Imlisanen Jamir
Air conditioning was a luxury once here not so long ago, but now that’s changed. As prices of AC units dipped and as temperature levels rose simultaneously, Dimapur, alongwith the rest of the world saw a proliferation of ACs. Simply opening the windows and ventilation was not enough now, and the good old mechanical fan did not suffice.
Speak to merchants dealing in the industry here, and we find that the market is booming. Just last week, one merchant informed that his shop sold 22 units in a single day here. Another sold a dozen the same day. AC technicians are in demand a lot too, with enterprising youth working late nights to install dozens of new units every day in the district.
With air conditioning no longer seeming extravagant, indoor living spaces have cooled; but at what cost?
Air conditioners consume huge amounts of energy, and they warm up the atmospheres too. It’s easy to gauge the power consumption factor; evident dips in the power voltage during the summer months speak to this. Meanwhile, as the Power Department works on improving its supply infrastructure, ACs in the sweltering season continuously add to the increasing energy demands.
They also give out heat directly into the atmosphere, as like fridges, ACs take heat from the inside and transfer it outside. Another factor to consider is the use of greenhouse gases called hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which are a lot more potent than carbon dioxide.
While HFCs represent a small portion of total greenhouse gas emissions, they trap thousands of times as much heat in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide.
It is however important to note that if an air conditioner is working properly, it won’t release HFCs. Most emissions of these gases occur during the manufacturing process; if installed units have a leak; or if they are disposed off in an improper manner.
Even as some in the industry are working towards moving away from HFCs and improving energy efficiency, four National Public Sector Enterprises under Ministry of Power, Government of India, in February this year, launched its Super-Efficient Air Conditioning Programme for residential and institutional consumers.
These units, according to the government, can be “40% more efficient than current 3-star technology” and under the banner of Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), is working towards making this programme and its benefits available to all consumers across the nation with the other DISCOMs likely to partner with EESL in future.
While there is still a long way to go till these isolated industry efforts bear fruits on a large scale, the people and states are left in a quandary. The very technology that can help to protect people from extreme heat caused by climate change also accelerates the rate of climate change. It’s a vicious circle.
This trade-off between the present and the future shapes every consumer, and the choices we make will determine the climate we give to our future.
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