Across the world, extreme weather and prolonged heat waves are setting — and breaking — records. Worse, the localized urban heat island (UHI) effect has caused the annual average temperature in a city of a million people to increase between 1.8°F and 5.4°F, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. This number can jump to as high as 22°F warmer in the evening hours.1 Understandably, this has driven a growing demand for cooling technology.
Cooling is now the fastest growing use of energy in buildings, with ACs and electric fans accounting for approximately 10% of all global electricity consumption. This is one of the most critical blind spots in the energy world today — by 2050, cooling demand could more than triple.2 While greater access to much needed cooling services is a good thing, it places a major strain on our energy infrastructure.
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