Comment on I've been using this simple trick to keep cool in the heat wave (UK)
Burray_Mookchin@lemmy.ml 1 week agoIt works similar to a fridge with the inside of the fridge being your apartment and the outside being, well, the outside. All it does is circulate air over a heat sink filled with a refrigerant, which never leaves the system; it does not emit anything.
The fact that the power it uses comes from burning fossil fuels instead of green energy is really not the consumers fault and is part of the reason why the demand for these devices is skyrocketing in the first place (It’s getting hotter because of the climate change)
me_myself_and_I@lemmy.world 1 week ago
Burray_Mookchin@lemmy.ml 1 week ago
Okay sure but the inside and the outside of your house aren’t different universes, the heat that your fridge emits still gets out into the world. Dense urban areas with widespread AC units can indeed be slightly hotter than if there were no AC’s. We’re talking 1-2°C, but that heat is not what’s causing climate change. Climate change is caused by greenhouse gasses, not by heat-emitting electrical devices
elephantium@lemmy.world 1 week ago
Eh, technically both contribute. Heat from electrical devices still gets dumped into the environment, and a good portion of that electricity is produced with greenhouse gasses (coal or oil-fired power plants).
Generally, though, yeah, the heat from running AC (or, say, a desk fan) is miniscule compared to other factors.
bountygiver@lemmy.ml 1 week ago
The heat from electrical devices are basically negligible compared to what the sun beams into the planet, otherwise solar panels would be physics defying.
elephantium@lemmy.world 1 week ago
Your phrasing of “a lot of bad stuff” sounded like you were saying that AC puts out chemicals or something.
Abyssian@lemmy.world 1 week ago
No, but many air conditioners make racist social media posts, aggressively catcall female passerby, and support child marriage.