Laut Global Review muss die passive Kühltechnologie eine zentrale Rolle bei der Anpassung an den Klimawandel spielen, um die Abhängigkeit von Klimaanlagen zu verringern
https://www.unsw.edu.au/newsroom/news/2026/07/we-cant-air-condition-our-way-out-of-a-hotter-future-says-unsw-expert?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=social
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Hi r/science, sharing this study led by our researcher Professor Mat Santamouris AM that has been published in Nature Reviews Clean Technology: https://www.nature.com/articles/s44359-026-00177-y
The review argues that keeping buildings cool without relying solely on air conditioning will be critical for adapting to climate change.
The review evaluated emerging technologies like super-cool materials, combined radiative/evaporative coatings, sophisticated external shading systems and personalised ventilation, as well as known passive cooling technologies like reflective cooling materials that release heat directly into the atmosphere and hybrid cooling systems that combine multiple passive approaches.
Prof. Santamouris noted that “Air conditioning saves lives and will remain essential during extreme heat. But we cannot air-condition our way out of climate change.“
This argument is ridiculous.
Beyond basic ventilation and airflow systems it’s cheaper and better to just put the money into converting the grid than spending money on advanced cooling techniques.
I put heat reflective film on my windows.
It’s not exactly what they are proposing but it prevents some of the heat from coming in. So less heat to get rid of for the AC.
A new development is going in near me, guess what color the roofs are: black. We live in a desert. Their walls are also dark grey. White roofs and light grey walls would be so much cooler.
Evaporative coolers aka swamp coolers are not new and come with their own problems like high water usage and requiring constant maintenance.
We’re all gonna be wearing stillsuits, and cooling ourselves with our piss, aren’t we?
Need to start building underground neighborhoods or at least have living quarters in the basements.
For passive cooling, people 100 years ago in warm regions like Texas, Arizona, and California already had it. Just look at 100 year old residential architecture. Like awnings and wide brimmed roofs.
So what are the issues with AC anyway? Is the consumption? Is it bad for environment somehow? What?
I have no idea why the Village Homes in Davis, CA wasn’t replicated more. No AC and homes are 70 degrees mid afternoon when it’s 100 degrees out thanks to the built in thermal mass and intelligent design. I assume it’s because no one got out of their car to walk around and realize that the homes face away from the streets. It’s got the best statistics for home sales too, shortest time on market, premium over comps, lowest crime, etc… even the neighborhood is 10 degrees cooler due to the reduced heat island affect and abundant plant cover.
Okay. Tell my landlord.
Swamp coolers don’t work in high humidity. This isn’t new just wishful thinking nonsense
Scientists discover that shade helps you stay cool. Developers are shocked and confused.
A not enough discussed topic regarding AC is the amount of health issues it brings to people, dry AC air is not good for the respiratory system, especially in closed spaces where bacteria can easily travel through central AC systems, theres a growing body of research indicating AC use causes health issues like sick building syndrome.
The problem with insulation is that retrofitting is labour intensive.
The biggest realistic saving on AC electricity use will be cheaper drilling methods to put in ground source water loops. In moderate climates you can then do cooling with just a waterpump and FCUs.
You’re going to see a lot of people who try to push the argument that AC is still best avoided from all of the parts of the world (mostly Europe et al) who have some sort of bizarre, classist hatred of it.
Yes AC uses power, a lot of power, but it saves lives. Also, heat pump based heating/cooling units can be highly efficient and save much more power during the winter than they use in the summer. Additionally, peak AC use coincides with peak solar power generation, so as we build out solar power stations and home solar generation that’s very synergistic with AC use, as is driving greater electrification of home heating.
Building out AC capacity isn’t the only thing we need to do to confront climate change but it is one of the things we need to do, because people are already dying.
If I can get indoor temps of at least 72 with low humidity, I couldn’t care less how it’s accomplished. Problem is not everyone lives where that can be a thing all year.
I would buy a passive house in a heartbeat if there was one available within my price range. I’d also be willing to build one. At the moment it’s not in the cards, though. Unfortunately
This will be adopted just like ships are adding sails again.
We had a good time on cheap energy and we’ll need to return to old ideas once we cant spend our way out of problems
Surely the power consumption of AC would be a non-issue if/when we fully switch to renewable electricity sources???
Asking people to invest in things like this likely just diverts resources away from addressing the root cause issues where the pollution actually comes from.