Creating Comfortable People, not Places

While I have mentioned in an earlier blog post that HVAC energy usage has been eclipsed by other things, there are still significant improvements that can be done. In fact, I believe we might achieve significant energy reduction and savings if we rethink how we maintain our personal comfort.

Staying Cool in a Warm Place

Typically in most areas, if you are hot, you turn on the AC system. The problem of that is that the air in the room needs to be refrigerated and dehumidified. As a result, spaces need to be airtight and closed in order for AC system to be effective. (No open windows unless you want to burn your money away!) AC usage isn't spread equally as it is concentrated in the summer months. As a result, utilities and energy companies have to build larger generating systems (powered by coal, natural gas, solar, etc.) in order to specifically accommodate for the summer months. In addition, the heat-canyon effect contributes to needing increasing amounts of AC usage. Many AC systems cool a house or building by blowing warm air into the streets. Multiply that by many AC systems and the collective warm air gradually increases the temperature of an area by some amount resulting in needing more AC.

Comfort at a Local Level

Circulating fans aren't something new, but what many people don't know that fans, depending on the air speed can decrease an area of a room by 3-5 degrees. With lower air humidity, the cooling effect can increase dramatically. And if you look at the new modern fans, they look aesthetically pleasing. Energy savings is significant as many brands of circulating fans only use about 4-8 watts for normal usage. Circulating fans can also be controlled in combination with the AC system. This can result in lowering energy usage by 30-70% even in hot and humid environments. While AC systems cool the entire house and therefore waste the energy cooling unoccupied rooms, circulating fans only cool the room where you are in at the moment, which is the idea of maintaining comfort on a local level.

However, I think the next phase of how we maintain our comfort level is upon us.

Comfort at a Personal Level

In an IEEE article, ARPA-E (Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy) has been funding different projects that focus on focusing on the thermal comfort to a more personal level.

We use huge amounts of energy in heating and cooling buildings that are almost entirely unoccupied. However, all we really care about is our own personal comfort. How many times have family members or roommates fought over the thermostat because one person is warm while the other person is freezing cold? This situation sounds familiar to many people.

A much better approach to satisfy different people living in the same household would be for each person to "customize" their own temperature control. ARPA-E funded projects that range from a robot that was your own heating and cooling system to warming/cooling chairs and innersoles that provide direct temperature control to your feet. While I haven't seen the details of other projects, I think another interesting idea of local temperature control is integrating nanotechnology and clothes as a means of dynamic thermal comfort. Clothes can be made thicker or thinner depending on outside temperature and other factors.

While I only focused on cooling solutions in this post, the idea of Creating Comfortable People, not Places can still be applied to heating solutions. In trying to create sustainable solutions, it is necessary to rethink on established practices. Once we break past the established practices and think from a different perspective, solutions may arise in creating a more sustainable future.

Note: This weblog does not represent the thoughts, intentions, plans or strategies of my employer. It is solely my opinion.