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Stop Running My Air Conditioner?

June 21st, 2007 · 2 Comments

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I run it. I actually don’t know anyone in Sacramento who does not use one. Although I am sure there are people who don’t.

And after seeing this fact…

18% of all the electricity consumed in America is used to power air conditioners.

I think we need to figure out a better way.

Tags: conservation · energy sources · statistics

2 responses so far ↓

  • 1 dan // Jun 21, 2007 at 2:00 pm

    Not to discount the benefit in reducing one’s home AC, but I’m sure a big chunk of the 18% is for non-residential use. Office buildings always seem to be icy cold in the summer, so all us office workers can stay productive.

    There are some green building technologies for reducing need for power AC, right? Of course, it will take a long time for this to be the norm…

    Maybe we can just make a conscious effort to get used to warmer temps. In many parts of the world, people are perfectly comfortable with warmer temps (indoors). I’m not really sure how to trick myself though…

    Thanks for this post. It reminded to sign up for SMUD’s Peakcorp. Peakcorp installs a device on your AC that allows SMUD to remotely turn off your AC for specified intervals during times of peak energy need.

  • 2 Micah // Jun 25, 2007 at 2:52 pm

    Dan,
    That peakcorp thing sounds cool. About making a conscious effort, my wife and I just set our AC to 79 degrees and are surprised that it is comfortable most of the time. We have the benefit of shade trees because we are in the established urban core.

    There are all kinds of alternative sources for AC out there. Most are still far beyond the costs of conventional AC. Here are a few that you can google; Nightbreeze - by Davis Energy Group, Coolerado, and chilled beams. We are currently planning to use Nightbreeze on our B St. Project. It is commercially known as an economizer in that it utilizes outside air when the temperature outside drops below the setpoint of the AC system. It then shuts off the compressor and just uses the fan-coil to circulate outdoor air that is filtered through the system. Pretty cool. We will be excited to see how it works out. It is in the neighborhood of $1500 more per unit than a conventional HVAC system but we think will be well worth it for the homeowner.

    Thanks

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