Extreme heat is becoming the norm in more of the world as a result of climate change. Some experts are concerned about how to balance the need with the harms of the solutions.
Between 1990 and 2016 global AC sales more than tripled. Between now and the year 2050, energy use for cooling is expected to triple.
Hot countries like India and Indonesia are where most of the increase in AC adoption takes place. India and China will account for half of the growth in AC cooling capacity by the end of the century. Enrica De Cian is an environmental economics researcher at Ca' Foscari University in Venice, Italy.
De Cian says that AC adoption is increasing in Europe because of climate change.
Europeans are hesitant to accept ACs. An energy and climate economics researcher at the Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research in Germany says that seeing ACs as a solution to heat waves and climate change is problematic.
Since most of the world's electricity still comes from fossil fuels, that's a significant chunk of worldwide emissions. Kevin Lane says that they get a bad reputation because of their huge energy use.
The electricity grid can be challenged by cooling units because they all switch on at the same time. In places like Texas, where summers are hot, this problem can be seen. People in Texas are often told to turn down their AC in the afternoon in order to avoid power cuts.
Lane says that there are more efficient alternatives to the window units. Heat pumps can act as both cooling and heating devices and may be more efficient than current AC technology. Lifetime costs for heat pumps are comparable to those for other options because of energy savings.
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