No one working under deadline wants a power failure to blow the air conditioning, providing yet one more reason to break into a sweat. That’s why engineers funded by the California Energy Commission have developed a method of “precooling” small office buildings to reduce energy consumption at peak hours.
The method works by running air conditioning at cooler-than-normal settings in the morning and then raising the thermostat to warmer-than-normal settings in the afternoon, when energy consumption escalates during hot summer months. Because the building's mass has been cooled down, it doesn’t require as much energy for air conditioning during the hottest time of day, when electricity is most expensive and in highest demand. The researchers developed a "control algorithm” to best determine when it’s time to chill out, taking the building’s construction, air-conditioning system, number of windows, carpeting and other aspects into consideration. The end product should be an energy bill as cool as the office.
After all, it saves money, prevents power failures and keeps “Hawaiian Shirt Day” far from being practical.—Andrew Nusca