Record-breaking temperatures in the last few years shatter the myth that air conditioning alone will keep people safe
Just need stronger air conditioners? Power em with renewable energy.
Air conditioning was never enough and it was always going to come to this point. The real solution is to go back to the way that things were designed up until the mid 1930s which used natural air flow to remove heat from a space without the need for electricity. People in Turkey could make or keep ice in the middle of the desert thousands of years ago. We can surely do better now if we try.
Dumb question but I’m not trying to be funny, what if we build homes underground?
Honestly for more of these industrial server and cloud computing centers they should be buried to take advantage of cooler temperatures and save money on ac.
Insulation keeps the heat from outside from coming inside, but it’s not much help when you’re generating the heat inside yourself
Me: I want to live in a Hobbit-hole!
Mom: we have a Hobbit-hole at home.
Home:
Your link does make me want to dig out my basement some more though, NGL.
Test for radon first:
About one in every 15 homes is thought to have high levels of radon. The highest concentration of radon tends to be found in the basement or on the first floor.
No lie. For 6 days straight it was at or over 105 F outside. My air could barely keep the indoors at 80 F and my bill was 600 for the month of high heat. I have insulation and attic vents and all that… It’s just so hot outside you can’t stand it.
If your electricity was $600 then you gotta live in Texas. Anyway you could add a window AC unit if your electricity bill was more normal. Increasing capacity can compensate for higher temperature, as can dehumidifying and improving air circulation.
But building better insulated structures and installing better windows are cheaper in the long run. Unfortunately there are a lot of older buildings, especially apartments, that’ll never bother with it. Older homes need moderate renovation to do so also. And since the mean income for Americans is around 40k, that’s a really tall order.
The fact is, the government would need to seriously subsidize a national overhaul, but seeing all the other things they should pay for but don’t (or under pay for). As for new construction, laws requiring higher standards are fought tooth and claw by the construction industry, vary state by state, and raise the price even more than the unreasonably high cost homes already have. I think most of us will just have to accept that we’re screwed unless something drastically changes.
There are tax credits now for weatherization, and I think more coming next year depending on your state.
Aren’t tax credits only useful at tax filing time? You still have to be able to pay the up front costs, right?
If people can’t afford the home modifications in the above comment, how are they supposed to pay for the solar installation?
Need to use Heat Index or Wet Bulb temperature. Dry heat is not the same as humid heat - the latter contains way more heat energy. In arid regions air conditioning, or water, will prevent most heat-related risk into the future. It’s the humid regions that will suffer in heat waves.