Low Impact

Well, a new year has begun and here in Australia the mercury is reaching skywards.  Melbourne broke records recently with its 41 degree celsius temperatures around New Year’s eve, and in Canberra we’ve just finished a run of 33 degree celsius days.  The bad news is that all the predictions for the effects of climate change on Australia are for hotter days, and more of them.

In the face of these temperatures, it seems that more and more people are looking for a quick and easy fix in the form of an air conditioner.  The good news is that the latest heat pump technology is far more efficient than the air conditioners used by our parents.  The bad news is that they are still very greedy power consumers - the smallest units start at bit over 500 watts, with many around the 1.5 kW range.  Running a 1.5kW airconditioner for 5 hours a day, for 3 months of the year will use 675 kwH of electricity, resulting in well over half a tonne of CO2 being emitted.  And thats for a comparatively small system - the bigger systems can go up to 10 kwH!  You can find a list of air-conditioner power consumption figures at the www.energyrating.gov.au site.

Its ironic that our first reaction to one of the symptoms of climate change is to do something that will make the problem worse!  But there are a few things you can do to make summer more bearable without resorting to installing an air conditioner.  Or, if you already have an air conditioner, these tips might help you leave it switched off for longer.

1. Take advantage of the natural temperature cycles.  An indoor/outdoor thermometer is very useful here - once the temperature is cooler outside than inside (typically in the early evening), open up all your windows and doors to let the cooler air in.  The next morning, when it gets hotter outside, seal up the doors and windows to prevent the hot air getting in.

2. Use blinds on your windows to prevent the sun shining heat into the house.  Heavy, light-coloured blinds will help reflect the sun’s rays in the middle of the day and stop them getting in and warming up your house.

3. Turn off appliances when not in use.  All your electrical appliances are little heaters - they turn a proportion of the electricity they use into heat.  If you’re reading this on your laptop or PC, place your hand near the computer’s cooling vent - you might be surprised by how hot the air is blowing out.  On a 35 degree day, the last thing you need is to be running a heater!

4. Summer is a great time to change your cooking habits and try cold dishes like salads - they won’t overheat you when you eat them, and you need to spend less time slaving over a hotplate or oven in the kitchen..or none at all.

5. On the weekend, you can try a more European way of life by indulging in a siesta.  Lately, we’ve been getting up early on the weekend, and taking a bike ride, or doing the shopping.  By midday, we’ve retreated into the house to escape the heat.  We take a nap in the afternoon, during the hottest part of the afternoon and when we get up an hour or so later, the temperature has started to fall.  Because we’re rested, we tend to stay up later so we don’t lose out on our waking hours - we just “shift” them around the hotter part of the day.  You can try this on a work-day too…but your boss might not see it the same way you do!

6. Invest in an electric fan.  I’m one of those people who hates the heat - on a hot night, I can never sleep.  But a simple electric fan is just the thing for the Canberra climate.  A fan just moves air around - it doesn’t cool the air at all.  In fact, when you leave a room, you should turn the fan off if its not being used - see point 3 above.  But the air moving over your body helps the body’s natural cooling mechanism to work by letting heat leave the body.  A simple fan will only use around 30 watts - around 6% of the smallest of air conditioners!

Of course, there’s a lot more you can do if you’re willing to make an investment - things like installing roof and ceiling insulation, along with eaves, and external window awnings.  But these quick, simple changes to your habits alone can make a noticeable difference to the effect of the summer heat.

(Image derived from photo courtesy of PDPhoto.org)  

Categories: efficiency, environment, green, reduce

Tags: air conditioner, climate change, heat, power consumption, reduce