AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
As this long and very hot summer drags on, we're wondering, are there any simple quick fixes that can limit your energy use and save on electric bills? We have with us Stefano Schiavon, professor at the University of California, Berkeley and the Center for the Built Environment. Welcome to the program.
STEFANO SCHIAVON: Thank you.
RASCOE: I know you've done research on using fans along with air conditioners in the same room, so let's start there. Why is it better to use fans along with the AC instead of just cranking up the AC?
SCHIAVON: Because you can save a lot of energy. If you increase the temperature point of your AC and you use a fan, you get the same comfort, sometimes even higher, and you have big saving on your electricity bill.
RASCOE: There are some people who don't have air conditioners or other cooling devices and just use fans. At what point will fans just not keep your body temperature in a safe range?
SCHIAVON: So fan are safe to use when the indoor temperature is moderately hot. Usually a temperature - something in the range of 80 to 85 is where many people will find it comfortable. Fan do not cool the air in the space. Fan help you to evaporate heat from your body. And so when the temperature in the room get warmer, the ability to evaporate is reduced and, at a certain point, fan will actually start to heating you.
RASCOE: Are there other ways without changing your home's entire HVAC system, which can cost tens of thousands of dollars, that people can stay comfortable and reduce energy this summer?
SCHIAVON: Yes, there are many. The first option is to reduce the amount of clothing that you wear. Another option is to open the windows at night, and try to bring as much air as possible inside the house. And if you have fan, those can also help to increase the exchange.
Another is to cover the windows during the day. One of the main source of heat inside the house in summer is solar radiation. And so if you block the sun from entering the building, that is an effective strategy.
RASCOE: The big picture seems like we are caught in this vicious cycle where climate change makes summers hotter, and we use more energy, which often means more carbon emissions, which makes climate change worse. Is that how you see things that were caught in this cycle?
SCHIAVON: Yes. In the United States, we are going to use more energy for cooling mainly due to climate change. Cities are getting warmer.
RASCOE: So I guess what then might be a solution to this issue?
SCHIAVON: There is not one silver bullet, but there are many, and we know how to do many of these aspects. One of - is allowing to sell only system that have a minimal requirement of efficiency. Another one is to have incentives like having labeling on products, so people can choose product that are even more efficient. And then there is the big push towards a full electrification and therefore the use of clean electricity for powering air conditioning.
And then there is all the other aspect that are at the city level, the way that we design cities, and then at the building level. So we can design and build buildings that require less cooling to provide the same good service.
RASCOE: That's Stefano Schiavon from the Center for the Built Environment, University of California, Berkeley. Thank you so much for speaking with us.
SCHIAVON: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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