Air conditioning is not enough to keep people cool — can scientists find an alternative?

 

As large swathes of Europe and Asia swelter through record heatwaves this summer, discussions have centred around an obvious way to keep people cool: more air conditioners. Popular in high-income countries such as the United States, Japan and Australia, these units are less common in homes in Europe or in low-income countries. But air conditioners are expensive to run, use vast amounts of energy and generate heat, so installing them in every home that needs one is not the answer, say scientists. Instead, they say that, over the past few years, there have been advances in materials that passively cool buildings, offering a solution without the drawbacks.

Letter of the President of the Legislative Council

 

Air Conditioning Saves Lives. Scientists Think It Also Might Doom Us All.

 

One of the major reasons we find ourselves in this current climate crisis is because of a near-religious devotion to convenience. For more than a century, scientists have known that burning coal warms the planet, but the finite, energy-dense resource was too convenient a fuel to pass up. Some of the first cars to ever hit the road were clean electric cars, but cars with internal combustion engines were more convenient to mass produce. And so on.

As the planet continues to inch past the 1.5 ºC increase in global temperature—a threshold originally reported by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change as critical to avoiding catastrophic climate impacts—this same dedication to convenience dominates the conversation

Διακοπές στα τσιμεντονήσια: Το φαινόμενο της αστικής θερμικής νησίδας και πώς το αποφεύγουμε

Για τον έναν στους δύο Έλληνες που δεν θα πάει διακοπές φέτος το καλοκαίρι, το φαινόμενο της αστικής θερμικής νησίδας φροντίζει να τον μεταφέρει νοερά σε τροπικές ζώνες, με άσφαλτο και τσιμέντο αντί για βλάστηση.

Πρόκειται για ένα φαινόμενο που το γνωρίζουμε πολύ καλά όσοι ζούμε σε πυκνοκατοικημένες περιοχές, ακόμα και αν δεν ξέρουμε πώς να το ονομάσουμε. Η αστική θερμική νησίδα

BUILD UP Expert Talk - Matthaios Santamouris

 

We can’t air-condition our way out of a hotter future, says UNSW expert

 A new global review argues passive cooling technology must become central to climate adaptation.

As temperatures rise around the world, air conditioning is saving lives. But a growing reliance on it is also placing unprecedented pressure on electricity grids, increasing greenhouse gas emissions and making cities even hotter.

A global review led by UNSW Sydney's Professor Mat Santamouris AM – an expert in innovative heat mitigation technologies and strategies for cities, opens in a new window – argues that keeping buildings cool without relying solely on air conditioning will be critical for adapting to climate change.

Cities cannot outrun hotter climates with air-con alone

Air-conditioning units flying off shelves worries Australian urban heat expert Mat Santamouris.

With 10 systems purchased every second worldwide, the University of NSW professor fears the cooling technology has become the default response to rising global temperatures.

"We cannot air-condition our way out of climate change," he said.

"If every building depends entirely on mechanical cooling, we create enormous pressure on electricity systems while adding even more heat to our cities."