Climate Change

There is a lot of bemoaning of coming natural gas heating ban in New York State at least by conservatives. But it was a long time coming and gas heating makes less and less sense with changing technology — and our warming climate, which among other things makes extremely cold days rare. When winter days are mostly in the 30s and 40s, even the most basic two-mode air source heat pumps make a lot of sense. Most new construction already locally includes split level units, the code changes just reflect changes already under way in industry.

But there is another side to the mass adoption of split level heating – the end of homes without central air conditioning. There was a time when most homes in New York State didn’t have central air conditioning, though those days are somewhat behind us now. Yet, the All Electric Building Act almost completely mandates the end of buildings without air conditioning – it would be silly to build a building with a heat pump and no reversing valves. Modern all-electric buildings inherently have air conditioning.

The death of buildings without air conditioning may not be bemoaned by many. Air conditioning makes life much more comfortable, especially as 90 degrees days become more common. This year will El Niño, Albany may have it’s first triple digit day in 70 years. Sustaining life in New York State with the warming climate might require air conditioning, especially with the vulnerable, frail and elderly.

But it also means a loss in learning to cope with the heat and humidity, breathing in outdoor air and learning to adapt to ones surroundings. People having windows open for fresh air, especially in the suburbs and country might become rare as the split level units automatically cool the room in the summer, and energy conservation discourages people from opening windows. Some low cost new residential buildings might not even have windows that open, with the split level until doing all the work to keep the room comfortable at all times.