The World Is Heating Up, But Not Everyone Is Staying Cool
More people means more air conditioners. More units means more energy. More energy … well, it’s a vicious circle in the battle with climate change.
Get ready.
Photographer: Tim Boyle/Getty Images
The grid operator that delivers power to most of Texas set an all-time peak electricity demand record this week for the month of May. Hot weather, a healthy economy and a growing population have all given Electric Reliability Council of Texas Inc. reason to expect record-breaking summer usage.
The main driver of warm-weather peaks is air conditioning. Joshua Rhodes of the University of Texas told me that half of all summer peak demand in Ercot’s territory is from air conditioning, with two-thirds of residential electricity demand coming from AC. All told, home air conditioning makes up a little less than one-third of all electricity demand in the biggest state electricity grid in the country. Providing the power to meet that need is one of the main generators of all new electrical infrastructure in Texas, Rhodes says.