No mention of humidity? Or how heat stresses the human body among the chronically ill and elderly who require a more temperate living condition using modern HVAC? Or of what to do with all the tens of millions of suburban homes who are NOT built according to turn of 20th century standards with high ceilings, cross-breeze transom windows, and the like?
Look, you're not going to ever convince anybody to plow under vast swaths of suburbia and rebuild to much more dense housing levels; you're not going to convince most people to lower their comfort level willingly, for any reason; you're not going to have a viable mass transit system running on frequent timelines through suburbia into (presumably) city centers, so I see all of this as a matter of tilting at windows like Don Quixote.
Can more trees be planted? Sure—but they need to be nurtured, and it takes decades for them to reach maturity, something that is not a "quick fix". Likewise, getting rid of cars isn't realistic to a large extent either because of the preexistence of suburbia. About the only thing that works is to acclimate one's self to a wider range of temperatures and humidity levels.
I'm surprised that the A/C "issue" is even an issue because peak solar power generation is from noon to 4 pm, and there are many instances of electric utilities having negative spot prices [read: they pay YOU to use more energy than necessary because too much is being made]—the same time of day that peak A/C use is required.
I acknowledge in the last paragraph that AC is a necessity for many now, including the ill and elderly. You are also correct that it is nice that peak load for AC is also at peak solar, which is a big help. But we can do lite retrofits to reduce demand and use more climate-friendly refrigerants. And trees grow really fast! it doesn't take decades for them to make a difference. They do the minute they are planted.
1) All residential air conditioners on the market today in North America use R-410A, not R-134A. That will make your point a little more compelling because the GWP of R-410A is higher than R-134A.
2) R290 is not in use for air conditioners or heat pumps yet in North America, so telling people to ask for them is just going to cause confusion and upset. R32 is being used by some manufacturers already for portables and window units. There is a mad rush by industry to get equipment and codes aligned for 2025 and the lower GWP requirements that will move us to A2Ls like R32 and R454. I don’t expect R290 to make it into split system ACs and HPs for at least a decade.
I recommend "the Original Green" by Steve Mouzon, which discusses things that can be done to make a building climate resilient.
Something has to be done about the infatuation architects seem to have with casement windows, if they include windows that open at all.
And we should be using more efficient heat pumps and water heaters, especially geothermal where possible. And of course power them with renewable energy.
I cant embed an image here but if you look at the link below, a single opening doesn't let in much air; split it in two, high and low, and you get a convection current. You can "tune" double hungs to maximize ventilation.
The image in the link does't consider the case of a large (not small) single opening with no divider (i.e. a casement window). Does induced draft actually take air further into the room than a fully open casement window of the same size? I'm curious if there is any experimental evidence or fluid dynamic simulations weighing on one side or the other. If it exists, the advantage of induced convection currents has to be weighed against increased air leakage, sound transmission, lower effective open area and more delicate operating mechanisms.
I fully agree that with global warming there is an increase need for air conditioners. That being said, here are a couple of what should be baseline practices for minimizing the use of air conditioning (and minimizing greenhouse gas emissions).
1. Use a simple fan to blow air onto the occupants. Cool the occupants. No need to cool the building.
Incidentally, note the tie between conserving electricity and minimizing greenhouse gas emissions. The tie is obvious if you're using less nongreen electricity. If you're using less green electricity, the conserved green electricity can be uaed on the electric grid to replace nongreen electricity.
GoGreenBetween is a good idea, although I think there should be more leeway for personal preferences. For example I prefer 45-75F or even 35-65F. The pipes will freeze before I get seriously uncomfortable. 85F feels as miserable to me as 15F.
One starts with their level of commitment to promptly minimize their greenhouse gas emissions to combat the increasingly unprecedented level of human suffering caused by the global warming disaster. Then follows their detail decisions regarding minimizing or continuing their various greenhouse gas emissions. Reality is that promptly minimizing our greenhouse gas emissions often calls on us to forego pleasures, comforts, conveniences... to which we have become accustomed. Bottom line, what are our remaining greenhouse gas emissions? To what extent have we become the solution. To what extent do we remain the problem?
Frozen pipes - must be avoided. In fact, until one has experience with their building with the thermostat turned down during freezing weather, pay close attention to the pipes. Verify you don't have design or construction deficiencies that require a thermostat setting higher than 13C/55F to preclude frozen pipes.
Also, keep an eye on the humidity during your first heating season going GreenBetween. With less heat decreasing the humidity, there might be times you find you need to run a dehumidifier.
Be a climate hero. Tenaciously advocate consumers (individuals, organizations, businesses, governments) promptly minimizing their greenhouse gas emissions - less heating and cooling (https://greenbetween.home.blog), less driving, less flying, less meat-eating, less population growth (2 children max). Do it yourself and spread the word. Tenaciously encourage others to do it themselves and spread the word.
To end on an upbeat, think Less Now, More Later. We do Less Now to bridge the gap until we've progressed with our long-term green technology and green infrastructure efforts to allow us to do More Later because the activities have been transformed from nongreen to green.
Frozen pipes are an easy problem--heat tape and insulation wrap will keep them above freezing at almost any house temperature. High humidity isn't a problem during the heating season since the cold air outside doesn't hold much moisture anyway.
All I'm saying is, there is a tendency among green advocates to see a joule of energy used for cooling as somehow less morally deserving than the same joule of energy used for heating, even though the impact on the environment is exactly the same. Maybe it's because advocates tend to live in colder climates, or because they tend to be older and skinnier than average, or plain old status quo bias, but this tendency needs to stop. Especially in places like New England where the summer energy mix leans much more heavily towards renewables than the winter energy mix.
No mention of humidity? Or how heat stresses the human body among the chronically ill and elderly who require a more temperate living condition using modern HVAC? Or of what to do with all the tens of millions of suburban homes who are NOT built according to turn of 20th century standards with high ceilings, cross-breeze transom windows, and the like?
Look, you're not going to ever convince anybody to plow under vast swaths of suburbia and rebuild to much more dense housing levels; you're not going to convince most people to lower their comfort level willingly, for any reason; you're not going to have a viable mass transit system running on frequent timelines through suburbia into (presumably) city centers, so I see all of this as a matter of tilting at windows like Don Quixote.
Can more trees be planted? Sure—but they need to be nurtured, and it takes decades for them to reach maturity, something that is not a "quick fix". Likewise, getting rid of cars isn't realistic to a large extent either because of the preexistence of suburbia. About the only thing that works is to acclimate one's self to a wider range of temperatures and humidity levels.
I'm surprised that the A/C "issue" is even an issue because peak solar power generation is from noon to 4 pm, and there are many instances of electric utilities having negative spot prices [read: they pay YOU to use more energy than necessary because too much is being made]—the same time of day that peak A/C use is required.
I acknowledge in the last paragraph that AC is a necessity for many now, including the ill and elderly. You are also correct that it is nice that peak load for AC is also at peak solar, which is a big help. But we can do lite retrofits to reduce demand and use more climate-friendly refrigerants. And trees grow really fast! it doesn't take decades for them to make a difference. They do the minute they are planted.
I like the article as much as an HVAC guy can 😁
Need to correct a couple of points:
1) All residential air conditioners on the market today in North America use R-410A, not R-134A. That will make your point a little more compelling because the GWP of R-410A is higher than R-134A.
2) R290 is not in use for air conditioners or heat pumps yet in North America, so telling people to ask for them is just going to cause confusion and upset. R32 is being used by some manufacturers already for portables and window units. There is a mad rush by industry to get equipment and codes aligned for 2025 and the lower GWP requirements that will move us to A2Ls like R32 and R454. I don’t expect R290 to make it into split system ACs and HPs for at least a decade.
Thank you Victor I should have consulted with you before I wrote the post!
Anytime Lloyd!
Several things:
I recommend "the Original Green" by Steve Mouzon, which discusses things that can be done to make a building climate resilient.
Something has to be done about the infatuation architects seem to have with casement windows, if they include windows that open at all.
And we should be using more efficient heat pumps and water heaters, especially geothermal where possible. And of course power them with renewable energy.
Steve and I are old friends now, I have been quoting him for years.
What's wrong with casement windows?
I cant embed an image here but if you look at the link below, a single opening doesn't let in much air; split it in two, high and low, and you get a convection current. You can "tune" double hungs to maximize ventilation.
https://www.treehugger.com/thmb/KjWYlZKVXXk8yJGmop-mBrHhH5o=/750x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/__opt__aboutcom__coeus__resources__content_migration__treehugger__images__2019__06__naturalvents-dabe8813d32b44fda5d9006b7d0128b1.jpg
The image in the link does't consider the case of a large (not small) single opening with no divider (i.e. a casement window). Does induced draft actually take air further into the room than a fully open casement window of the same size? I'm curious if there is any experimental evidence or fluid dynamic simulations weighing on one side or the other. If it exists, the advantage of induced convection currents has to be weighed against increased air leakage, sound transmission, lower effective open area and more delicate operating mechanisms.
Read Lloyd’s article. They are not as good as double hung windows for air circulation.
Lloyd's article praises old buildings in hot climates for having double hung windows, but doesn't say why they're better than casements.
Self cooling buildings: https://time.com/6298837/hot-cities-middle-eastern-architecture/
Another excellent article - Lloyd.
I fully agree that with global warming there is an increase need for air conditioners. That being said, here are a couple of what should be baseline practices for minimizing the use of air conditioning (and minimizing greenhouse gas emissions).
1. Use a simple fan to blow air onto the occupants. Cool the occupants. No need to cool the building.
2. Go GreenBetween 13C-30C/55F-85F. Don't heat or cool between 13C-30C/55F-85F. https://greenbetween.home.blog.
Incidentally, note the tie between conserving electricity and minimizing greenhouse gas emissions. The tie is obvious if you're using less nongreen electricity. If you're using less green electricity, the conserved green electricity can be uaed on the electric grid to replace nongreen electricity.
Thanks for commenting I was trying to remember your website and your point about 55 to 85. we have to talk more about this.
GoGreenBetween is a good idea, although I think there should be more leeway for personal preferences. For example I prefer 45-75F or even 35-65F. The pipes will freeze before I get seriously uncomfortable. 85F feels as miserable to me as 15F.
Hi Haile.
One starts with their level of commitment to promptly minimize their greenhouse gas emissions to combat the increasingly unprecedented level of human suffering caused by the global warming disaster. Then follows their detail decisions regarding minimizing or continuing their various greenhouse gas emissions. Reality is that promptly minimizing our greenhouse gas emissions often calls on us to forego pleasures, comforts, conveniences... to which we have become accustomed. Bottom line, what are our remaining greenhouse gas emissions? To what extent have we become the solution. To what extent do we remain the problem?
Frozen pipes - must be avoided. In fact, until one has experience with their building with the thermostat turned down during freezing weather, pay close attention to the pipes. Verify you don't have design or construction deficiencies that require a thermostat setting higher than 13C/55F to preclude frozen pipes.
Also, keep an eye on the humidity during your first heating season going GreenBetween. With less heat decreasing the humidity, there might be times you find you need to run a dehumidifier.
Be a climate hero. Tenaciously advocate consumers (individuals, organizations, businesses, governments) promptly minimizing their greenhouse gas emissions - less heating and cooling (https://greenbetween.home.blog), less driving, less flying, less meat-eating, less population growth (2 children max). Do it yourself and spread the word. Tenaciously encourage others to do it themselves and spread the word.
To end on an upbeat, think Less Now, More Later. We do Less Now to bridge the gap until we've progressed with our long-term green technology and green infrastructure efforts to allow us to do More Later because the activities have been transformed from nongreen to green.
Frozen pipes are an easy problem--heat tape and insulation wrap will keep them above freezing at almost any house temperature. High humidity isn't a problem during the heating season since the cold air outside doesn't hold much moisture anyway.
All I'm saying is, there is a tendency among green advocates to see a joule of energy used for cooling as somehow less morally deserving than the same joule of energy used for heating, even though the impact on the environment is exactly the same. Maybe it's because advocates tend to live in colder climates, or because they tend to be older and skinnier than average, or plain old status quo bias, but this tendency needs to stop. Especially in places like New England where the summer energy mix leans much more heavily towards renewables than the winter energy mix.