Me: I will get an AC and only run it when I strictly need to.
Me one day after getting an AC: Hmm, so here's an idea. I could run it when I *don't* strictly need to.
Conversation
It's not my fault, I'm half US American, so I have an inherited AC addiction.
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Replying to
Americans spend half as much energy on AC as they do on heating, but AC is new so we call it a luxury and heat a necessity (h/t ).
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I wonder if this would still be true if people moved to using heat pumps for everything.
But yeah. I've also heard a good argument that AC is actually environmentally friendly on net because it enables people to live in places where you need less heating.
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I think it would be, since in most places we need to heat places much more than we need to cool them (e.g., 30 degrees C is a very hot day in Boston, and 20 is pleasant indoors, but we have many days below freezing). IIRC the cost/degree is not constant, but it's close enough.