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‘It’s unbearable’: in ever-hotter US cities, air conditioning is no longer enough
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2024-06-16 at 12:20 AM UTC‘It’s unbearable’: in ever-hotter US cities, air conditioning is no longer enough
As temperatures climb, air conditioners – which work by sucking in indoor air, heating it via compressor and then dumping that heat outside – must work exponentially harder. According to Texas A&M climate scientist Andrew Dessler, keeping a home steady at 75F requires about 30% more power when outside temperatures creep from 95F to 98F.
Some older AC units simply cannot keep up with those demands. Even if they can, many residents can’t afford higher energy bills. Sharp rises in energy demand stress electrical grids: in 2021, a heatwave in the Pacific north-west triggered rolling blackouts, which led to at least 600 deaths. -
2024-06-16 at 12:22 AM UTCYou again??
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2024-06-16 at 12:23 AM UTCScience is the arts of not knowing.
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2024-06-16 at 12:23 AM UTC