Can We Solve the Air Conditioning Paradox?

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As the Earth warms due to human-caused climate change, billions of people in the developing world will face life-threatening heat waves, raising the demand for air conditioning. But powering all of that cooling is going to take more energy, which will require burning more fossil fuels! Are there new air conditioning technologies on the horizon that could solve this paradox?

NOTE: A previous version of this video had a graph at 6:19 with incorrect values. The video has been updated with the correct graph.

Aerial photography by Jeff Arnold
Written by Eli Kintisch and Joe Hanson

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This episode of Be Smart is licensed exclusively to YouTube.

[besmart]

Could you live without air conditioning? Me neither. But if we want to stop making climate change worse, we need to fix it

[malcelinho]

I feel like the presence of trees weren't even touched, as it should be :)
It is observable that areas with better green coverage are cooler than other areas. I know, it is not a *solution* to the problem presented, but it is, first of all, a thing that we should be doing anyways, that is preserving nature, and second, it would at least make the "more heat > more power needed" less intense
Thanks for another interesting video, y'all!

[privacyvalued]

I saw a building not too long ago that had two roofs. The second roof was added to protect the original structure beneath it from weather damage. A side effect of doing that though was that the need for AC and heating noticeably decreased as the temperature stayed more constant over time. Utilizing the right type of trees also helps immensely with providing shade to buildings. Basements offer a natural escape from the heat because even a few feet below ground is always 60 degrees year round.

[rolfathan]

It does drive me nuts how much we build structures with the idea that it doesn't NEED to be built with staying cool in mind, because "we can just air condition it."
We need to build homes to stay cool. Shades above the homes, shades over the windows, where tons of heat enters the home. We USED to have shades over windows, and I have no idea why we stopped that.

[alexanderelderhorst]

A university nearby to me has a building I've been in where they have huge pipes going underground, which uses that air to cool the building. It keeps the air in the building stable on hot and cold days and it's amazing

[Soletestament]

Passive cooling designs are laughably easy to utilize. Earth ships basically proved multiple concepts for sustainability back in the 80's. The problem is despite having several opportunities to revamp zoning and building codes, states and cities haven't done it. It drives me absolutely bonkers, because ultimately zoning and building codes are THE crux to solving climate change. But good luck finding a sound byte from any politician admitting such.

[CarolMcxxx]

When I visited Texas (from the UK) I was horrified by how cold the hotel and conference space I was in was kept! It was 30deg celcius outside in late October and I hadn't brought any winter clothes, so I was absolutely freezing the whole time. Maybe start by just setting your AC to liveable temperatures?!

[TheNazzerDawk]

Might be a bit late, but it's important to mention there are other methods for cooling that don't put heat back into the air. We can use deep bore holes and underground loops to cool refrigerant too. There's a higher install cost, but long term it can save a ton of energy.

[TheTechAdmin]

When I was in my mid 20's working as a mason. I bought a used green 1985 Toyota pickup truck for $700.
Not only did it last me 5 years without needing repairs; I sold it to a junk yard for $150.

But that little green pickup truck had an amazingly strange malfunction that I can't explain.

When I'd turn on the heat, it could get so hot that the vents started to melt.
And when I'd turn on the AC, it would get so cold that frost would build up on the vents!!!

I didn't complain, nor have it looked at by a mechanic. I just figured something magical was happening and let it ride.

[jamestlynn]

One of the big problems is that houses and buildings are now designed and constructed with AC in mind. You HAVE to have AC these days in certain parts of the country. No more well built, well insulated houses with good ventilation and high ceilings.

[rkozakand]

When I lived in Italy, we did not have air conditioning, but we did not need it. Old buildings, like the one I liven in, had very thick outer walls, over a meter thick. This kept the heat out, like living in a cave. There were also metal blinds on the outside that could be closed when that side of the building was in the sun. Very comfortable

[cancerino]

You should have read about the fish market in Madrid. Open door building, no AC, they implemented passive cooling and the temperature dropped by 15 degrees celcius.
So yes, we can actually get rid of ACs if we're open to these innovations and to change building designs.

[IdExCS]

There is an easy answer: nuclear power.

[alexrogers]

Something that wasn't mentioned but is incredibly easy: just plant shade trees near homes and buildings. Stopping the heat from getting into the building in the first place is far more efficient than pumping it back out ever will be

[JerryFlowersIII]

For some reason basements have been all but fazed out but basements are naturally super cool and could have been a great natural way to keep cool.

[FloozieOne]

Living in New Orleans I can't imagine living without a/c. When its 100 or even 106 degrees, (perhaps dropping to a balmy 90 at night), with 70-80% humidity, getting cool is literally a lifesaving necessity. All I can do is try to keep the thermostat as high as I can stand it (usually 78 degrees) to decrease as much energy use as possible. If someone would come up with something better I'd be right at the front of the line to sign up.

[mw]

Not to mention that your body adapts to the constant temperature and cooler air, thus you become more sensitive to hotter weather and you'll believe it's hot before someone who lives without air conditioning.

[Adelbert]

You should have mentioned how trees and plants can help cool down the environment. Adding more windows will not help if the wind is dry and extremely hot. It's like a blow-dryer on your skin. In tropical countries like mine, summer heat reaches over 40 degrees C.

[Qwarzz]

Air conditioners used to be quite rare in Finnish homes but now that Heat pumps are added as more efficient heaters, they can also be used to cool the home. For some reason air conditioners aren't always made to also heat the air.

[wombat.]

Thank you Joe. Very clear and well done.
Yes I live without air-con. Victoria Australia. Old house (cheap old) . Direction of walls and windows, thick layer of bushy leafy low trees make a huge difference. North facing here = less direct sunlight in summer, more in winter hitting the walls and windows.

The hottest temp so far was 46c in 2019. Extraordinary temp - had me lieing on the floor * just there in the floor level breeze, wet towels on. People died of heat injuries that year. Power cuts all over the place.