Any research on using public air-conditioned place to save energy consumption? (Miami: rent, how much)

[yong321]

We know if people take public transportation, the total energy consumption is lower than if people drive their own cars. I assume this is also true if people go to public libraries or malls to get cool air instead of staying at home. But is there any research to prove this? Thanks.
(This is not a discussion about how much freedom people lose, or it only works during the day, for certain people, etc. I'm only asking if such research has been done. It's hard to google because I can't find good keywords to search with.)

[Need4Camaro]

Not sure. My energy bill went up by about $100 a month when I transitioned from going to the office to WFH, buf I’m also running more equipment and have the A/C set lower to keep certain rooms cool.

I will say though, it’s not cheap keeping a large room full of equipment and people cool. You’re fighting outside temperatures as well as heat generating sources inside (including people, we do generate heat).

[Dopo]

At least in Texas, more electricity is going to be used
I already mentioned in a different post that we are told to raise our thermostats at home to reduce the electrical consumption in Texas
But then you go to stores and they seem to make their buildings very cold to attract customers.

Something you can look into is if a 30 ton a/c unit uses as much electricity as ten 3 ton units.

[done working]

Single 30 ton unit is more efficient that 10 units. But with 10 units you have redundancy. The only way multiple units would be more efficient is if there is a computer system that would shed the units off/on for 30 min periods.

[Dopo]

But we multiple units is easier to have 10 different areas with 10 different temperatures

[done working]

Originally Posted by Dopo

But we multiple units is easier to have 10 different areas with 10 different temperatures

Sure is but are you were asking if one large unit is more efficient than 10 smaller ones and its not as efficient in total- not that i would know having been a HVAC contractor for 40 years designing and installing all kinds of havc systems.

As far a zoning as you were referring to there all all kinds of zone control systems that can be added to provide different temperatures in different areas using one big unit. Thats is a typical way large building are installed and operated due to the added cost of electrical, structural, plumbing and space requirements. Not to mention the added cost of maintenance.

[StealthRabbit]

My Texas library greatly reduced hours for Covid, and will never restore hours that working or school age could use the library, because staff now likes to only work 10-4. Homeless have invaded the library and most conditioned indoor spaces. They spread human waste all over the walls of the restroom everyday. I don't see public spaces opening up for the community any time soon.

I remember the basement level community buildings of the 1950's prepared as Civil Defense shelters. They were pretty cool in summer and well stocked.

We've come a long ways.

[rabbit33]

Ought to be pretty obvious.

The movie theater, the library, the shopping mall are going to be air-conditioned no matter what. If people are spending more time there than in their houses, and they're turning up the thermostat when they leave the house, less total electricity will be consumed. Yes, in theory the added load of people in those buildings should increase the power consumption there, but heat load from humans is going to be small in summer compared to solar heat load; and the AC systems of those giant buildings will be a lot more efficient than a myriad of small house systems.

[StealthRabbit]

There is a lot of research in AZ and CA on reflective coatings for roads, parking and roofs.

Solar 'shade' would be reasonable in TX since the power grid, prices, and service are all poor.
Solar farms (using shade as commercial crop producing plots in hot / dry climates) are growing in popularity.

Ship the TX heat to MN in a heat capsule that takes 6 months to arrive.

For individual conditioned spaces, look to Asia and Middle East for very economical solutions they invented and have been using for 50 yrs.

You can always go Snow Skiing at the Snow covered ski slope in the Dubai shopping center. (Bring a coat, or rent one)

Very large and spacious commercial centers (as is that one) could be successful at cooling the masses, but don't count on USA residents to turn down the thermostat when they leave. Often it is best to maintain a comfortable temp while absent, rather than allow the mass of a building structure to heat up, then try to cool it back down.

Back in the 1970's we usually built homes with a 'cool-tube' (Underground convection source @ 50F temperatures)

[EDS_]

IMO per reasons rabbit33 outlined large aggregated cooling spaces don't make a lot of sense.



Also most people have all of this wrong. I don't have the info. in front of my face, I'm on my boat/bad internet, but IIRC per a crew of Ph.D types from Univ. of Michigan performed an energy use study comparing Minneapolis (by a fair bit the coldest large city in the US) and Miami (by quite a bit the hottest/most humid/most AC dependent city in the US).............3.5x more energy is required per square foot to heat spaces in Minneapolis per year than to cool and dehumidify the same in Miami.



After I dock for the night I'll link the study.