Why Get an Air Conditioner? Weighing the Pros and Cons
These days, a building, no matter if it is a residential house or an office or a school, will surely make us raise our eyebrows without an air conditioning system. The same is the case all over the world, especially in America. In fact, air conditioners are more common in American houses than a dishwasher. Although the primary utility of an air conditioner is the comfortable cool air, there are many other health benefits of air conditioning aside from some health risks. The advantages of air conditioner are discussed below with their disadvantages as well.
Benefits of Air Conditioning
1. Life Saviour
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, around 600 people die every year because of extreme heat right here in the USA. During 1979-2015, this number of death for extreme heat was more than 9000. These numbers merely represent the number of death directly caused by heat. Certainly, the number would be much greater if you had actually taken into account the number of death where extreme heat contributed as a secondary factor. Having an air conditioner can save your life in such cases. If you are living in Florida, Texas or Louisiana, an air conditioner is one of the basic needs for your houses, offices or schools. Doctors suggest that having an effective air conditioning system is the best way to prevent heat-related health issues. Not only that, there are many other health benefits of air conditioning which you will know after reading the whole post.
2. Quality Air
Air conditioners also increase the quality of the air in your room. The evaporative unit of your air conditioners (often called as the inside unit), draws the air to an inbuilt air filter inside the AC, before absorbing the heat. This air filtering process removes undesirable pollutants like pollens, dust and other harmful objects, so you can take a fresh breath of air. However, this is only effective when the air filter inside your AC is pure and clean. If it gets dirty then it can lead to indoor air pollution and many severe health issues.
3. Blocks Insects & Micro-Organisms
To ensure effective air conditioning, the room must be well insulated. This blocks insects from entering the room. Furthermore, cool temperatures are less favorable to microorganisms like viruses or bacterias. An air-conditioned room is less likely to promote germs and toxins in the air. It can provide relief to people, who suffer from asthma or allergy.
4. Increase Productivity
It is a well-established fact that high temperatures have an inverse relationship with the productivity level of humans. According to a journal published by the Scientific American, human body exerts a significant level of energy to cool down the brain and other important organs in hot temperatures, which hampers the productivity level. On the other hand, in winter or in cool temperatures, our body can redirect this energy to enhance our productivity level. So if you want to boost the productivity level of your employees, you can try installing an effective air conditioner in your office.
5. Keeps Your Temper Cool!
It may not be a new information to you that people tend to be more aggressive when the temperature is a bit high. When the temperature rises, our brain slows down, heart rate increases with blood pressure. All of this leads to a high temper and a more aggressive behavior. So turn your AC on and keep yourself calm!
6. Furniture & Electric Device Maintenance
Air conditioners are also very useful for furniture and electric devices. Woods take and release moisture from the air depending on the surrounding temperature. This can be harmful to wooden furniture since this can destroy their shape and integrity. This is also true for paintings and arts.
Also, electronic devices are very sensitive to heat and many such devices get heated up in order to function. Keeping them cool is imperative to maintain them properly. One prevalent example, in this case, is server rooms. Servers get heated up fast and they require a cool temperature to ensure safety and optimal performance. An air conditioner, whatever the type, can help provide the necessary temperature to keep the integrity of electrical devices and furniture.
7. Less Dehydration & Sweating
Dehydration can lead to many health issues. High temperatures make our body to sweat more. Thus our body loses its precious water. Sweating is undesirable to many of us for other reasons also. It can cause to leave sweat strain on our clothes that can be really embarrassing, especially when you are in the office or any social gathering. Air conditioners can save you from this embarrassment by reducing the chance of sweating. This is another major benefit of air conditioning.
Drawbacks of Air Conditioning
Despite having many air conditioning benefits, air conditioners also have some disadvantages. they are depicted below:
1. Power Consumption
Air conditioners consume a lot of electricity to maintain the necessary temperature. This high power consumption affects us in many ways, including increasing the cost of living though there are ways to save on your electricity bill with your thermostat. Furthermore, most of the electricity in the world is produced by burning coal, which has a severe negative effect on our environment.
2. Dry Skin
Although there are many benefits of air conditioner on skin and health, it can cause skin dryness. The reason behind that is AC sucks the moisture away from the room, which causes our skin to lose moisture if exposed for a long duration. This problem is more common in case of ducted air conditioning or HVAC Air conditioning with vents. You need to apply moisturizers on your skin regularly if you are facing skin dryness problem.
3. Respiratory Problems
Air conditioners maintain the integrity of the air constantly through their filters. However, these filters get dirty and cloggy after a certain period of time. They require cleaning on a regular basis. If the air filter of an AC gets dirty, it can cause indoor air pollution by spreading dirt and harmful objects in the air. This can lead to respiratory health issues.
Moreover, many face respiratory problems immediately after entering an air conditioned room. This happens due to the sudden change in temperature. You can prevent this by setting a higher temperature initially and then decreasing it gradually.
4. Environment Pollution
Air Conditioning system uses refrigerant to absorb the heat of your room. Prior to 1995, the refrigerant used in air conditioner system was chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which was very harmful to the ozone layer. After 1995, the AC manufacturers started using halogenated chlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) instead of CFCs. Halogenated chlorofluorocarbons are less harmful to the ozone layer, but they still produce greenhouse gases.
The importance of air conditioner uses in our daily life is beyond explanation. It has numerous health benefits for us. Like every other technology, air conditioning also has pros and cons. Slowly, this technology has become one of our basic needs from a luxury item. So get the best air conditioning unit out there and improve your quality of life.
Categorised in: Air Conditioner
16 Comments
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I had no idea that air conditioners actually increase the quality of the air a room because of the air filtering process involved in cooling! My husband and I just moved into a new area that is notorious for heat waves, and we want to make sure that our home stays as cool and comfortable as possible. It’s great to know that a residential air conditioner could add the benefit of clean and filtered air as well as comfort. Thanks for the tips.
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The extreme heat can really get to my nerves, and I like that I can get quality air like you say since I have trouble sleeping at night due to excessive coughing. Since I like my house to be clean, knowing that it blocks insects and micro-organisms as you mentioned would really help me maintain its clean condition. I know that there are times where I am irritable because of the heat, so you stating that it keeps tempers cool will help me with my household chores without getting angry every minute or so.
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We currently are using a swamp cooler to keep our house cool, but it makes the inside of our house very humid and is warping our doors. I really appreciate your information that installing air conditioning in my home will not only keep the entire house more cool and dry but also filter the air of pollens and dust more thoroughly. As my husband has seasonal allergies, we will start looking into air conditioning installation experts.
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If having an air conditioner will save my life during extreme heat, I will definitely have one installed in my home so that I can avoid heat stroke during summer. Hopefully, it will block insects and microorganisms in my home to keep my house hygienic and pest-free. I like the idea that I will sweat less with an air conditioner as well since my skin is allergic to my own sweat and I need to find a way to get the sweat off my face.
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YES, Air conditioner will be handy for the people who got skin allergy specially during summer. We made a review of different kind of air conditioners, hopefully its of your help.
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I like how you mentioned that air conditioning keeps your temper cool. My house currently does not have air conditioning and I’m considering installing it. I will keep your benefits in mind while I consider getting one.
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Thanks Johnson! It feels great to be your helping hand.
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I’m glad that you mention how air conditioners are great to help with extreme heat, which can help prevent death and other health problems. When choosing one, it would probably be a good idea to research the various systems to figure out what can work best to keep your home at a comfortable temperature so you can avoid the extreme heat. You could hire a local contractor that offers AC installation services to discuss the various options and your situation to figure out the best option and to ensure it’s installed correctly.
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Thanks Erika, really happy for the compliments you gave. Please visit our review pages regarding air conditioners and buy one from our list and maintain a comfortable temperature for a healthier life. I can provide the links if you want. Thanks.
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My son needs quality air in his room so I think I will have an air conditioner installed in his room. I suppose that it will help him become healthy if it will keep bacteria and micro-organisms away. Thanks for mentioning that it also helps lessen dehydration and sweating which is something he needs since he’s allergic to his own sweat so I’ll have an expert come over to install a unit soon.
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Yes, air conditioner will certainly help your kid to keep away from the bacteria as it will lessen sweating and dehydration. You can choose your air conditioner from our lists. Here I am putting the links of Portable ac, split ac and window ac. Check what suits you the best and purchase one.
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I love what you said about air conditioners and how they are useful for keeping furniture and electronics in working order. Cooling installation should be performed by an experienced contractor with a solid knowledge of modern systems. If I needed a new AC system, I would look for a reliable contractor to give me the help I need.
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It’s true that when you are living in a hot state like Florida, then AC is a must. I like how you discussed the importance of having an air-conditioning system. We a removing to Flordia next month, and I’m pretty sure we need to get quality AC for our new house.
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Yes true, Florida is indeed a very hot state, specially in summer. You must need an Air conditioner to keep yourself cool.
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You made a great point about quality air and how air conditioners can help increase the quality of air in your room. My husband and I are building a new home and we need to get a new air conditioner to replace our old one since it isn’t working 100% anymore. We will keep these tips in mind as we search for a professional that can help us out.
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air conditioner is most important in our life . we can not think our easy and comfortable life without air conditioner .