greenliving
STAY COOL
Here’s How to Pay Less for AC by Brian Clark Howard
Remember: The higher the EER (Energy-Efficiency Ratio) and SEER (Seasonal Energy- Efficiency Ratio), the more efficient the appliance. Always look for Energy Star models.
frequent over the next 30 years, accord- ing to a study by Stanford University scientists that have run climate simula-
R
ecord summer heat waves are already occurring more often and will be even hotter and more
tions of temperatures across the United States. The study comes on the heels of a NASA report that concluded that 2000 through 2009 was the warmest post-industrial decade on record. The hotter it gets, the more people
run their conventional electric air condi- tioners (AC), releasing even more global- warming gas emissions from power plants into the atmosphere. Cooling accounts for nearly half the energy used by the average home during the summer, reports the Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star program. More than two-thirds of U.S. households have air conditioners, which set us back more than $10 billion each year in electricity bills, according to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.
Passive Cooling a Priority There is a better way to stay comfort- able using both active and passive strategies. The first requires specialized equipment, while the second uses the windows, walls, floors and roof to col- lect, store and distribute natural heat from the local environment. The basic principles of passive
solar design have been understood for millennia. From Mexico to the Middle East, people have built homes with thick walls to slow heat transfer, observes Doron Amiran, former development director of the Solar Living Institute. The Pueblo Indians constructed their cities to maximize solar warming in winter and screen the strongest rays in summer. Many of these ancient techniques were abandoned in the age of cheap fossil fuels. “We build our houses for curb appeal or for the view, not think- ing that all those windows facing south in the summer are going to cook the inside of the house,” says Amiran. Daniel Aiello, chair of the nonprof-
it Arizona Solar Center and a principal of Janus II Environmental Architects & Planners, helps homeowners create vertical shading on east and west expo- sures with manmade screens or shrubs, trellises and vines, which have the added benefit of letting light and heat in during the winter, if they are decidu- ous. “Each side of the building is going to look different,” notes Aiello, who uses overhangs or awnings over south- facing windows in warm climates. Aiello also points out that on a
home’s exterior, light-colored surfaces reflect more heat than dark-colored ones. He adds that textured surfaces stay cooler than flat ones, due to small-scale shading and the breakup of the interface
26 Broward County, Florida
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