Saving The Planet - How Air Conditioners Hurt The Environment, and Ahat HVAC Technicians, Architects, and Americans Can Do About It

There's little doubt that home air conditioners and whole-house air systems are necessary in the United States, particularly in the parts of the nation where summer temperatures can cause serious harm or even death to infants, invalids, and the elderly.

However, the effects of these air conditioners on the Earth can be devastating. Depending upon which neighborhood, and in which region of the country a person resides, he or she might -- or might not -- have whole-house air conditioning. As recent years' summer temperatures have set records across regions such as the Northeast and East Coast (which previously had cooler summers) people increasingly turn to portable window and floor units to cool down.

These portable home and office units, which cool rooms by funneling hot indoor air back outdoors, can release harmful chemicals into the atmosphere. Stricter environmental regulations on air conditioning and HVAC systems, beginning with the Montreal Protocol of 1987, have caused air conditioner manufacturers to fundamentally alter system design and chemical composition. Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are now banned, creating a lot of good work for newly-certified refrigeration and HVAC technicians who can alter or replace environmentally hazardous systems.

However, air conditioners continue to contribute to global warming, besides using prodigious amounts of energy as they blast on, each summer, across the United States. This is because air conditioners require electricity to run â€" and, the fundamental production of electricity causes carbon-filled waste emissions to be released into the atmosphere. Environmentalists posit that this is but one possible cause of increasing global temperatures.

Ironically, as our summers heat up, air conditioners are used more frequently â€" which, in turn, cause our summers to heat up. Cooler summer evenings mean that individuals and families don't need to run A/C units when they are home. But during the summers we've been having, there is no cool-down period. In many cities, home air conditioners run 24/7, from April until November.

So, what's the solution? First, more stringent environmental regulations must be applied to all cooling units. Banning CFCs from new and old systems is a great start; however, our HVAC workers and our government must ensure that all existing systems use â€oegreenâ€� materials to cool air.

Getting more HVAC technicians trained and certified is another great move. The more qualified technicians we have in the American job market, able to clean, update, install, and repair energy-wasting cooling systems, the better off our environment will be, long-term. Malfunctioning HVAC systems use enormous amounts of electricity, and some poorly functioning units can emit other hazardous materials, as well. Keeping the number of qualified HVAC technicians in the market high will lead to better-maintained, more energy-efficient air conditioners across the country.

Efficiency in air conditioning systems should be expanded to industry, as well. There exist many wonderful products that some of us use daily, such as pasta and chocolate, which cannot be manufactured or shipped without the aid of air conditioning. However, in many production factories, the workers themselves do not enjoy air-conditioned work environments. Ultimately, their productivity is slowed, and their health is adversely affected. The strategic, energy efficient use of cooling systems in industry is another smart way to achieve environmental balance.

Finally, architects and contractors must push for energy-efficient building and office park designs. Pre-fabricated offices without windows, and factory-finished homes with flimsy construction are commonplace today. From an energy conservation standpoint, these structures are conservation-poor when compared to the solid brick and stone houses with high roofs of yesterday. Brad Pitt made headlines recently for his continuing efforts to help re-build hurricane-ravaged New Orleans with â€oegreenâ€� architecture that maximizes efficient energy use. It's time for the rest of us to follow suit. Even here, learned HVAC consultants can help plan living spaces so that maximum cooling efficiency with minimal energy use is achieved.