We’ve experienced steady warming in the last 20 years in the Bay Area due to climate change. This is also the case around the world and our need for air conditioning has increased.
Cooling Degree Days are a measure of how much cooling is needed to maintain comfortable indoor temperatures. Each day CDDs are added up as temperatures go above 65 degrees.
San Jose has seen an increase of more than 100 cooling degree days a year. Now more homes are built with central AC since the 1970s. In the west only about 40% of homes had central AC. Now it’s about 90%.
The higher demand and AC usage puts more harmful greenhouse gases in the atmosphere making the problem of warming even worse. That’s why the need of clean energy like wind and solar is so important now.
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