19 replies to this topic

[Shortpoet-GTD]

This "scrub" may do the trick. Doesn't restrict air flow, looks "natural" (more or less),
and shades the unit so it won't run as hard.
Hides it too, if you want to "greenwash" your neighbors and say you don't use one.
Article via
Treehugger.

Or, like they're doing in India-adding more and more and more units.
Picture on link is worth more than a 1000 words.
http://www.nytimes.c...ml?pagewanted=1

[FamilyTreeClimber]

Air conditioning might be the one thing I will not give up.  I'm the type of person who gets sick to my stomach when it is over 85 degrees.  Luckily, where I live we don't have too many days over 90.  Even when we do, there are not that many in a row.  Our weather is changeable in every season.

My Mom paid for a whole new system last year.  It is much more energy efficient than the previous model.  I don't know if I am ashamed enough to buy the camouflage. :D

That photo of India is eye opening.  I wouldn't begrudge them.  It's probably hotter than Hades there.  It is too bad there is not a better alternative that is affordable.

[Sandra Piddock]

Amazing! It seems that an air con unit is the latest status symbol in India. Personally, I don't like them, and practically, I can't use them, as I have breathing problems, and air con makes it worse. We go with ceiling fans, and I prefer them. If you go out of an air conditioned place into the heat, it seems to wrap around you like a blanket, whereas if you just go from a fan-cooled atmosphere, the transition isn't so dramatic. I have air con in the car, but I don't use it for that reason - and the fact that it uses more fuel.

[Shortpoet-GTD]

 FamilyTreeClimber, on 25 June 2012 - 01:01 PM, said:

That photo of India is eye opening.  I wouldn't begrudge them.  It's probably hotter than Hades there.  It is too bad there is not a better alternative that is affordable.

If India pushed hard for renewables like solar and wind, it wouldn't matter if all those people used a/c units.
The problem is all of their electric is coming from coal now-the worst of the worst.
http://www.sourcewat...plants_in_India
And this list should make us all weep. China has a lot of them, but look at the numbers for India.
http://globalenergyo...lants&type=Coal

[dissn_it]

The picture of AC units is surprising. At first glance, I thought they were trying to sell them! The list of coal plants was very interesting. It looks like the US still has more than any other country.

[zararina]

Will I need to be more ashamed that I do not have an air conditioning unit? LOL
I only use an electric fan and living in a tropical country, I could say that it was suffice for  me to be relieved from the hot weather. I just need to wear more comfortable clothes and ensure that the fan is on. Putting an ice in front of the fan could also makes someone feel sitting in an air conditioned room.

[Shortpoet-GTD]

 zararina, on 26 June 2012 - 10:21 AM, said:

Will I need to be more ashamed that I do not have an air conditioning unit? LOL
I only use an electric fan and living in a tropical country, I could say that it was suffice for  me to be relieved from the hot weather. I just need to wear more comfortable clothes and ensure that the fan is on. Putting an ice in front of the fan could also makes someone feel sitting in an air conditioned room.

That's true.
Running ceiling fans or desktop oscillating fans help move the air around, and we can turn the units
to a higher temperature and still be comfortable.
(Or do what Marilyn Monroe said she did in the movie Seven Year Itch-she put her "undies" in the freezer
for a time.)

[MyDigitalpoint]

 Shortpoet-GTD, on 26 June 2012 - 12:15 PM, said:

(Or do what Marilyn Monroe said she did in the movie Seven Year Itch-she put her "undies" in the freezer
for a time.)

Hahaha, this could be a better solutions sometimes.

Sadly this summer is being so cold here, having rain for weeks and more tropical storms and hurricanes coming up.

[Shortpoet-GTD]

Unless I crawl inside my freezer, I may never feel cold again.

[FamilyTreeClimber]

I don't find ceiling fans cool the house enough.  Our house is fully insulated and we have double paned windows, yet, on a warm day (over 80F--which isn't that hot) it will get up to 85 in the house without the a/c.  All the ceiling fan does is push the hot air around and make it more miserable.  I set the thermostat at 78F, which is the point where I start to feel sick to my stomach and get headaches.  Fortunately, our unit works very quickly.  We can turn it on later in the day and cool off the house quickly.  I don't think those units they are using in India are very effective.  We had a wall unit some years ago.  You needed to be in that room and practically standing in front of it to feel any relief.

I can tolerate cold more than heat, probably more a result of being middle aged ;).  Though, when it's warm my arthritis is better.

[Shortpoet-GTD]

 FamilyTreeClimber, on 26 June 2012 - 05:25 PM, said:

I don't find ceiling fans cool the house enough.  Our house is fully insulated and we have double paned windows, yet, on a warm day (over 80F--which isn't that hot) it will get up to 85 in the house without the a/c.  All the ceiling fan does is push the hot air around and make it more miserable.  

My point was to use fans in conjunction with the a/c units. That way, with the air moving around, we can set the
a/c temperature to a higher one.

[dconklin]

Holy cow!! I can't even imagine seeing that many in 1 building.  Too bad the buildings like this couldn't go with central air throughout the whole building.  I don't know if central air is much better then an ac unit, but I would imagine it would be better then that many units. They probably have a lot of brown outs if not black outs with that much power being used.

[Shortpoet-GTD]

 dconklin, on 28 June 2012 - 05:57 PM, said:

Holy cow!! I can't even imagine seeing that many in 1 building.  Too bad the buildings like this couldn't go with central air throughout the whole building.  I don't know if central air is much better then an ac unit, but I would imagine it would be better then that many units. They probably have a lot of brown outs if not black outs with that much power being used.

It's a very poor nation and I doubt central air/heat is in many buildings, except the newer hotels or offices.

[steph84]

I just can't give up my swamp cooler. I live in a dry area so it isn't so bad, but when we do have those 4 or 5 humid days in the year I am dying and wishing I had an AC!

[fancyfingers]

I will not give up my air conditioner, but I will do what I can to find clean energy to run it, along with the other big energy users in my home, including but not everything, the refrigerator, freezer, and TV. Our AC/Heater runs maybe 4 months out of the year. Once we get more renewable energy out there, along with energy efficient appliances, the cost will drop all the way around.

[Julie]

I really dislike air conditioning - I find that I get a shortness of breath when exposed to it. I do live in a region that is very hot and dry in the summer - between 35°C and 45°C ( 95°F and 116°F) in the middle of the day. When I leave an air-conditioned building I feel the heat more intensely than when I leave a building that does not use air con.  For the same reason I do not use my car air conditioner.  

For the most part I find that air con units are set at very low tempertaures so that they have to work really hard to get the required temperature. I read somewhere that if the unit is set to coolk a room 5° lower than the outside ambient temperature then the unit is being used at it's most efficient - AND, the room will still feel a lot cooler than outside whilst the outside temperature will not feel so extreme.

Some more vulnerable people need air conditioning - especially the very young and the elderly who cannot regulate their body temperaure efficiently.

[Pat]

We keep our a/c at a higher temperture and use fans in all of the rooms to move the air around so that we do not use as much energy.  I don't like it really cold in the house, the fans help.

[milano]

I don't really know why you will feel ashamed using an A/C especially if you live in an area known for hot temperatures but I do find that product appealing because it makes your yard "greener".

[Shortpoet-GTD]

 milano, on 26 July 2012 - 06:54 AM, said:

I don't really know why you will feel ashamed using an A/C especially if you live in an area known for hot temperatures but I do find that product appealing because it makes your yard "greener".

I suppose it does go back to the install.
If it's a central unit, it's just a big grey box in the yard, fairly benign.
But if it's in older homes, (and we've all seen them) sometimes they're hack jobs, hanging out the unpainted windows
or propped up with 2x4's or pallets. Tacky.   (The opposite of eye candy)

[ACSAPA]

I live in Florida, I need my air conditioning. I don't worry about hiding it because everyone else in Florida is running theirs too. It's too hot to care about what other people think. I get a headache and nausea if it gets too hot. I do my best to recycle and be thoughtful about what I consume, but I have not found a green replacement for air conditioning. Florida summers are brutal.