Arizona Local AC Services
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| Are there environmental concerns with air Conditioning |
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The extreme summer heat wave has caused a lot of deaths in different parts of the world. Human beings and animals were affected by the heat. The only consolation that people had was to turn on their air conditioner. The sale of air conditioners increased so much that it came to a stage where two air conditioners were sold in a minute during the hot season. Of course it is a great thing to have air conditioners to cool you, but that is not the end of the story. There is also another side to this story. Do you know that while an air conditioner cools your body, it has many harmful effects on the environment? Air conditioner heats the earth: Air conditioners are used in houses, schools, hospitals, office, shopping malls etc. Using an air conditioner increases the energy consumption by 50% and fuel consumption by around 14% when used in cars. This is a concern to the environment. Today when we are finding ways and means to reduce the effect of global warming, have you realized that using air conditioner, in fact, only adds to the problem? Every body is experiencing the heat of global warming and the use of air conditioner is only intensifying the problem, because it has been foretasted that 40 years from now, summers are going to be extremely hot and unbearable. Air conditioner emits carbon dioxide: Air condition emits hot air which increases the temperature of the atmosphere. That is why even nights are not cool outdoors. This is also because when the air condition works, hot air from indoors is transferred out doors. This might be cooling for you, but you should also understand that this hot air emitted outside, is harmful for the atmosphere and also increases the atmospheric temperature. Refrigerants harm the environment: The refrigerants used in the air conditioners for cooling, might cool you, but heats the atmosphere outside. These refrigerants are not good for the environment. They release harmful chemicals like CFCs into the atmosphere. This damages the ozone layer. This layer protects us from the sun’s harmful rays. Because if the ozone layer gets damaged, the sun’s ultra violet rays get through these layers more easily. These ultra violet rays are harmful to the environment as it damages a lot of plants and animals and it is also harmful to us as it can cause skin cancer and cataracts. Air conditioners consume a lot of energy: For so many air conditioners to run everyday and night, a lot of electricity will be consumed. In America, the electricity is generated by coal fired plants. These power plants while generating electricity emits a lot of warming “greenhouse” gas like carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and naturally this worsens the global warming. The temperature in the atmosphere has increased by 1 degree in the past century and extensive use of air conditioners can indirectly increase the temperature by about 3-9 degrees by the end of this century. Earth is getting cooked: Carbon dioxide emissions are increasing day by day, to power the air conditioners and this result in warmer and warmer summers. The record breaking power consumption because of the using of air conditioners is harming the earth more and more. To be more precise, I can say we are cooking the planet to refrigerate ourselves. Even nights which used to be cool are now getting warm. Nature is being destroyed. Today backyard patio’s and gardens are a waste. Nobody wants to sit outdoor. Everybody prefers being indoor, and naturally they can’t stay with the air conditioner running. The more we are relying on cooling equipments, the more we are heating up the world. Tips to reduce “greenhouse” gas: Now how can the problem be solved? Global warming cannot be prevented if you alone take the initiative, but you can make a small contribution from your side. Turn off the air conditioners in unused rooms; when you install the air conditioners, see that they are not exposed to direct sunlight; clean the filters every two weeks and regularly check to see if there is no leakage of refrigerants. If every person follows this advice I am sure the world will be a better place to live in. |