Don’t Ditch Your AC To Be Environmentally Friendly
My latest at IWF.
Hello, and pardon my absence these last couple of weeks! I’ll have several posts about my European travels starting Friday, but wanted to reposting some recent IWF/IWV blogs and articles you might have missed from me.
Next up: My IWF blog explaining why forcing Americans to ditch the ACs is a losing issue.
A New York Times columnist recently suggested Americans should swear off their air conditioning units to fight climate change.
Stan Cox writes, “Our bodies have grown so accustomed to climate-controlled indoor spaces, set at a chilly 69 degrees, that anything else can feel unbearable. And the greenhouse gases created by the roughly 90 percent of American households that own A.C. units mean that running them even in balmy temperatures is making the climate crisis worse.”
He added, “When cranking up the air-conditioning is necessary, by all means, let’s do it. But the more time we can spend outside or inside without the air-conditioner blasting, the better prepared we’ll be — both to slow climate change and to adapt to it.
Should Americans sacrifice their ACs as Mr. Cox suggests? Just ask the Team USA athletes who brought their AC units to the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics. They weren’t fond of the Paris 2024 Committee’s policy that promulgated “innovative, eco-focused cooling solutions” sans AC units.
This wish casting from the NYT columnist could, sadly, become reality. The Biden Energy Department and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have been working tirelessly to amend energy efficiency standards to make them more “climate-friendly”—but to the detriment of practicality and utility.
As our IWN “Hands Off My House” Action Center noted, a finalized DOE rule to make ACs more “climate-friendly” would raise the cost of these appliances by 20%—with some models costing $1,000-$1,500 more than conventional models. A new AC is expected to cost $12,000—up from $10,000.
Equally problematic is an EPA rule, set to go into effect next year, to make AC refrigerants more “climate-friendly.”
As the Wall Street Journal (via the Competitive Enterprise Institute) explained: “The only refrigerants being used by manufacturers that meet the EPA’s new green standards are classified as mildly flammable. Would-be buyers of these new units may worry about safety, but the bigger issue is cost. Sensors will need to be included in equipment operating with flammable refrigerants to detect leaks and shut off systems as necessary.”
Nevertheless, there are innumerable benefits to air conditioners that Mr. Cox and the Biden administration overlook.
Fewer Americans are dying from heat-related incidents thanks to this appliance. It’s also undoubtedly better for your health.
The Mayo Clinic says a well-ventilated space keeps asthma under control by lowering indoor humidity and reducing exposure to dust mites. A 2018 Harvard University study found that students suffer from reduced cognitive performance in poorly ventilated rooms compared to those with ACs.
And it’s not just Americans who cherish this invention. I’ve spent the last few weeks in Eastern Europe on vacation in Lithuania, where my parents hail from, and most Airbnbs I’ve used or restaurants I visited had this underappreciated appliance.
Let’s be clear: Running an AC doesn’t make one a despoiler of the environment.
If some Americans want to voluntarily forgo AC, nothing is stopping them. But sacrificing convenience to engage in virtue signaling won’t save endangered whales or reduce global temperatures by 1.5C.
Learn more about the Biden administration’s War on Household Appliances here.