http://www.miller-mccune.com/environment/air-conditioning-using-90-percent-less-power-20071/We often take air conditioning for granted as we escape from the sweltering summer heat in our climate-controlled homes, but it is an expensive, energy-intensive technology. By some estimates, it accounts for about 14 percent of the electricity consumed by American households.
That current comes largely from coal- and gas-fired power plants — bad news as we look for ways to cut carbon emissions to soften the impact of global climate change.
Now, engineers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colo., have developed an innovative air conditioning concept that promises to cut electrical demand by up to 90 percent — and it works well in both Gulf Coast humidity and desert heat.