NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #27/NN_1992_27.iso/spool/sci/energy/5643

Text File | 1992-11-20 | 1.6 KB | 38 lines

Newsgroups: sci.energy
Path: sparky!uunet!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!moe.ksu.ksu.edu!mimbres.cs.unm.edu!nmt.edu!houle
From: [e-mail] (Paul Houle)
Subject: Re: Energy Demand
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Organization: New Mexico Tech
References: <13527@ntdd-1> <[e-mail]>
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 23:25:49 GMT
Lines: 27

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Eric Baltischwiler) writes:

>I was reading an articule the other day (I
>forget where) that asserted that Air Conditioning is directly
>responsible for population shifts in the USA today.  I've lived in
>Florida and California and one can certainly adjust to the climate,
>but I have to admit that Pheonix AZ would be a ghost town without Air
>Conditioning.  To bring Scots and Swissmen into the conversation, just
>talk about heating.

    Interestingly enough,  most of the building air conditioning in
the Southwest is done with evaporative coolers which use far less energy
than regular air conditioners.  A typical swamp cooler only needs power
for a rather large fan,  a small pump to circulate water,  and several
gallons of water a day.  Of course water is at a premium in cities like
phoenix,  but under present economic conditions,  a swamp cooler is
much more economical to operate.

    Then again,  good design can greatly reduce the need for air
conditioning -- many Indian publeos in the area are constructed to
minimize insolation during the summer and maximize it during the winter.

    Air conditioning probably is a bigger factor in energy consumption
for areas like Florida that are too humid to use evaporative coolers.


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