Dear EarthTalk: Has an alternative to air conditioning to keep rooms cool been invented that is significantly cheaper and/or that uses significantly less energy than traditional air conditioning? - Ashutosh Saxena, Allahabad, India
The chlorofluorocarbon coolant widely used in air conditioners through the 1980s was phased out because it was damaging the Earth’s protective ozone layer, but the chemicals that replaced it are some 2,100 times stronger as greenhouse gases than carbon dioxide. We may have saved the ozone layer, but -- whoops! -- there goes the climate.
Credit: Photos.com
Unfortunately the modern day air conditioner, with its constantly cycling, energy-hogging compressor and environmentally unfriendly chemical coolant, still reigns supreme throughout the world—and increasingly so in rapidly developing countries like India and China where possession of air conditioning connotes middle class status. And while the chlorofluorocarbon coolant widely used in air conditioners through the 1980s was phased out because its emissions were causing damage to the globe’s protective ozone layer, the chemicals that replaced it worldwide, and which are now in use in hundreds of millions of air conditioners, are some 2,100 times stronger as greenhouse gases than carbon dioxide. We may have saved the ozone layer, but—whoops!—there goes the climate.
Just because people aren’t using them much doesn’t mean there aren’t some good alternatives. The best known is an evaporative cooler (AKA swamp cooler). Better for hot, dry climates, these electrified units cool outdoor air through evaporation and then blow it inside. They make for a nice alternative to traditional air conditioners, using about a quarter of the energy overall. They are also quicker and cheaper to install, and can be moved around to different rooms as needed. But swamp coolers can require a lot of maintenance and may not keep the interior space as cool as some AC-hungry inhabitants might like.
Apartment/condo and commercial/industrial buildings might consider augmenting their existing roof-top air conditioning systems with the cooling power of ice. California-based Ice Energy makes and sells the Ice Bear system, essentially a large thermal storage tank that makes ice at night—when the cost and demand for energy is lower—and then doles out ice water into the air conditioning system during the day to efficiently deliver cooling when it’s needed. Since the air conditioner’s energy-intensive compressor can remain off during peak daytime hours, the electricity required for cooling can be minimal, with some customers achieving 95 percent electricity savings using the system. And utilities across the country are starting to encourage its use by large customers.
Stanford University has been utilizing its own version of similar technology since 1999 to keep its campus buildings cool. Since upgrading to an ice-based cooling system, Stanford saves some $500,000 a year on its campus cooling bill. If such technology could be adapted to augment home air conditioning systems, it could go a long way toward reducing air conditioning’s environmental footprint overall.
Of course, let’s not forget that a small investment in a fan or two to create a breeze or wind tunnel through inhabited interior spaces can go a long way to offset summer heat. Even better, get a professional to install a “whole-house fan,” which draws in cooler air through lower level open windows and exhales hotter air through specially designed attic vents synced to open when the system is operating.
The race has been on in the air conditioning business for some time to find a coolant that doesn’t destroy the ozone or add to global warming, but progress has been slow. Meanwhile, global warming itself will beget the need for more air conditioning, which will only exacerbate an already dire situation, especially as the rest of the world starts to demand artificial cooling just like we’ve enjoyed in the West for decades.
CONTACT: Ice Energy, www.ice-energy.com.
Just because people aren’t using them much doesn’t mean there aren’t some good alternatives. The best known is an evaporative cooler (AKA swamp cooler). Better for hot, dry climates, these electrified units cool outdoor air through evaporation and then blow it inside. They make for a nice alternative to traditional air conditioners, using about a quarter of the energy overall. They are also quicker and cheaper to install, and can be moved around to different rooms as needed. But swamp coolers can require a lot of maintenance and may not keep the interior space as cool as some AC-hungry inhabitants might like.
Apartment/condo and commercial/industrial buildings might consider augmenting their existing roof-top air conditioning systems with the cooling power of ice. California-based Ice Energy makes and sells the Ice Bear system, essentially a large thermal storage tank that makes ice at night—when the cost and demand for energy is lower—and then doles out ice water into the air conditioning system during the day to efficiently deliver cooling when it’s needed. Since the air conditioner’s energy-intensive compressor can remain off during peak daytime hours, the electricity required for cooling can be minimal, with some customers achieving 95 percent electricity savings using the system. And utilities across the country are starting to encourage its use by large customers.
Stanford University has been utilizing its own version of similar technology since 1999 to keep its campus buildings cool. Since upgrading to an ice-based cooling system, Stanford saves some $500,000 a year on its campus cooling bill. If such technology could be adapted to augment home air conditioning systems, it could go a long way toward reducing air conditioning’s environmental footprint overall.
Of course, let’s not forget that a small investment in a fan or two to create a breeze or wind tunnel through inhabited interior spaces can go a long way to offset summer heat. Even better, get a professional to install a “whole-house fan,” which draws in cooler air through lower level open windows and exhales hotter air through specially designed attic vents synced to open when the system is operating.
The race has been on in the air conditioning business for some time to find a coolant that doesn’t destroy the ozone or add to global warming, but progress has been slow. Meanwhile, global warming itself will beget the need for more air conditioning, which will only exacerbate an already dire situation, especially as the rest of the world starts to demand artificial cooling just like we’ve enjoyed in the West for decades.
CONTACT: Ice Energy, www.ice-energy.com.
In Spanish:
Querido DiálogoEcológico: ¿Se ha inventado alguna alternativa al aire acondicionado para mantener cuartos frescos que sea apreciablemente más barata y/o que utilice mucho menos energía que el aire acondicionado tradicional? - Ashutosh Saxena, Allahabad, India
El refrigerante clorofluorocarbono extensamente usado en acondicionadores de aire a través de los años 80 fué retirado porque estaba dañando la capa protectora de ozono de la tierra, pero las sustancias químicas que lo reemplazaron son 2.100 veces más fuertes que los gases invernadero como el dióxido de carbono. Podremos haber salvado la capa de ozono, pero -- ¡Caramba! -- ahí se nos va el clima.
Desafortunadamente el acondicionador de aire moderno, con su compresor de ciclos constantes que consume mucha energía, y con un líquido refrigerante químico ambientalmente hostil, todavía reina supremo a través del mundo—y cada vez más en países rápidamente en desarrollo como India y China donde la posesión de aire acondicionado connota estatus de clase media. Y aunque el líquido refrigerante de clorofluorocarbono extensamente utilizado en acondicionadores de aire por los años ochenta fue eliminado gradualmente porque sus emisiones causaban daño a la capa de ozono protectora del globo, las sustancias químicas que lo reemplazaron mundialmente, y que están ahora en uso en cientos de millones de acondicionadores de aire, son unos 2.100 veces más fuertes como gases invernaderos que el bióxido de carbono. Podemos haber salvado la capa de ozono, pero—caramba!—allí se nos va el clima.
Simplemente porque la gente no los utilice mucho no significa que no hay algunas alternativas buenas. El mejor conocido es un refrigerador evaporante (alias "swamp cooler"). Mejores para climas calientes y secos, estas unidades electrificadas refrescan aire exterior mediante evaporación y enseguida lo soplan adentro. Ofrecen una alternativa atrayente a los acondicionadores de aire tradicionales, utilizando cerca de un cuarto de la energía total. Son también más rápidos y más baratos de instalar, y pueden ser circulados a cuartos diferentes como se necesite. Pero los "swamp coolers" pueden requerir mucho mantenimiento y es posible que no mantengan el espacio interior tan fresco como lo deseen algunos consumidores de AA.
Los edificios de apartamento/condos y comercial/industriales quizás podrían considerar aumentar sus sistemas existentes de aire acondicionado de tejado con el poder de refrigeración del hielo. La firma Ice Energy, basada en California, vende el sistema Ice Bear, en esencia un tanque grande de almacenaje térmico que manufactura hielo en la noche—cuando el costo y la demanda de energía son más bajos—y a continuación reparte agua helada por el sistema de aire acondicionado durante el día para entregar refrigeración eficiente cuando se necesite. Ya que el compresor del acondicionador de aire que consume gran cantidad de energía puede dejarse apagado durante las horas pico diurnas, la electricidad necesaria para la refrigeración puede ser mínima, con algunos clientes que utilizan el sistema logrando ahorros de electricidad del 95 por ciento. Y las empresas de electricidad a través del país están comenzando a estimular su uso entre los clientes grandes.
La Universidad de Stanford ha estado utilizando su propia versión semejante de esta tecnología desde 1999 para enfriar los edificios de su campus. Desde que modernizó sus sistemas a una refrigeración basada en hielo, Stanford ha ahorrado anualmente unos $500.000 en su cuenta de refrigeración de campus. Si tal tecnología pudiese ser adaptada para aumentar sistemas de aire acondicionado caseros, ella podría contribuir bastante a la reducción de la huella ambiental del aire acondicionado.
Por supuesto, no nos olvidemos que una pequeña inversión en un ventilador o dos para crear una brisa o túnel de aire a través de espacios interiores habitados puede compensar bastante el calor de verano. Mejor todavía, haga que un profesional le instale un "ventilador de casa total," que aspira aire más frío por ventanas abiertas al nivel más bajo de la casa y exhala aire más caliente por aberturas especialmente diseñadas de ático sincronizadas para abrirse cuando el sistema entra en operación.
La industria del aire acondicionado ha estado haciendo muchos esfuerzos para encontrar un líquido refrigerante que no destruya el ozono ni añada al calentamiento climático, pero el progreso ha sido lento. Mientras tanto, el calentamiento climático mismo engendrará la necesidad de más aire acondicionado, que sólo exacerbará una situación ya horrible, especialmente a medida que el resto del mundo demanda enfriamiento artificial como nosotros hemos disfrutado en el Occidente por décadas.
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