Cool air in the hot summer is the best... but does it make me sicker?
Hey everyone thanks for watching DNews today, I'm Trace.
American inventor Willis Carrier invented the first AC unit in 1902, and it was first
put into a theater in 1925 and homes by 1965 after it had spread through commercial and
retail spaces.
Ancient Roman philosopher Seneca disparaged the "skinny youths" who ate snow to keep cool
rather than bearing the heat like a real Roman.
Basically what I’m trying to is that cooling has been around now but it Cooling has been
contentious forever, and it's not getting better.
People have long felt the pull of "fresh air" over "indoor air," and there are some studies
that support that idea.
The World Health Organization uses the term "sick building syndrome" (SBS) for people
who breathe the air in a specific building and experience similar acute health effects.
A 2004 French study found of 920 women, those who worked in air conditioned buildings were
twice as likely to take a sick day, or visit an ear-nose-throat doctor.
Plus, studies have shown cold air weakens the immune system against viruses in mice,
showing cold air MIGHT affect humans too.
The thing is, as AC units cool the air, they also filter it!
Fresh air ain't filtered, it's au naturale.
So though the AC might be cooling the air, it’s making it better..
maybe?
A good air conditioning unit is built around a system of coils containing chemical refrigerants
which absorb heat from the air.
The refrigerant can vary, but it's usually some configuration of chlorofluorocarbon.
The coils are a closed system of that liquid refrigerant.
When the unit is on, the coils absorb heat from the outdoor air, passing it to the chlorofluorocarbon
which becomes a gas.
That chlorofluorocarbon gas is compressed into smaller coils, forcing it to release
the absorbed heat and return to a liquid state.
It does this over and over and over again.
That heat is blown outside and the cool air blown inside through a HEPA filter to clean
the air a bit!
While none of that sounds particularly evil and doesn’t seem like it would make you
sick, for some reason people are still wary of "indoor air."
In fact, someone once said, "No pleasure, no rapture, no exquisite sin greater...
than central air."
But there's no direct link between air conditioning and SBS or any sickness at all, just a correlation.
Scientists at the University of Cardiff say, what's more likely is AC units dry the air
as they cool, which might dry mucous membranes in the ears, nose or throat, allowing viruses
to gain a foothold... that explains the women who were going to the doctor twice as often.
Of course, sickness aside, there are QUANTIFIABLE problems with air conditioning, AC consumes
5 percent of all US electricity during the summer; that's two tons of CO2 per house per
year!
As the world gets richer, more and more AC units are sold, requiring more power, and
polluting even more.
In the US around 90 percent of households have AC, but in Africa, South Asia, and Central
America AC is still rare.
Though in china 64 million AC units were sold in China in 2013 alone!
Growing up in Michigan, where the highs can reach mid-80s with high humidity in the summer;
we didn't even have AC until I was in Middle School.
But I have to say, What's up with restaurants making it 55 inside when it's 85 outside?
That's the worst!
Air conditioning is great, but c'mon.
And yes, I realize this is a First world problem, fer sure.
But this is part of the energy usage issue.
The US Department of Energy says your energy bill increases 1-3 percent for every 1 degree
fahrenheit change (0.56 C), which means for every degree we're putting MORE greenhouse
gas out.
Plus, the warmer your house, the less heat you lose to the surrounding environment, and
the less your AC unit has to work in the summer.
65 degrees (18C) is the optimal temperature for sleeping, to keep your home appliances
humming, and anything below 70 helps you lose weight naturally!