The Most Energy-Efficient Way to Cool Your Home
To beat the heat without killing the planet, make sure your air conditioner is the right size, as efficient as possible and used to cool people more than spaces.
Air conditioning units at an apartment complex in Austin, Texas.
Photographer: Sergio Flores/BloombergIt’s getting hot out there. Already this year, people in Thailand, India, Puerto Rico and even Portland, Oregon, have experienced record high temperatures, straining power grids and public health. To deal with the heat, more and more people are turning to an obvious solution: air conditioners.
Balmy Seattle, for example, was once the least air-conditioned city in the US — but after years of sweltering temperatures and wildfire smoke, the city lost its crown. More than half of Seattle homes were air-conditioned in 2021, up from around a third in 2013. Worldwide, the number of AC units increased by 267% between 1990 and 2022, according to data from the International Energy Agency, which anticipates another billion air conditioners by the end of this decade.