MIT Wristband Could Make Air Conditioning Obsolete
I live in a small "flat" in India. Without A/C in the summer (only at night), our consumption is ~200 KWhr per month. With A/C only in one room for something like 4-5 hours per day, it shoots up to ~500 KWhr per month. Indians switching to A/C on a big scale will be a disaster for the world.<p>I believe that the answer lies in architecture, not in more energy-intensive devices which may or may not actually work (this one fools the body - that could be catastrophic, increasing chances for a heat stroke). India was always hot - but older buildings used to be built (1) with high ceilings (2) with cross-ventilation.<p><a href="http://www.architecture.com/SustainabilityHub/Designstrategies/Air/1-2-1-3-naturalventilation-crossventilation.aspx" rel="nofollow">http://www.architecture.com/SustainabilityHub/Designstrategi...</a><p>This contrasts with buildings in cold countries, where buildings are insulated against winter. In the name of "better" buildings, Indians are switching to sealed buildings working with Central A/C. Blind imitation.<p>On the other hand, there were builders committed to "environment-friendly", low cost buildings (not the modern scam of "green buildings", which are actually <i>more</i> expensive.) Laurie Baker in South India was one -  a real unsung, and now forgotten hero:<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurie_Baker" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurie_Baker</a><p><a href="http://www.hindu.com/folio/fo9908/99080300.htm" rel="nofollow">http://www.hindu.com/folio/fo9908/99080300.htm</a>