greenliving
STAY COOL
Here’s How to Pay Less for AC by Brian Clark Howard A little simplification
would be the first step toward
rational living. ~Eleanor Roosevelt
28 Knoxville
already occurring more often and will be even hotter and more frequent over the next 30 years, according to a study by Stanford University scien- tists that have run climate simulations 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
R
ecord sum- mer heat waves are
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.
gram. 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.
run their conventional electric air conditioners (AC), releasing even more global-warming gas emissions from power plants into the atmosphere. Cooling accounts for nearly half the en- ergy used by the average home during the summer, reports the Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star pro-
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 mil- lennia. From Mexico to the Middle East, people have built homes with thick walls to slow heat transfer, observes Doron Amiran, former development director
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