Another piece of all this: it is not just about how much electricity we need to execute airs but when That demand tends to come. As we have covered in this bulletin before, their air conditioning habits are not unique. Cooling devices tend to turn at the same time, when it’s hot. In some parts of the US, for example, air conditioners can represent more than 70% of the demand for residential energy at the time when the network is more stressed.
The good news is that we are seeing innovations in cooling technology. Some companies are building cooling systems that include an energy storage component, so they can be charged when energy is abundant and demand is low. Then they can begin to cool when more necessary, without sucking so much energy from the network during peak hours.
We have also covered alternatives to the air conditioners called desiccant cooling systems, which use special materials to suck moisture to help cool the spaces and deal with moisture more efficiently than standard options.
And in my last story, I fell into new developments in heat exchangers. Heat exchangers are a crucial component of air conditioners, but can really find them everywhere: in heat pumps, refrigerators and, yes, cooling systems in large buildings and large electronic facilities, including data centers.
We have been building heat exchangers basically in the same way for almost a century. These components basically move heat, and there are some known ways to do it with devices that are relatively simple to manufacture. Now, however, a team of researchers has printed a heat exchanger in 3D that exceeds some standard designs and rivals others. This is still very far from solving our imminent air conditioning crisis, but the details are fascinating, I hope you tell him.
We need more innovation in cooling technology to help meet global demand efficiently so that we do not get trapped in this cycle. And we will need policies and public support to ensure that these technologies marked the difference and that everyone also has access to them.
This article is from the spark, MIT technology reviewThe weekly climate bulletin. To receive it on your entrance tray every Wednesday, Register here.
