NYT: ‘The World Wants Air-Conditioning. That Could Warm the World’
More than crickets and fireflies, more than baseball and cookouts, perhaps nothing signals the arrival of summer in the United States like the soft familiar whir of air-conditioning.
But there is growing concern that as other countries adopt America’s love of air-conditioners, the electricity used to power them will overburden electrical grids and increase planet-warming emissions.
The number of air-conditioners worldwide is predicted to soar from 1.6 billion units today to 5.6 billion units by midcentury, according to a report issued Tuesday by the International Energy Agency. If left unchecked, by 2050 air-conditioners would use as much electricity as China does for all activities today.
Greenhouse gas emissions released by coal and natural gas plants when generating electricity to power those air-conditioners would nearly double, from 1.25 billion tons in 2016 to 2.28 billion tons in 2050, the report says. Those emissions would contribute to global warming, which could further heighten the demand for air-conditioning.
Right now air-conditioning is concentrated in a handful of countries, mainly in the United States and Japan, and increasingly in China.
While 90 percent of American households have air-conditioning, “When we look in fact at the hot countries in the world, in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East, where about 2.8 billion people live, only about 8 percent of the population owns an air-conditioner,” said Fatih Birol, executive director of the energy agency.
As incomes in those countries rise, however, more people are installing air-conditioners in their homes. The energy agency predicts much of the growth in air-conditioning will occur in India, China and Indonesia.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/15/climate/air-conditioning.html
I think they have the wrong idea about what will cause the warming:
Here’s the IEA report:
Air conditioning use emerges as one of the key drivers of global electricity-demand growth
The growing use of air conditioners in homes and offices around the world will be one of the top drivers of global electricity demand over the next three decades, according to new analysis by the International Energy Agency that stresses the urgent need for policy action to improve cooling efficiency.
A new IEA report – “The Future of Cooling” – shows that without new efficiency standards the world will be facing a “cold crunch” from the growth in cooling demand in coming decades.
Global energy demand from air conditioners is expected to triple by 2050, requiring new electricity capacity the equivalent to the combined electricity capacity of the United States, the EU and Japan today. The global stock of air conditioners in buildings will grow to 5.6 billion by 2050, up from 1.6 billion today – which amounts to 10 new ACs sold every second for the next 30 years, according to the report.
Using air conditioners and electric fans to stay cool already accounts for about a fifth of the total electricity used in buildings around the world – or 10% of all global electricity consumption today. But as incomes and living standards improve in many developing countries, the growth in AC demand in hotter regions is set to soar. AC use is expected to be the second-largest source of global electricity demand growth after the industry sector, and the strongest driver for buildings by 2050.
Supplying power to these ACs comes with large costs and environmental implications. One crucial factor is that the efficiency of these new ACs can vary widely. For example, ACs sold in Japan and the European Union are typically 25% more efficient than those sold in the United States and China. Efficiency improvements could cut the energy growth from AC demand in half through mandatory energy performance standards.
“Growing electricity demand for air conditioning is one of the most critical blind spots in today’s energy debate,” said Dr Fatih Birol, the Executive Director of the IEA. “With rising incomes, air conditioner ownership will skyrocket, especially in the emerging world. While this will bring extra comfort and improve daily lives, it is essential that efficiency performance for ACs be prioritized. Standards for the bulk of these new ACs are much lower than where they should be.”
The report identifies key policy actions. In an Efficient Cooling Scenario, which is compatible with the goals of the Paris Agreement, the IEA finds that through stringent minimum energy performance standards and other measures such as labelling, the average energy efficiency of the stock of ACs worldwide could more than double between now and 2050. This would greatly reduce the need to build new electricity infrastructure to meet rising demand.
Making cooling more efficient would also yield multiple benefits, making it more affordable, more secure, and more sustainable, and saving as much as USD 2.9 trillion in investment, fuel and operating costs.
The rise in cooling demand will be particularly important in the hotter regions of the world.
Today, less than a third of global households own an air conditioner. In countries such as the United States and Japan, more than 90% of households have air conditioning, compared to just 8% of the 2.8 billion people living in the hottest parts of the world.
The issue is particularly sensitive in the fastest-growing nations, with the biggest increase happening in hot countries like India – where the share of AC in peak electricity load could reach 45% in 2050, up from 10% today without action. This will require large investments in new power plants to meet peak power demand at night, which cannot be met with solar PV technology.
“Setting higher efficiency standards for cooling is one of the easiest steps governments can take to reduce the need for new power plants, and allow them at the same time to cut emissions and reduce costs,” said Dr Birol.
“The Future of Cooling” is the second IEA report that focuses on “blind spots” of the global energy system, following the “The Future of Trucks,” which was released in July 2017. The next one in this series – “The Future of Petro-Chemicals” – will examine ways to build a more sustainable petrochemical industry. It will be released in September.
“While this will bring extra comfort and improve daily lives . . . ”
You have to love this quote. Quite likely the spread of air conditioning in lesser developed counties will save lives as well as less die from heat related conditions. But if they actually study that effect they might come to the conclusion that the heat-related benefits of air conditioning outweigh the heat related costs of global warming.
Air conditioning improves productivity. link That and other factors make the advantages of air conditioning huge.
The IEA report, as quoted, seems to ignore the benefits of proper building construction. Robert of Texas (farther down the page) points out that insulation greatly reduces the amount of air conditioning needed.
My own well insulated northern house is cooled by a single 5000 BTU window air conditioner. It mostly works to reduce humidity. The outside temperature has to go above 90 F for about a week before the inside of the house becomes uncomfortable. If that does happen, the reduced humidity makes fans effective. The bottom line is that my electricity use doesn’t go up that much in air conditioning season.
commieBob: ” benefits of proper building construction”
Building construction and orientation to/from the sun offers tremendous opportunity to reduce energy demands. I’ve just watched another local sub-division build all new homes oriented towards the street and not the sun. This is disappointing. I’m not sure how to break the current method of developers determining what structures get built and the consumer then has to buy and live with a garage on the south side of their home in a northern climate.
The government may not be the best source for an answer. California is currently looking to mandate that all homes include solar panels for energy production, but after reading this article, they may soon require all homes plant shade trees to lessen the air-conditioning burden. (Solar panels don’t work as efficiently in the shade.)
Day time A\C is probably the best usage for Solar Power. (Probably the only good usage, unless your house is “Off the Grid”). Run your A\C all day long at 20C and your home won’t warm too much at night while the A\C is unpowered.
When consumers are willing to pay a premium for homes that are oriented to the sun instead of the street, builders will start building houses that way.
You don’t necessarily need to orient the house to South, just the panel support structure.
Then you can cool your house with Free Solar A\C energy that only costs around $30,000. $60,000 if you need to reroof your house and beef up the roof trusses to support the weight.
How much more FREE can you get?? /sarc
While living conditions improve, the birth rate goes down. Has this been factored in?
How dare those peasant scum should try to be comfortable! The proper state of society is a peon working a punkah fan over out precious selves! /sarc
Bitcoin production and Google graphics storage are the two other energy guzzlers…
Lucky it’s winter in Australia. The forecast today in sunny North QLD is 28 degrees. Might still need the air con.
A/C at 25C? You wimp!
I need to turn on our A\C after 23C. My daughter has a problem where she overheats and shows signs of Heat Stress above 74F or 23C
I have a similar problem. Anything above about 22C indoors and I get really uncomfortable without swiftly moving air. Outdoors, the nearly constant moving bulk air gives me some breathing room, but even still I am mostly indoors during the peak summer months.
Sorry, 28C…
Those creature comforts are hard to kick 😀
Reminds me of those old How To Speak Australian commercials for Fosters. Particularly the one where a boulder falls on a Croc Dundee lookalike, he utters a flat “Ouch”, and the voiceover goes “Crybaby”. :]
When I was in Wyndham I saw people put woolly jackets on at 29c as it felt “a bit chilly”. Probably because we had adjusted to 40c during the day.
After living a year on Guam 78F (25.6C) was so ‘cold’ that I was putting sweaters on. (And I had AC-obviously I didn’t have it cranked way down)
Brilliant. As a start, let’s set the efficiency standards to require that 100W of cooling capacity should require no more than 10W of input power, with a goal of eventually getting to zero input power. What could be easier? Once we mass produce, the cost will go down dramatically. And we could make electricity free which will also reduce costs substantially.
You missed the point that the article author also missed. It is futile for governments to mandate efficiency or even encourage it as far as use of energy goes. Any energy saved will correspond to real $ saved by the consumer. However the consumer will either spend those $ on other things otr projects that consume energy and therefore the total energy consumption does not go down. If instead the consumer puts the savings in the bank, the bank will then lend that money out (they have to cause cash just sitting there doesnt make the bank any money) . The money that is lent out to another person is then spent onsomething which requires energy. So again no saving of energy is possible. It is amazing how politicians and energy writers do not understand how economics works.
Alan, energy efficiency may then be a great way to keep energy costs down just enough so that people can spend that money on something else. Ultimately, you are right. It won’t change the amount of energy used, but at least it will allow for more goods and services for the people. i think keeping energy costs down is the best way to expand economies. Every time the world economy gets going strong, energy costs begin to sky rocket through higher worldwide demand. And those higher energy prices put a damper on economic growth either in and of themselves or by triggering central bank action of raising interest rates which slow the economy down…
The effect was discovered in the 1800s when they were panicked about the end of coal due to the success of steam engines. They figured that forcing increased efficiency would reduce demand, but the opposite happened. It’s called Jevon’s paradox. Increased efficiency broadens the marginal use case, opening the technology to much larger markets as the adoption bell curve rises from zero.
In addition, cooler people are more efficient at generating increased economic activity, which in turn allows them to do things like buy cars, coffee makers and cable TV.
It’s easy to show thermodynamically that the primary driver of all life forms is to harvest as much energy as possible, in order to grow, evolve and/or reproduce. Humans are of course life forms. The drive to harness more personal energy is not some political football, it’s a force of nature. Humans will never voluntarily reduce their access to *continuously increasing* energy supplies.
I think we need 3-5 times our current level of energy just to make it past 2050 with a reasonable life style for all. As Jevon demonstrated, all attempts to reduce energy use will have the opposite effect. We could get there with nukes of some variety, but it would increase, not reduce the demand for fossil fuels as their relative price decreased.
As for the CO2, it happens that last week I passed through the Sahara desert in Morocco, where the government is planting millions of (obviously thriving) new trees along the edges of the desert to “reverse desertification.” If the Paris climate case was spent on projects like this to amplify the benefits of increased CO2, I might even support it.
Alan Tomalty
The banks lend money to wind turbine farms.
Which is the worst possible way to save energy!
Alan Tomalty :
“It is amazing how politicians and energy writers do not understand how economics works.”
WRONG !!!!!
THEY know exactly how ECONOMICS WORK !
for instance : HE GOT PAID FOR WRITING THIS ARTICLE !
by contrast : How much did you get paid ?
.
Hmmmmm! I thought so !
That theory has a name “Khazzoom–Brookes postulate” it was arrived at independently by economists Daniel Khazzoom and Leonard Brookes who were looking at oil use after the oil crisis of the 1970’s.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khazzoom%E2%80%93Brookes_postulate
It’s one of those strange realities that most pushing for emission controls ignore or unaware of. The article is simply highlighting the effect but they obviously don’t know the name.
+1 Alan Tomalty
“Energy efficient” is a big mandate for complexity, where you trade an old robust inefficient design for a new finely optimized design that requires software update to heat toasts better.
This report states that “labeling” can increase “average energy efficiency”. Where can I buy one of those labels.
I print my own. It worked so well I’m working on some MPG stickers for the vehicles.
I had heard warming causes cooling but now cooling causes heating? I’m so confused
Little wonder the NY Times drops direct reader replies to propaganda like this. Slick. They’re good at it.
“…air-conditioners… increase planet-warming emissions.”
Thats a bit like a runaway reaction, how ironic.
I love my air conditioners… Texas would be a wasteland without them. (Yes, that was semi-sarcasm, but only semi).
Air conditioning is ripe for a technological breakthrough. Just like LED lights reduced electrical demand, so will future air conditioners. They will be much smaller anyway due to the insulation transformation going on right now. My new central air has multiple compressors and run rates and has reduced power consumption of the unit it replaced by 20% – and this was 15 years of advancement.
My home might as well be made of mosquito net it is so porous to heat transport. Looking at houses already being built, they are many times more efficient at reducing the heat transport. Future homes will be even more efficient.
And finally, not all nations are likely to fall in love with as big of homes as the Americans. I personally find it ridiculous to need a 3,000+ square foot house for a family of four, but it seems people in Texas can’t stand being near each other, even in a house! The house size and efficiency of insulation, as well as the average outside temperature will dictate cooling needs. If a family or 4, say in middle Africa, had a highly efficient home of 1,600 square feet their need for air conditioning power will be a fraction of what I use now. All they need is a few nukes running at full tilt to supply electricity for millions. Or a bazillion wind mills that work some of the time – take your pick.
Why oh why should not the world be able to enjoy the same sorts of comforts most Americans already enjoy?
Robert of Texas
“Why oh why should not the world be able to enjoy the same sorts of comforts most Americans already enjoy?”
Not just comfort. 200,000,000 people (yes two hundred million) in developing countries are predicted to die prematurely by 2050 from indoor pollution caused by burning biomass (wood) and animal dung for cooking and heating, because they have no access to cheap electricity.
That’s roughly equivalent to the entire populations of the UK, France and Germany, all dead, in 30 years time, a single generation. Unfortunately, if we started building enough coal fired power stations for them today, it would still be too late for most of them.
Our green brethren care more about local populations of newts and butterflies than they do people in the developing world.
Well now, a poster that thinks big, expensive homes are not for everyone. Luv it.
Having been stationed in Texas ( military), and having relatives there, I appreciate the heat mitigation we get using the HVAC. However, over a half century ago when I grew up, an HVAC was a luxury and we did just fine with a whole house ventilation fan and decent insulation and lottsa windows. Ditto for my in-laws on the eastern Colorado plains, where I never saw an HVAC until the 1990’s.
I agree that slightly cooler offices help production, but the obsession the last 30 or so years in the U.S. with those big houses and cramming them so close together is toopid.
The basic article seems to be common sense, and surely pumping warm air to even warmer air via the AC must heat up our atmosphere. And then all the coal or gas needed to get the electrons to your house.
Down here in Florida, we have a great way to avoid the standard HVAC heat sink component if you are within a few miles of the coast or right on top of the aquifer – heat pumps with the exchanger down about 30 or 50 feet underground. I also see that as a good system in Colorado at my fishing cabin. Nice heat sink at 55 degrees or so all year around, and down here in Florida you can run the AC at ridiculous settings when it’s 95 degrees, and the sucker works well in winter when a basic heat pump quits at 45 degrees or lower.
Gums opines…
Translation:
Air Conditioning needs to be reserved for the elites … you know, the ones who tell us what we need.
Once all the air conditioners are removed from all government buildings, then we will know
they are serious about this stupid religion.
That is the whole CAGW movement. We have ours the rest of the world can go to H*LL. Most of the Greens are in the upper 40% economic bracket, and most Americans are in the upper 1% of the world economic bracket. So the Greens, who comprise 0.4% of the world’s population want to keep their lifestyle from the other 99.6% of the world.
Actually, it is worse than that. In a research paper which I did over 20 years ago, I discovered that they felt that we should reduce the world’s population 99.98% to 200 million. (with them remaining, of course)
Having lived in Guadalajara, Mexico, for more than 20 years, I can attest that well-built houses here stay cool without air-conditioning even during the hottest months of April and June, with temperatures regularly reaching 35°C, with peaks up to 40°C. It’s apartments and cheap housing that get insufferably hot, and most occupants can’t afford the cost of electricity that air-conditioning would occasion. Perhaps the building techniques could be exported.
The downside is that the houses also don’t have central heating, so from November to February (with night time temperatures down to 0°C or less), it’s brass monkey weather inside.
Obviously air-conditioning should be run off solar power only.
there are many hot days that are also cloudy.
Not to mention hot nights – but one must expect a little discomfort in the cause of saving the planet. There would naturally be an exemption for large mansions. /sarc
Heaven forbid Gore & company get hot under their starched collars. 😉
Well, I think this is great news. It must mean that 4 billion households in developing countries will have affordable, reliable electric service in the next few years. Must be all those Chinese coal and nuke plants coming on line. Assuming an average family of 4 per household, that 16 billion people lifted to first world living standards. Oops, only supposed to be about 11B people, so the other 1 Billion+ AC units must be for businesses. I think most people would buy refrigerators and maybe microwave ovens before they get AC, so someone really needs to ramp up the power plant building. Don’t see solar panels and wind turbans being up to the task.
It certainly leads to warmer models supported by artificially warmed samples. Then there are the high density population centers. Good for the politicians, and businesses, bad for people, and the environment.
nn
“bad for people, and the environment.”
Not according to a report examined on WUWT yesterday which says that industrialisation and urbanisation is causing the planet to green as people move from the country.
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2018/05/15/claim-u-n-data-reflects-greening-of-the-earth-not-carbon-dioxide/
I will add that the NASA report referred to explicitly states that the greening they observed was restricted to ‘virgin’ growth, in other words uncontaminated by man. So what yesterdays report is saying, in fact, is that industrialised greening is in addition to the 14% observed by NASA over the last 30 years.
If the model gets warm enough, perhaps she’ll take off more clothes?
Showme Daniels ? /s
Next up,,,,, constipation will cause global warming. Get your Ex lax now while the market is good! Sarc…., but still sad to think about the next headline….. pic redacted
Hahaha! Oh, man, that is too funny! You just made my day.
Should the elites accept a properly engineered solution instead of forcing a political one then I think the problem corrects itself. Sheesh.
And in other news, Singapore hailed A/C as the most important factor in productivity ever.
About the only thing solar panels are good for is driving air conditioning
And pumping water from the polders.
pumping? that’s a job for windmills
I’m about as worried about this as I am entropy and the heat death of the universe. But then aren’t we now told that the universe is infinite, and that the rate of expansion is accelerating?
Guess I’m not that worried
By 2050 it will be common knowledge that emissions don’t cause a higher atmospheric growth rate of CO2. For 60 years now the growth rate has been lock step with temperature change and by mid century it will have been so for damn near a century. (i would think that by then even ferdinand will have conceded the point… ☺)
“The number of air-conditioners worldwide is predicted to soar from 1.6 billion units today to 5.6 billion units by midcentury,”
That increase will far and away negate any efficiency improvements. But in any case we need more CO2 not less.
OK – I have a solution! … Global cooling!
In an article published in 2002, I predicted natural global cooling to start by 2020 to 2030. I now think this cooling will commence sooner, closer to 2020, maybe even in 2018.
So don’t worry so much about air conditioning – instead, worry about power failures in mid-winter due to useless, intermittent green energy schemes – worry about you and your family freezing and starving as a direct result of global warming alarmist falsehoods – warmist idiocy is dangerous – watch this space…
All together now: “I blame global warming!”
Air conditioning and solar power are uniquely compatible; i.e. when it’s hot, the sun is probably shining. It could evolve that increases in air conditioning will be matched by increases in roof top solar, shaving peak daytime demand and obviating the need for drastic increase in electricity infrastructure. As an example, at my church, we have balanced solar capacity and energy use, so our net utility bill over a year is essentially zero. Obviously the utility would like to change the rules, because they are not being fully compensated for the stability they bring to the system.
An endlessly repeated factoid. Unfortunately not true. Solar power produce most power at noon while A/C power requirements peaks in the late afternoon. Google “thermal inertia”.
Nice information, but unverified . And unlikely.
How many days a week at which hours per day is the building occupied – with lights, people and activities?
How many nights is it occupied – with lights, people and activities?
What was the original electric bill and useage before the solar panels?
What is your specific rate structure in what state system of mandatory billing?
What latitude and local clouds/climate/sun cover/pollen and dust?
Who paid what subsidies for the solar panels, converters,inverteres,storage (if any) and all connections and grid payback?
Are you back-feeding the grid on non-use hours 5 days a week between 9:00 and 3:00 to use electricity 1 day a week between 8:00 and 2:00 ?? Few others can do that!
AC must to some degree increase the urban heat island effect, and it does strike me as odd that power consumption goes up in Australia the most in summer -when you think about it, generating waste heat at both the coal plant and the consumers house end at the peak of the warm period seems kinda crazy..
Well, that was and has remained my thinking ever since I first saw a kerosene fridge as a kid, researched how they worked, and discovered the ammonia absorption refrigeration cycle. Since then it’s been a bit of a dream for me to hope one day I could either make or buy a unit that could sit atop my house and when the heat of summer hits, the thing could be used to both cool the house below and draw water from the atmosphere from the Perth sea ‘breeze’ (gale force wind)
with an all-iron construction (galvanized on the outside for longevity) and containing only water, ammonia and a little bit of hydrogen – and no moving parts – coupled to a small solar cell driving a fan to shift the ‘cold ‘around (you know what I mean) and the control circuitry available to us today .. who wouldn’t love zero-cost air conditioning ?
So many old technologies are getting kick starts – 1890’s photovoltaics, 1900’s electric cars .. while things like ammonia absorption refrigeration and stirling engines have been largely overlooked when again with modern regulatory electronics and lithium batteries they really should be getting more of oa go in the world.
And yes, I’m well aware of the risks associated with ammonia, but the 100+ year old Icyball refrigerator and the old kero fridges I’ve collected still function fine without anyone having suffered any ill across the centuries of operation they represent.. my car(s) AC’s I had filled with butane have not spontaneously combusted despite the shrill claims by the mainstream AC installers dire warnings, and even some of the more scientifically literate greens are starting to click that the lower pressures required and lower power consumption with these ‘obsolete’ (but highly efficiency hydrocarbon refrigerants) makes them far more desirable than the “modern” alternatives.
In other sensational news researchers announce that increased use of electric radiators and electric blankets in winter will also warm our world.
And why are new power plants bad? They release CO2 (shudder!!!) and promote large flows of redistribution money to benefit the rent seekers.
Refrigerants in the EU now have to have low “Global Warming Potential”. This adds to cost and (I suspect) reduces potential efficiency: https://www.racplus.com/home/the-future-of-hfcs-are-they-a-viable-alternative/8600052.article.
So we want to up efficiency to reduce “global warming”, but we restrict the materials we can use because they are believed to increase “global warming”??? To quote CS Lewis “castrate, and bid the geldings be fruitful”
Turn off your air conditioners and die of heatstroke. Save the planet for the next generation, just not yours.
Surely every school kid has heard of the Carnot cycle ?
Thanks NYT for that “insight”.
Puritanism: The haunting fear that someone, somewhere may be happy. (Source unknown).
somehow not found in the devil’s dictionary
http://www.online-literature.com/bierce/devilsdictionary/16/
however, you find
PAIN, n. An uncomfortable frame of mind that may have a physical basis in something that is being done to the body, or may be purely mental, caused by the good fortune of another.
It is by H. L. Mencken
Tom
Obliged.
Well heating makes cooling, and now cooling make heating…
Reminds me of the great social observer and philosopher Marx when he said —
― Groucho Marx
One thing that struck me last time I was in China is that practically every apartment in the cities have an A/C nowadays. Mounting brackets are apparently standard, but not the A/C unit which is bought separately, with somewhat odd visual effect since there seems to be a near infinite number of different models.
It should be added that essentially all of China has hot to very hot summers. Northern China, as an extra, also has very cold winters. Harbin for example has summer temperatures like Boston and winter temperatures like Fairbanks.
tty : THIS has to be a GOOD THING !
The better the living conditions for the average person the more he appreciates the
government and the more stable China is ! The more that each individual has to LOSE
then the less willing he is to RISK IT ! So prosperity , peace and stability are linked and
SHOULD BE HEARTILY ENCOURAGED by all of us !
Who doesn’t want ” a better standard of living” ?
And as their standard of living lifts, the whole human race benefits ! Less poverty, more’markets ,
more international travel ( tourism ) leading to more contact and better understanding , and so on !
The BENEFITS are practically endless !
SO…….HOORAY for air conditioning !
And the “extra heat”……..perhaps that can be utilised in the next POSTING admonishing
my pathetic flippant contribution ! That’s fine with me……I like the heat !
but I also appreciate the cool !
I was told that it was important for Western nations to give $100 billion to poor nations for climate change. Yet, such new wealth is sure to lead to increased spending in those countries, leading to more emissions.
Gosh, I’m beginning to think this is all just a hustle.
AC must to some degree increase the urban heat island effect, and it does strike me as odd that power consumption goes up in Australia the most in summer -when you think about it, generating waste heat at both the coal plant and the consumers house end at the peak of the warm period seems kinda crazy..
Well, that was and has remained my thinking ever since I first saw a kerosene fridge as a kid, researched how they worked, and discovered the ammonia absorption refrigeration cycle. Since then it’s been a bit of a dream for me to hope one day I could either make or buy a unit that could sit atop my house and when the heat of summer hits, the thing could be used to both cool the house below and draw water from the atmosphere from the Perth sea ‘breeze’ (gale force wind)
with an all-iron construction (galvanized on the outside for longevity) and containing only water, ammonia and a little bit of hydrogen – and no moving parts – coupled to a small solar cell driving a fan to shift the ‘cold ‘around (you know what I mean) and the control circuitry available to us today .. who wouldn’t love zero-cost air conditioning ?
So many old technologies are getting kick starts – 1890’s photovoltaics, 1900’s electric cars .. while things like ammonia absorption refrigeration and stirling engines have been largely overlooked when again with modern regulatory electronics and lithium batteries they really should be getting more of a go in the world.
And yes, I’m well aware of the risks associated with ammonia, but the 100+ year old Icyball refrigerator and the old kero fridges I’ve collected still function fine without anyone having suffered any ill across the centuries of operation they represent.. my car(s) AC’s I had filled with butane have not spontaneously combusted despite the shrill claims by the mainstream AC installers dire warnings, and even some of the more scientifically literate greenies are starting to click that the lower pressures required and lower power consumption with these ‘obsolete’ (but highly efficiency hydrocarbon refrigerants) makes them far more desirable than the “modern” alternatives.
There has an horrific autocar accident where officially the fuel (diesel) took fire because of a “rare event” where the tank was pierced and hit a hot object… but a lot of the French people have another ideation (the A/C broke and took fire).
And nobody trust the French transport safety authority anymore, after many bizarre stories where they gave the apparence of caring more about the interest of State owned corporations than the truth.
Since the greatest PR mistake in green messaging is attacking personal space and households, the headline photo should not be large scale AC systems. It should be room or house AC systems to make it hit consumers directly. Green-funded politicos can then be faced with some hard choices for a change in messaging during campaigns.
Pointing out the three dollar bill: more electrical demand will overburden existing electrical grids. Yes… gradually demand will rise, and every competent electric company will upsize lines, install feeders, provision generators and scale capacity to match demand.
Sheesh.
The bottom line today is that 20% of America’s eletricity goes directly to refrigeration. HVAC refrigeration, domestic refrigeration, and a whole lot to commercial HVAC and big box refrigeration.
And that is not a trend which will stop. Soon, or at all.
Thing is, in the modern world, refrigeration is a civilization-critical resource.
On the scale of medical care itself.
• Refrigeration keeps foodstuffs cold enough to suppress most foodborne pathogens.
• Refrigeration preserves serums, vaccines, injectable meds, blood plasma, whole blood…
• Refrigeration keeps people literally alive, in climes far too hot for nominal living
• Refrigeration is crucial for allowing The Internet to work. At all.
• Refrigeration optimizes worker productivity on factory floors
So yes, saying that “there’s a worrying trend that the Third World will be markedly increasing its power generation to cover refrigeration” is essentially the same as “The Third World is moving up. Economically, Technologically and Energy-wise”.
GoatGuy
YEP !
REFRIGERATION even keeps things WARM ENOUGH to eat at THE POLES !
Can’t do without it anywhere !
“Pointing out the three dollar bill: more electrical demand will overburden existing electrical grids. Yes… gradually demand will rise, and every competent electric company will upsize lines, install feeders, provision generators and scale capacity to match demand”
Not it scaling capacity requires building new power plants. Green regulations make it nearly impossible to bring a new reliable energy plants (coal, gas, nuke, etc) online.
I don’t need an air cooler.
Regards
Agust
Iceland
I do.
Cheers!
Mike
Deep in the heart of East Texas USA
Ban anything that improves the human condition.
just go straight to the point and ban humans. /sarc
The Commie pope is against air conditioning for everyone but himself.
What a hypocrite!
Matthew 7:5 – Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.
I’m considering installing an AC unit at home to keep the place cool enough for my wife to cope and function with the effects of her MS which get worse when it is hot. We have used a small portable unit for several years now but it is quite noisy and has to sit in the middle of the room to get the best effect with the heat exhaust pipe fed into the fireplace.
I have seen the benefits for my wife and will be looking for the unit that meets her needs the best and if it means a bit more CO2 in the atmosphere that’s all to the good.
James Bull
This is where the Greenies have a problem. On the one hand they deplore the cutting down of rain forrest etc. Their complaints are mainly related to conversion to palm oil plantations but also it is a source of timber for building.
Every where in Asia now there is massive residential construction going on. It is all in concrete so the buildings are effectively heat sinks –so they all NEED air conditioners. Being made out of concrete saves the trees traditionally used for construction. So The Greenies cannot have it both ways.
To show the effect on energy demand just have look at electricity consumption growth for any SEA country over the past 15+ years –exponential growth.
Eg. Singapore , Malaysia & Thailand
https://www.google.co.nz/search?source=hp&ei=jxUBW9uwG8Sr0QTFirK4Aw&q=electricity+consumption+malaysia&oq=electricity+consumption+Malaysia&gs_l=psy-ab.1.0.0j0i22i30k1l9.1316.13841.0.16294.33.26.0.6.6.0.332.5721.2-21j2.23.0….0…1c.1.64.psy-ab..4.29.5743.0..35i39k1j0i131i67k1j0i131k1j0i67k1.0.stDnfAkVLpI
Lived in Central America and currently in the Philippines. With aircon, mosquitos stay away. This is an important health benefit where dengue, zika and malaria exist.