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Cake day: January 20th, 2025

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  • An unpopular opinion I actually agree with! Part of the issue in my opinion is that houses are no longer made in ways that are designed for their environments. In the past, houses in warm areas would use large balconies or awnings to shelter the windows from the sun, which is where the greatest share of heat would come from. Also, high ceilings and transom windows would allow hot air to dissipate. Courtyards would serve a similar function. All of these provided natural ways for homes to cool without having to use ACs.

    Now that ACs are prevalent, house design has deteriorated to what’s cheapest to build, without regard to climate. This leads to higher AC usage to cool energy inefficient homes, all while pumping heat into the atmosphere that makes the temperature worse.

    I believe ACs should only be used as a last resort. We should design our homes based on where they are, so that ACs are unnecessary except during the worst of heat waves. There are plenty of other ways to stay cool that don’t involve ACs, so let’s exhaust those before we turn down the thermostats.