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Experts Warn Against Using Air Conditioners Because They Are Horrible For the Environment

Experts say we need to find another solution amid heat waves as air conditioners take a huge toll on the environment. Air conditioners worldwide are expected to triple by 2050, and experts warn that we need to rethink this.

Source: MinuteEarth/Youtube

As the planet continues to warm up, people everywhere are relying on air conditioners more than ever. Air conditioners take up more electricity than any other appliance in homes. Electric fans also guzzle energy. Not only are these chemical leaking units taking up energy, but they may not be as efficient as they seem.

Sophie Geoghegan, a climate campaigner at the Environmental Investigation Agency, a London-based green NGO told Euronews that the average unit is only one-third as efficient as it could be.

“These energy guzzling pieces of equipment are often running for many, many hours a day,” she says.

“When you look at commercial refrigeration, they’re always running.”

“According to the International Energy Agency, by 2050, fans and space cooling will consume as much electricity as all of China and India do today.”

Air conditioner units are also known to leak hydrofluorocarbon refrigerants (HFCs), gases that are known to be extremely good at trapping heat in the atmosphere. The most common of these refrigerants is called R-410A and is 2,000 times more potent than carbon dioxide.

“It’s terrifying. Given how many people are buying air conditioners, it could be absolutely disastrous,” Geoghegan said.

Source: CBC News/Youtube

Air conditioning and refrigerators work using the same mechanism of cooling! The main difference is air conditioners are responsible for entire rooms, which makes them work a lot harder. Artificial cooling systems have a compressor, a condenser, and an evaporator that turns chemicals from a gas into liquids and then back into gas to transfer heat to the outdoors. As heat is extracted from the indoor environment, the air is cooled over an evaporator coil, which contains a heat-absorbing fluid called a refrigerant.

When air conditioning is turned on, carbon dioxide, one of the major contributing components of the greenhouse gas effect, is indirectly released into the atmosphere. It is estimated each air-conditioned home releases over two tons of carbon dioxide every year. And this is where the trouble lies…

Check out how to keep your house cool this summer without AC and this brilliant invention that turns plastic water bottles into a DIY air conditioner.

Also, don’t forget sustainability doesn’t end there; raise awareness through your clothing and opt for sustainable clothing brands like Tiny Rescue. Check out the entire climate change collection!