MONDAY, JULY 24, 2023, AIR CONDITIONING

 MONDAY, JULY 24, 2023 AIR CONDITIONING

It's HOT!! Many areas of the United States are setting new records for high temperatures. One research agency said, "There was an 81-percent chance that 2023 would become the warmest year since thermometer records began." (Barron's - July 18, 2023)

On July 19, 2023, CNN reported, "More than 2,300 heat records have fallen from Florida to California. That number will only grow as millions suffer through dangerous temperatures."

The whole world is suffering. A European climate agency said, "June was the warmest on record for the globe as a whole, and the first 15 days of July have been the warmest 15 days on record." Copernicus Climate Change, July 20, 2023

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Okay, Karen, we know it is HOT. It's always HOT in summer - and your title for today's blog is "Air Conditioning" - let's move on!!

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"Through a series of experiments, Willis Carrier, in 1902, designed a system that controlled humidity using cooling coils and secured a patent for his "Apparatus for Treating Ai," (The name "Carrier" still exists in air conditioning systems")

"By the late 1960s, most new homes had central air conditioning and window air conditioners were more affordable than ever, fueling population growth in hot-weather states like Arizona and Florida. Air conditioning is now in nearly 100 million American homes, representing 87 percent of all households." (US Department of Energy - July 20, 2015)

(Karen adds. That article was in 2015 - my educated guess is that the percentage of US households with air conditioning is much higher today!!!)

The Department of Energy (in the 2015 article) also adds: "New air conditioners today use about 50 percent less energy than they did in 1990."

Many will say it is inhumane not to have air conditioning. A deadly heat wave continues across the Southwest, and an often-forgotten group of people affected are prisoners. Many inmates struggle to stay cool in aging facilities, including in Texas — where some 100,000 prisoners live in extensive facilities that lack air conditioning. (Texas Public Radio, July 19, 2023)

Air conditioning is also an issue for low-income folks.  

A friend lives in low-income housing - with lousy wiring. When her power went off a week ago, and the temperature was 104 degrees, she stayed with me until the power was back on.

Seniors without air conditioning can have heat strokes and pass out.

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I am on the fence about air conditioning. I remember my house in Connecticut when the air conditioning ran; it felt like frozen rays like laser beams from ceiling vents were bombarding me. Yes, that was an older system and could have been more efficient.

The day of my birth (late August 1947) was a record-hot day for eastern Iowa (that record was broken three years ago). My mother suffered through labor and delivery in a non-air-conditioned hospital. I subconsciously think that my air conditioning views come from that experience!!!

I am one of the few drivers in Central Texas that don't run my car's air conditioning until it is almost unbearable. I'm like the old joke - My car has 460 air conditioning - four windows down, and driving at sixty miles an hour!!! (Okay, I set my car's dashboard to show my average miles per gallon (mpg). I like to get at least 40 mpg - and when I run air conditioning, that drops to about 36 mpg. I'm not getting efficient mileage when I run my air conditioning!!!)

I turned on the air conditioning in mid-June. My thermostat is 81 degrees. I don't need to run my air conditioning at 75 degrees when writing blogs. (One study found that each degree a thermostat is above 750F could save 10-15 percent in energy usage!)

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I like air conditioning. I walk indoors at the Georgetown Recreation Center. I use my apartment complex exercise room because it is air-conditioned. I am glad my work has air conditioning so seniors don't overheat. 

I am finding that my frugal ("cheap"?) values sometimes get in the way of "creature comforts." But at some point, being cool (because of air conditioning) is more important than saving money. A friend keeps her air conditioning set at about 72 degrees (I find that chilly when I visit).  

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But, the real issue (at least in my viewpoint) is that we are not good stewards of this planet. Global warming is pushing us into melting ice caps, droughts (in some areas) - and floods (in other regions). 

The next generations will be better in the environment. Can we find ways to love our planet more and enjoy the quality of life?

Some say the Earth is "just going through a cycle and that in another millennium, we'll go through another ice age.". Likewise, some say we are at the edge of doomsday in our energy and environmental misuses. As a former mathematician and computer scientist, I am not qualified to judge the environmental issue. I sense - almost as a belief - that we are harming the Earth.  

But - for July 24, 2023, I thank Willis Carrier and those engineers who came after him for creating a viable air conditioning system. 

Texas and Arizona would be hot, dry, sparsely populated states without air conditioning.

Let's work towards a balance of environmentally reasonable options, including renewal energy and efficient air conditioning!!

LOVE (AND AIR CONDITIONING) WIN

LOVE TRANSFORMS US

KAREN ANNE WHITE, ©, JULY 24, 2023