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Would demand for air conditioning not typically coincide with great local conditions for solar energy generation? (If the article covered this, my apologies -
by vosper 7y ago
Would demand for air conditioning not typically coincide with great local conditions for solar energy generation?
(If the article covered this, my apologies - I couldn't read the whole thing without having to pay).
- dreamcompiler 7y agoThere is some overlap as the article mentions. There's also a synergistic secondary effect of residential solar not mentioned by the article: PV panels on your roof shade your house and the solar energy that was heating your house is now cooling it. But the overlap is not perfect. Typically the hottest part of the day is a few hours after solar peak, and it's often still hot after the sun goes down. So you still need storage and/or grid power for complete A/C coverage.
- fulafel 7y agoWith sufficiently good insulation (see passive houses in cold climates), the house should follow the outdoor temperature quite slowly and not change much over the day.
- Yetanfou 7y agoInsulation, or thermal mass - this is why adobe and rammed earth are suitable building materials for hot climates: thick walls take a lot of time to heat up and cool down and help to stabilise the inside climate.
- petre 7y agoOne could also use a white roof as a lower cost alternative. It should probably be in building codes in hot climates.
- plorkyeran 7y agoThere is obviously some correlation between high insolation and high temperature, but peak temperature and peak insolation don't happen at the same time of day (peak insolation is solar noon; peak temperature often comes hours later), and insolation is far from the only factor that determines how much AC is needed.