13.Dec.2011 Is Air Conditioning Eco Friendly?

Air conditioning has long had a reputation for causing damage to the environment and to be perfectly honest in the past the prevalence of air con has been partly responsible for environmental damage. That’s because it used up a lot of electricity and also because it contained chemicals which have been shown to be partly responsible for causing the hole in the ozone layer.

However, air conditioning has been around in one form or another for several decades and today air conditioning is far more environmentally friendly that it once was. Most forms of air conditioning no longer contain harmful chemicals and ways have been found to lessen their energy consumption.

In addition, recent studies have shown that it is more efficient to keep rooms or offices at a constant temperature as opposed to constantly heating and cooling a space. In fact, it has been found that persistent heating and cooling of a building can actually damage its structure and cause other problems such as damp.

It is far more effective to maintain a constant temperature as this will keep rooms and offices comfortable to be in and will use considerably less energy. Keeping spaces at a constantly maintained temperature also means that less heat will be lost into the atmosphere.

As well as the benefits of keeping temperatures constant air conditioning systems can now be set up to filter air, collecting warm air and effectively recycling it, filtering out impurities and pumping the air back into the environment. As well as being a cost effective and clever way to heat and cool a building, the constant filtration and circulation of air can also help to prevent sick building syndrome.

Although many people were originally sceptical about whether the phenomena of sick building syndrome was actually real, today most experts agree that it is a genuine problem that does cause increased illness amongst staff. Experts have also concluded that the most likely cause of sick building syndrome is lack of air filtration and air circulation in large buildings.

Air conditioning systems that have been fitted with filters are ideal for filtering and circulating air within a building which makes it healthier to breathe, meaning that business owners should have less instances of staff sickness and in general have a happier, healthier and more comfortable workforce.

Of course it would be better if we as humans did not utilise energy sources to help keep us warm or cool it is highly unlikely that this will ever happen, so, if we must find ways to do this then air conditioning can be healthier, cheaper and more energy efficient that other forms of heating and cooling.