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Air Conditioners (Central)

The Backstory

Environmental Issues

Energy Use

Though air-conditioning increases comfort and can prevent death from heat stroke during intense heat, the electricity generated to power these and other appliances carries both global and personal health consequences. In burning fossil fuels such as coal to supply electricity to homes and workplaces, power plants discharge clouds of soot and other pollutants into the atmosphere. Among these are mercury-a brain-damaging metal that can cause learning disabilities-and carbon dioxide (CO2), a greenhouse gas that is a primary culprit in global climate change. For every kilowatt-hour of electricity used in a home or elsewhere, power plants release an average of 1.34 pounds of CO2 into the environment! Air conditioner use in the U.S. results in about 100 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from power plants every year. Electricity generation from nuclear power plants poses a health risk to surrounding communities and generates radioactive waste. In addition to environmental costs, more than two-thirds of all U.S. households have air conditioners, which cost homeowners more than $10 billion each year in combined energy bills, according to ACEEE.

HCFCs

Formerly used as cooling agents, ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) have been replaced by hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), which deplete 95 percent less ozone. However, booming demand for air conditioners in hot climates such as India and China has upped the chemical's output in developing countries 20 to 35 percent each year, causing damage at an alarming rate and possibly setting back ozone recovery by 25 years. In industrial countries, HCFCs are being replaced with ozone-safe cooling agents and will be banned in the U.S. by 2010. But HCFCs will be allowed in developing countries through 2040, and because they're still cheaper to install than ozone-safe chemicals, production in developing countries is expected to increase fivefold by 2010.

Disposal

Federal law requires that HCFCs be recovered from air conditioners and other appliances before they are dismantled for recycling or tossed in landfills, and the EPA is authorized to impose fines of up to $25,000 for failure to comply with regulations. Before discarding your old unit, search for a company that is EPA-certified to recover HCFCs. www.sharetheair.com has certified companies listed by region.

Personal Health

In the midst of sweltering heat waves, air conditioning can be a lifesaver, protecting against heat stroke and hyperthermia. But, without proper maintenance, air conditioners can also be a health hazard. Dirty filters can allow allergens, pesticides and other particulate matter to enter your home from the outside, posing threats to indoor air quality. Exposure to those pollutants can trigger a host of health problems, including allergies and asthma and eye, nose and throat irritation.

In offices and schools, those symptoms signify "sick building syndrome," caused by improperly ventilated air conditioning systems, and health problems don't always disappear after an extended period away from the building. Repeated bouts of air conditioner fever, a particularly nasty form of sick building syndrome, can result in pulmonary fibrosis, cough, fatigue and weight loss and sometimes require hospitalization.

Ozone depletion caused by HCFCs in the atmosphere also poses health risks. The UN Environment Programme estimates that exposure to the additional UV-B radiation resulting from 10 percent loss of global ozone could lead to 300,000 additional cases of squamous cell cancer and basal cell cancer and 4,500-9,000 additional cases of potentially fatal melanoma worldwide each year. Increased exposure to UV-B rays also poses a significant threat to animal and plant life and consequently many of the earth's food chains.