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Improving air conditioner efficiency could reduce worldwide temps

nytimes.com

11–20 of 349 posts

Re: Improving air conditioner efficiency could reduce worldwide temps

#11

I have a Fujitsu mini split that has been awesome in terms of bringing my electric bill down versus window units (we live in Maine, central A/C is less common here, and few homes were built with it until the 2000's). It does, like most splits, use R-410A, but I'd be happy to use something else if it didn't kill the efficiency. In parallel with refrigerants and efficiency, though, I wonder if the article misses on men…

I have fond memories of helping my father replace the Freon in our window A/C units in the 1990s with products like R-410A.

Thanks to that effort made by many, "A 2005 IPCC review of ozone observations and model calculations concluded that the global amount of ozone has now approximately stabilized. Although considerable variability is expected from year to year, including in polar regions where depletion is largest, the ozone layer is expected to begin to recover in coming decades due to declining ozone-depleting substance concentrations, assuming full compliance with the Montreal Protocol." [0]

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozone_depletion

Re: Improving air conditioner efficiency could reduce worldwide temps

#12

I have a Fujitsu mini split that has been awesome in terms of bringing my electric bill down versus window units (we live in Maine, central A/C is less common here, and few homes were built with it until the 2000's). It does, like most splits, use R-410A, but I'd be happy to use something else if it didn't kill the efficiency. In parallel with refrigerants and efficiency, though, I wonder if the article misses on men…

I'd want to see the energy calculations for highly insulated, well sealed buildings. There is more material up front, but the insulation works during the heating season too.

Re: Improving air conditioner efficiency could reduce worldwide temps

#13
Not for nothing, but ain't greenhouse gases only the short term problem?

The Earth radiates a fixed amount of energy into space every year. But when we produce electricity etc. no matter how we do it, more than half of the energy escapes as heat - a byproduct of boiling the water or whatever!

This isn't sustainable in the long run either! We are basically raising the temperature of the atmosphere even without greenhouse gases.

Tell me where I'm going wrong:

https://dothemath.ucsd.edu/2012/04/economist-meets-physicist...

https://dothemath.ucsd.edu/2011/10/why-not-space/

Re: Improving air conditioner efficiency could reduce worldwide temps

#14

Could higher efficiency cooling be done by using more evaporative cooling systems (Swamp Coolers)[0] rather than traditional AC units? There are climates where evaporative cooling is not effective, but perhaps they would be useful in the majority of climate regions. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evaporative_cooler

They can be very effective, they just look ugly and don't increase a house's value.

http://atomictoasters.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/swamp-c...

Authority: I live in Colorado.

Re: Improving air conditioner efficiency could reduce worldwide temps

#17

I have a Fujitsu mini split that has been awesome in terms of bringing my electric bill down versus window units (we live in Maine, central A/C is less common here, and few homes were built with it until the 2000's). It does, like most splits, use R-410A, but I'd be happy to use something else if it didn't kill the efficiency. In parallel with refrigerants and efficiency, though, I wonder if the article misses on men…

Yes! My father-in-law's house has geothermal, and he keeps the place frigid in the summer because it costs next to nothing to cool it.

Incidentally, he's about to put the place up for sale, if anyone's interested in a nice home in the "not Chicago" part of Illinois...

Re: Improving air conditioner efficiency could reduce worldwide temps

#18
> The Lawrence Berkeley study argues that even a 30 percent improvement in efficiency could avoid the peak load equivalent of about 1,500 power plants by 2030.

Okay, but where is this 30% jump in efficiency going to come from? That seems like a pretty big leap!

Re: Improving air conditioner efficiency could reduce worldwide temps

#19
post #7

Half the article wasn't about a/c efficiency it was that HFC is more of a greenhouse gas than CO2, and was agreed to be phased out. Is there really an HFC replacement - what is it? I wasnt aware.

https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-12/documents...

Re: Improving air conditioner efficiency could reduce worldwide temps

#20

Could higher efficiency cooling be done by using more evaporative cooling systems (Swamp Coolers)[0] rather than traditional AC units? There are climates where evaporative cooling is not effective, but perhaps they would be useful in the majority of climate regions. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evaporative_cooler

They can be very effective, they just look ugly and don't increase a house's value. http://atomictoasters.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/swamp-c... Authority: I live in Colorado.

and can even lead to mold
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