 🙄
So, on the first Monday of my experiment, I sat down at my desk (more like a foldable table on my bed) and resisted the urge to turn my AC on. It took me all of 20 minutes to start sweating and two hours before I failed and turned on my AC (but at the lowest setting!). You can imagine how I fared the rest of the day.
The next few days and weeks were a bit easier as I got the hang of it and my sweat glands stopped overreacting. It wasn’t until this week that I realized I’d gone mostly without AC for the past three months.
Lessons I learned
It may not be a big feat for some, particularly for those who live without AC every day anyway, but I’m proud of my achievement and thought I’d share what I learned here.
You will sweat a lot at the start
Who didn’t expect that? I certainly didn’t know when I started. I thought it would be a breeze (pun intended) and thought I’d stay clean and fresh as I attempted my experiment.
Well, you can probably tell (and smell) how much I sweated that first week. Buckets would be an understatement.
If you’re used to AC like me and go cold turkey, don’t expect to be able to still go out with your crush. You’ll be sweaty, smelly, oily, and all the ugly things in between.
But I figured out after a while that a bit of cold water and a towel could fix that. It also has the added benefit of cooling you down.
People will hate you
When I started this little experiment, I didn’t really take other people into account. All I thought about was how to curb my AC use.
But when I began switching everything off, I got a lot of evil glares from my family members. Lucky for me, my perpetual roommate (my twin sister) works for the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) and is pretty interested in these things. And lucky for me that I work from home and spend most of my days alone, so I didn’t have to inconvenience anyone too much.
What I learned is that people will take it much easier on you if you tell them you’re on an experiment and about why it’s so important for you. Don’t just switch everything off and say, “Because I say so.”
It was easier than I thought
But what I learned most importantly is that it gets easier. Trust me, after a few days or weeks, your body adjusts. I didn’t think I’d ever get used to the heat in the first few days, but that changed in as little as one week.
The second week of my experiment was much easier despite the heat being higher. I don’t pretend to know about how our bodies work, but I’d think a lot of this has to do with the mind too. When you realize that you can survive without AC, it’ll be a lot easier to live without it. (This is probably the same with all things.)
So if I could get used to living without AC in a few days, chances are that a lot of other people can too.
It actually surprised me how easy it was to transition into it. I now feel much cooler without the AC while my siblings sweat at every turn.
Why this all matters
So what’s so important about going without AC?
Well, if you haven’t noticed, our planet isn’t exactly all that healthy these days. Climate change is real (despite what climate change deniers say). It will get worse, and a big part of that is our own consumption and habits.
While I don’t pretend that stopping my AC use will solve everything, it is a step in that direction (albeit a small one).
AC demand has been steadily increasing over the past years. A study by The Japan Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Industry Association (JRAIA) released this year shows that global general AC demand is at 102.31 million units in 2016. This number is up by 2.9 percent compared to the previous year.
The Philippines’ AC demand alone has reached 800,000 units — up by almost 30 percent since 2011. And the Philippines isn’t even the largest market for AC demand. China lies at the top with a demand of 40 million units!
And what’s worse is the seeming paradox this problem poses. The more AC you use, the cooler you feel, but the warmer the earth gets. The stance against ACs have been softening the world over because of this contradiction.
Cities in Oregon, for example, have begun embracing ACs more and more because of its almost record breaking heat wave. Seventy percent of Portland homes, for example, have some ACs — up 44 percent since 2002 according to the New York Times’ article.
And with ACs using ten to 20 times the energy as ceiling fans, it’s easy to understand why this is a problem.
Call to action
But there is hope — however small.
Last October, 170 countries came together to sign an accord to cut emissions of hydrofluorocarbons (HFC), a planet-warming chemical usually used in ACs and refrigerators.
While it wasn’t as widely publicized as the Paris Accord, it is, nontheless, just as important.
If I can drastically cut down my AC use in the middle of the Philippine summer heat, it may be worth a try for many others out there — particularly the affluent and those in cooler climates.
If you absolutely can’t go without ACs, choose an energy-saving brand (some governments actually require companies to point out which brands or models do this). And when you switch it on, make sure you turn it off after a few minutes, as it doesn’t take too long to cool a room. It’s even better if you can turn to electric fans or just a short cold shower to cool you down.
If we can push aside our need for present gains and focus on future ones, we’d be looking at a much cooler future — without the use of ACs.
If you have any other ideas of experiments I can do to cut down my footprint, do drop a comment. I’d be glad to try it!
Love,
Jac ❤
