Happy birthday, America.
July is a hot month here in the northern hemisphere of earth, being mid-summer. Much of my region, the southwest, would be uninhabitable without good air conditioning, and in fact in the past before air conditioning, commerce and life came to a screeching halt during daytime summer hours. It was just so hot that no one could be bothered.
This comes at a price. Summer at noon is one of the highest demand-load times for our power plants, which strain as hard as they can to keep the uncountably many air conditioning pumping, so that the residents don't all suffer heat-stroke. In fact, if the power system ever fails, a few people will die of heat stroke. (Mostly the very old and very young.)
Discovery News is reporting that a more ecological air conditioning, combining older technology like evaporative cooling (which provided most of the cooling before air conditioning was invented), with modern desiccants and membranes, so that the moisture stays within the unit, rather than affecting the building's environment. (Humid air feels warmer, as it prevents our natural cooling method, sweating, from working properly.)
The new system is claimed to use 50% electricity, up to 90% less. (The 90% claim is iffy. Probably best-possible-conditions, plus a little fudging and rounding up.) Still, even a 50% reduction in electrical use will be a big relief on the power systems, and will be welcomed by building owners due to lower bills. We can all get behind lower bills.
The system will be sold by a company called "Coolerado." Rimshots sold seperately.
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