The enormous amounts of energy that air conditioners use, which is generated by coal-fired power plants, contribute to global warming. More power is needed to run a more powerful air conditioner, which also means more pollution is produced.
Carbon dioxide, which makes up the majority of this pollution, traps heat in the atmosphere of the Earth and eventually causes global warming. When the earth warms, ice caps melt, sea levels rise, and severe weather occurs. Air conditioners use about 6% of the total electricity used in the USA. And more than 100 million tons of carbon dioxide are produced annually as a result.
The World Economic Forum estimates that by 2029, air conditioning alone will warm the planet by 0.5C. To make matters worse, it is estimated that around 300 million air conditioners are dumped every year worldwide, with each household air conditioner containing, on average, 800 grams of refrigerant. Most of these air conditioners use a known greenhouse gas.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts that around two-thirds of the world’s households could have an air conditioning unit by 2050. As we see climate change continue to affect the planet and we experience increasingly extreme weather and hotter summers, the need for air conditioning to provide some relief is becoming greater.
However, through increased use, the impact air conditioning has on global emissions and climate change also becomes much greater. A catch-22. So why aren’t the effects of air conditioning being discussed more? And what are the plans to mitigate their impact on global emissions?
How can we make air conditioners utilize energy efficiently?
People should choose an eco-friendly air conditioner. By using eco-friendly air conditioners, people can more than halve their energy usage. In doing so, less electricity is used, meaning less greenhouse gas, therefore, reducing climate change. The other benefit being that a user saves money (a lot of money) that they would’ve otherwise spent on electricity.
Either way, using eco-friendly air conditioning is super important to help the planet without sacrificing comfort. The use of fossil fuels is a major cause of climate change, and cutting back on energy use can help fight or stop these effects.
What is the most eco-friendly portable air conditioner in the world?
Currently, the most energy efficient (meaning it consumes the least energy relative to the amount of cooling that it produces) compressor-driven portable air conditioner in the world is offered by a company called Coolzy.com.
Coolzy’s portable air conditioners are an innovative device to assist customers to save energy and hard-earned money.
Designed by one of the world’s top universities, the Coolzy is a super-low energy-use air conditioner. It runs on 340 watts, which is about 1/10th of their competitors’ units. It’s secret lies in its high coefficient of performance (COP) which allows it to generate 1100 watts of cooling. Then, through the use of clever patented technology, this cooling is focused on the user into a stream of cool air with low humidity.
This makes their products the least energy-consuming portable air conditioners in the world, making them perfect for anyone interested in lowering their carbon footprint or anyone that wants to reduce their electricity bills.
The company’s founder discovered that traditional portable air conditioners try to pipe out the warm air that they create. This creates inefficiencies, which in turn requires these outdated designs to consume more power (thus generating more heat), and the performance of the machine goes down while energy consumption goes up. The other problem being that when a traditional portable expels air from a room, it creates a vacuum in the room that draws in more warm air from outside.
Coolzy’s approach is different in that their designs produce very little heat (about as much as a bar fridge). The big difference is that when their unit’s cool air is focused, it cools the person rather than attempting to cool the entire room. The end result being lower energy consumption, lower carbon emissions and lower power bills.
