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I have a Fujitsu mini split that has been awesome in terms of bringing my electric bill down versus window units (we live in Maine, central A/C is less common h

I have a Fujitsu mini split that has been awesome in terms of bringing my electric bill down versus window units (we live in Maine, central A/C is less common here, and few homes were built with it until the 2000's). It does, like most splits, use R-410A, but I'd be happy to use something else if it didn't kill the efficiency. In parallel with refrigerants and efficiency, though, I wonder if the article misses on mentioning geothermal cooling. Those systems are expensive, but if you can bring down the install cost and power them with cleaner energy, you solve some other problems. In developing nations, maybe you try and build larger systems designed to cool multiple residential units - and start to require it for mid/high-rise residential construction?

jngreenlee 9y ago
I have fond memories of helping my father replace the Freon in our window A/C units in the 1990s with products like R-410A. Thanks to that effort made by many, "A 2005 IPCC review of ozone observations and model calculations concluded that the global amount of ozone has now approximately stabilized. Although considerable variability is expected from year to year, including in polar regions where depletion is largest, the ozone layer is expected to begin to recover in coming decades due to declining ozone-depleting substance concentrations, assuming full compliance with the Montreal Protocol." [0] [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozone_depletion https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozone_depletion
maxerickson 9y ago
I'd want to see the energy calculations for highly insulated, well sealed buildings. There is more material up front, but the insulation works during the heating season too.
- fastbeef 9y ago
  If you want to build a new house in Sweden you need to present an energy calculation for the house so that you meet the fairly strict requirements. Of the top of my head, a normal family house (150m2, 1-1/2 stories) is allowed to consume between 5000-6500 kWh per year (low number in southern Sweden, same as Denmark. High number northern Sweden above the polar circle). This generally means >220mm insulation in walls and roof and >300mm insulation in the foundation. In northern Sweden you need a geothermal pump to hit those numbers.
nfriedly 9y ago
Yes! My father-in-law's house has geothermal, and he keeps the place frigid in the summer because it costs next to nothing to cool it. Incidentally, he's about to put the place up for sale, if anyone's interested in a nice home in the "not Chicago" part of Illinois...

jngreenlee 9y ago

I have fond memories of helping my father replace the Freon in our window A/C units in the 1990s with products like R-410A. Thanks to that effort made by many, "A 2005 IPCC review of ozone observations and model calculations concluded that the global amount of ozone has now approximately stabilized. Although considerable variability is expected from year to year, including in polar regions where depletion is largest, the ozone layer is expected to begin to recover in coming decades due to declining ozone-depleting substance concentrations, assuming full compliance with the Montreal Protocol." [0] [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozone_depletion https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozone_depletion

maxerickson 9y ago

I'd want to see the energy calculations for highly insulated, well sealed buildings. There is more material up front, but the insulation works during the heating season too.

fastbeef 9y ago
If you want to build a new house in Sweden you need to present an energy calculation for the house so that you meet the fairly strict requirements. Of the top of my head, a normal family house (150m2, 1-1/2 stories) is allowed to consume between 5000-6500 kWh per year (low number in southern Sweden, same as Denmark. High number northern Sweden above the polar circle). This generally means >220mm insulation in walls and roof and >300mm insulation in the foundation. In northern Sweden you need a geothermal pump to hit those numbers.

nfriedly 9y ago

Yes! My father-in-law's house has geothermal, and he keeps the place frigid in the summer because it costs next to nothing to cool it. Incidentally, he's about to put the place up for sale, if anyone's interested in a nice home in the "not Chicago" part of Illinois...