A call for air conditioning autonomy

Diva Harsoor | Contributing Writer

You probably already know what I mean. You’re in your room, severely uncomfortable, and all of a sudden you realize that it’s because you are absolutely freezing. You go to check the thermostat in your suite, and it’s set to 68 degrees! Not nice. Then, you hit the little “up” button on the display, foolishly thinking this will solve your problems. But like your horrid little sibling, the thermostat insolently asks for a passcode. Except you can’t fight a thermostat and calling it a loser won’t help you feel better.

So now you’re in your bed, swaddled in blankets, sitting on the ice cubes that are your feet in a futile attempt to warm them up. Meanwhile, your fingers, which should be racing across the keyboard in expression of your rage over the dorm room thermostats, are slowly turning blue. We’ve all been there!

But overzealous air conditioning is more than just annoying or uncomfortable. According to the article “The Air Conditioning Trap” from The Guardian, “Air conditioners are almost uniquely power-hungry appliances: A small unit cooling a single room, on average, consumes more power than running four fridges, while a central unit cooling an average house uses more power than 15.” The article cites an increase of over 30% in New York City’s energy usage during the city’s various heatwaves as a result of AC’s intensive energy demands.

Due to the role of air conditioning as a temperature control agent, it creates a vicious cycle with climate change. Heat waves, of course, have become increasingly frequent as the climate grows more unpredictable and its average temperature rises. The greater the difference between the outside temperature and the set temperature on the thermostat, the more electricity the air conditioning unit will need to utilize to meet it. The more electricity they use, the more fossil fuels are burned to produce it, releasing more greenhouse gases, heating up our planet and so on. Furthermore, the active element in air conditioners, hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) is a greenhouse gas 675 times as powerful as carbon dioxide. HFCs can be leaked during the manufacture, installation and disposal of air conditioning units.

Given the 95-degree St. Louis afternoons, the low set temperature on our thermostats is unjustifiable, especially considering that our energy utility Ameren is burning coal to produce that energy. As compared to a higher set temperature, the current situation is costlier to the University, releases more greenhouse gas emissions and isn’t even better for students. In short, we are paying more money and increasing our contribution to climate change in order to be uncomfortable.

Now, I’m not suggesting that we get rid of air conditioning entirely. In a 2018 study published in the journal “Public Library of Science (PLOS) Medicine”, the University of Wisconsin-Madison team found that due to the intensive burning of fossil fuels, the impact of air conditioning on air quality could lead to a thousand more deaths due to air pollution in a year. But they also point out that air conditioning could be life-saving as climate change worsens, shielding people at risk of increasing temperatures. They offer up the only ethical, realistic solution to all these problems: a transition to renewable energy. That’s my solution, too. But this transition won’t happen overnight and in the meantime. Wash. U. regulates air conditioning for the roughly 3000 students and University employees who live on the South 40 and far more who live in other Wash. U. housing. The University can make a difference by using air conditioning responsibly. They can let me raise the temperature in my room.

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