PHOENIX — In Arizona, we are paying for what was an amazing winter and a super cool start to summer. Right now, we are seeing the worst of both worlds as our daytime highs and overnight lows are both excessively hot.
In an ironic twist, climate scientists from Arizona State University are saying our air conditioning units could be making our city even hotter!
“While the use of air conditioning makes our indoor environment livable and more comfortable it contributes to the positive feedback loop making an ambient environment warmer and therefore, they have to be on longer periods of time,” said Matei Georgescu, director of Urban Climate Research Center at ASU.
Air conditioners are soaking up a ton of energy and releasing more emissions back into the atmosphere but one individual unit doesn’t release much, however, when millions or billions of units per hour are doing so, it makes a significant impact on our environment. And to add to the unpleasant heat, the extra warmth piles up over our urban heat island effect.
“Do they make things worse, yes they add about one to three degrees Celsius during the evening and nighttime hours,” said Georgescu.
But without A/C people cannot survive. So, what can be done to stop this added heat to our city?
“Improve insulation for housing across all outcomes, increase the efficacy of A/C units and additionally we want to make sure our houses are shaded,” said Georgescu.
As climate change continues to impact Earth with historic heatwaves, more research is needed to focus on a solution and not just highlight the problem.
