Greenzone Online

One of the realities of global warming is that the more temperatures increase globally, the more greenhouse gases will be released by power plants as they generate more energy for pumped-up air conditioners, resulting in a scary feedback loop.  The EPA’s EnergyStar program reports that air conditioning accounts for 50% of the typical home’s energy use.  There are a lot of ways to reduce that figure.

Here are some tips:

Fans require 90% less electricity than AC.  At night, by opening windows for cross ventilation and using fans, you can sleep comfortably and so can the AC unit.  Hint: the best way to use box fans is to orient them to blow air out (removing all the hot air from the house).

During the day, increase the efficiency of your room AC unit by locating it in a shady area of the house and by only cooling the room you’re working in.  And make sure all exterior doors and windows are closed and the cooled space is closed off from the uncooled space.  Central AC is more efficient for larger spaces, although it costs more upfront.  Try to limit your use of other appliances such as the stove/oven, dishwasher or clothes dryer; they all produce heat and will force the AC to work harder.  If you’re shopping for a new AC unit, then look for a model that is EnergyStar certified.

For those people who live in hot, dry climates, evaporative coolers (a.k.a. swamp coolers) are cheaper and far more efficient than AC units.  The downside is that they do not work well in humid environments because they function by wetting the air (thereby cooling it) and blowing it into the house.

Shut off the AC and get outside the house to cool down during the day - go for a bike ride, take a dip in the pool, go to the gym, or take in a movie at your local ice-cold movie theatre.  Have fun and don’t let all this talk of global warming get you down!