{"id":2791,"date":"2020-06-29T09:56:35","date_gmt":"2020-06-29T09:56:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/?p=2791"},"modified":"2020-06-29T11:50:47","modified_gmt":"2020-06-29T11:50:47","slug":"could-there-be-an-israel-without-air-conditioning-in-the-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/en\/weather-climate\/could-there-be-an-israel-without-air-conditioning-in-the-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Could there be an Israel without air conditioning in the future?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Air Conditioning in Israel\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/vYVFo3SqVJo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In May, Israel experienced a record six-day heatwave with temperatures exceeding 38 degrees Celsius (~100 degrees Fahrenheit) all across the country and over 40 C (104 F) in some areas. Simultaneously, electricity consumption soared to unprecedented heights, setting a new record of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jpost.com\/israel-news\/israelis-break-the-countrys-electric-power-usage-record-amid-heatwave-628568\">13,809 megawatts<\/a> of electricity on May 19<sup>th<\/sup>. While this spike in electricity is undoubtedly linked to the increased use of air conditioning during an exceptionally hot period during the springtime, combined with the lifting of most COVID-19 regulations, it\u2019s not only the heat waves that make air conditioning in Israel indispensable; it\u2019s the summer months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/timo-wagner-tQZPXs8GGig-unsplash-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2798\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/timo-wagner-tQZPXs8GGig-unsplash-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/timo-wagner-tQZPXs8GGig-unsplash-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/timo-wagner-tQZPXs8GGig-unsplash-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/timo-wagner-tQZPXs8GGig-unsplash-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/timo-wagner-tQZPXs8GGig-unsplash-2048x1366.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption><em>Israel recorded a record six-day heatwave with temperatures exceeding 38 degrees Celsius. Photo by Timo Wagner on Unsplash<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>Electricity consumer #1: AC\u2019s<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Ran Avraham, Director of Green\nBuilding at the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the vast majority of building\u2019s\nelectricity consumption during summer is attributed to air conditioning. \u201cDuring\nsummer, air conditioning accounts for 60% of the electricity consumption in\nbuildings here in Israel, especially in commercial and public buildings,\u201d\nAvraham says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe peak hours during which most\nelectricity is consumed is roughly between 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM. Sometimes this\npushes national electricity production to the limit, for example, during heat\nwaves or very hot days in summer,\u201d he adds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Avraham, when this happens,\noftentimes, the public is made aware of the problem and asked to limit their\nelectricity consumption during peak hours. \u201cThis goes to show that air\nconditioning does have a significant overall impact in Israel,\u201d Avraham\nemphasizes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The rise of domestic air conditioning in Israel emerged in the early <a href=\"https:\/\/www.boi.org.il\/en\/Research\/DiscussionPapers1\/dp201713e.pdf\">1990s<\/a> when a combination of economic prosperity and cheap technology made AC\u2019s widely popular and affordable. Today, approximately 80% of all households have air conditioning, and the current trend indicates that in a few years from now, this will further grow and reach 100%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/shai-pal-CFdVch_d4bo-unsplash-1-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2802\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/shai-pal-CFdVch_d4bo-unsplash-1-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/shai-pal-CFdVch_d4bo-unsplash-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/shai-pal-CFdVch_d4bo-unsplash-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/shai-pal-CFdVch_d4bo-unsplash-1-1536x1023.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/shai-pal-CFdVch_d4bo-unsplash-1-2048x1364.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption><em>\u201cDuring summer, air conditioning accounts for 60% of the electricity consumption in buildings here in Israel, especially in commercial and public buildings.\u201d Photo by Shai Pal on Unsplash<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>Air Conditioning in Israel<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As the effects of climate change slowly\npush temperatures further up, even in colder climates, summers become hotter\nand harder to tolerate without proper air conditioning. This might not be the\nsituation in Israel since desert-like temperatures are part of the country&#8217;s\nnatural climate, but it is for places like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ipcc.ch\/site\/assets\/uploads\/2018\/02\/WGIIAR5-Chap23_FINAL.pdf\">Europe<\/a>.\nDeadly heatwaves such as the one in 2003, which caused the deaths of\napproximately <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S1631069107003770?via%3Dihub\">70,000\ndeaths<\/a> across Europe, have become more frequent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As part of a documentary on the rise of air\nconditioning in Germany, a film crew from the German broadcasting company,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.zdf.de\/\"> ZDF<\/a> spoke to Dr. Neta Lipman and Dr. Adi Levi of\nthe<a href=\"https:\/\/www.isees.org.il\/?lang=en\"> Israel Society of Ecology and\nEnvironmental Sciences<\/a> to find out what it means to live in a region where\nair conditioning is prevalent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt gets extremely hot in Israel,\nespecially during the summer months, between June and September. Without proper\nair conditioning temperatures are very hard to tolerate,\u201d Lipman says. There is\nhardly any building that is not equipped with air conditioning,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Air conditioning in Israel is responsible\nfor <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sviva.gov.il\/infoservices\/reservoirinfo\/doclib2\/publications\/p0801-p0900\/p0867.pdf\">45%<\/a>\nof the country\u2019s entire electricity consumption. Although this includes all\nconsumption directly related to air conditioning across all business sectors,\nindustries, and households, it is still a considerable share of Israel&#8217;s energy\nportfolio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Dr. Adi Levi, in places like\nTel Aviv, excessive use of ACs might contribute to the urban heat island\neffect, which happens primarily in built-up areas during the summer months,\nwhen the urban environment becomes substantially warmer than the surrounding\nrural areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhile running, the AC lowers the temperature inside. However, at the same time, it produces <a href=\"https:\/\/agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/full\/10.1002\/2013JD021225\">waste heat<\/a>, which gets emitted to the outside. Here, it is trapped between concrete and steel structures and keeps heating up the already hot ambient atmosphere,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/jacques-bopp-x7bgH3YbSGs-unsplash-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2806\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/jacques-bopp-x7bgH3YbSGs-unsplash-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/jacques-bopp-x7bgH3YbSGs-unsplash-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/jacques-bopp-x7bgH3YbSGs-unsplash-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/jacques-bopp-x7bgH3YbSGs-unsplash-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/jacques-bopp-x7bgH3YbSGs-unsplash-2048x1366.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption><em>Air conditioning in Israel is responsible for 45% of the country\u2019s entire electricity consumption. Photo by Jacques Bopp on Unsplash<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>Alternatives and Innovation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThere are additional ways to regulate the\ntemperature inside buildings in a way that will reduce the amount of energy\nneeded for ACs, and we actually have some very nice examples of that here in the\ncenter of Tel Aviv,\u201d Levi adds, referring to the Check Point Software Building.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Two sides of the building (East and South) are\ncovered in vegetation by a \u201dgreen wall,\u201d which does not only give the structure\na futuristic look but acts as a natural cooling system. \u201cThe green walls on\nthis building create natural shading and regulate the temperature on the\ninside. It\u2019s a \u201dnatural air conditioner\u201d that reduces the amount of light and\nheat that enters the building through the windows while letting a sufficient\namount of natural light enter the office area. In total, it can significantly lower\nthe building\u2019s energy costs,\u201d Levi says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAt\nthe Ministry of Environmental Protection, we are trying to make buildings more\nenergy-efficient, for instance, through better insulations, natural ventilation,\nand passive building designs, like BIPV (Building-integrated Photovoltaics \u2013\nSolar elements that replace conventional building materials) in order to lower\nelectricity consumption and lower the need for air conditioning,\u201d Avraham says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, according to Avraham, it is still \u201cdifficult sometimes to convince architects, engineers, or developers to change their way of planning and take more energy-efficient concepts into consideration. However, I think in recent years, especially through the introduction of the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sviva.gov.il\/English\/env_topics\/GreenBuilding\/Pages\/default.aspx#:~:text=Green%20building%20standards%20are%20sets,materials%2C%20and%20heating%20...\">Green Building Standards<\/a> in Israel, awareness has increased, and we are moving in the right direction,\u201d Avraham adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"740\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/ricardo-gomez-angel-WsEAiVwGrwo-unsplash-740x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2810\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/ricardo-gomez-angel-WsEAiVwGrwo-unsplash-740x1024.jpg 740w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/ricardo-gomez-angel-WsEAiVwGrwo-unsplash-217x300.jpg 217w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/ricardo-gomez-angel-WsEAiVwGrwo-unsplash-768x1063.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/ricardo-gomez-angel-WsEAiVwGrwo-unsplash-1109x1536.jpg 1109w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/ricardo-gomez-angel-WsEAiVwGrwo-unsplash-1479x2048.jpg 1479w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/ricardo-gomez-angel-WsEAiVwGrwo-unsplash-scaled.jpg 1849w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px\" \/><figcaption><em>Green walls and vertical gardening can help to regulate the temperature inside buildings and reduce the amount of energy needed for ACs. Photo by Ricardo Gomez Angel on Unsplash<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>New AC system uses seawater<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Israeli experts have developed a new system\nthat uses seawater to facilitate the cooling process inside air conditioners in\nan effort to reduce the negative economic and environmental impact of air\nconditioning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Conventional large scale ACs (such as those\nused in shopping malls and hotels) contain compressed gas to regulate the\ntemperature of the pipes that transport the cold distilled water used to cool\nthe room. This process is very energy-intensive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The new system, however, utilizes seawater\ninstead of compressed gas, which flows through a pipe that is installed next to\nthe actual cooling system and doesn\u2019t need the same amount of energy. According\nto the researchers, this new technology could save up to 35% of electricity as\nwell as large amounts of drinking water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Developed in Eilat, Israel\u2019s southern-most city where temperatures can reach up to 45 C (113 F) in summer, conventional ACs need copious amounts of energy for their cooling systems. Conveniently, water for the new AC technology would be pumped directly from the relatively cold waters of the Gulf of Eilat (20-27 C, 68-80.6 F) compared to the air temperature, which would even further decrease energy costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/boris-izmaylov-aQZKsz7hR7k-unsplash-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2814\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/boris-izmaylov-aQZKsz7hR7k-unsplash-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/boris-izmaylov-aQZKsz7hR7k-unsplash-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/boris-izmaylov-aQZKsz7hR7k-unsplash-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/boris-izmaylov-aQZKsz7hR7k-unsplash-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/boris-izmaylov-aQZKsz7hR7k-unsplash-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption><em>Scientists in Eilat have developed a new AC system that uses seawater to facilitate the cooling process inside air conditioners. Photo by Boris Izmaylov on Unsplash<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>Environmental Awareness in Israel<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although feasible and more sustainable\nalternatives to ACs exist in the form of passive green building designs and\nadvanced technology, it\u2019s unlikely that conventional ACs will be fully replaced\nany time soon, especially in a hot and rapidly warming climate like Israel\n(already at 1.4 degrees Celsius or ~2.5 degrees F in average above\npreindustrial levels). Therefore, public awareness concerning the environmental\nand economic effects of ACs will also play an important role. This holds true as\nlong as ACs throughout Israel are powered by fossil fuels and not renewable\nenergy resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cEcological awareness in Israel has made a\nbig leap forward in recent years. However, we are a tiny country that has to\ndeal with a lot of issues other than the environment, which is unfortunate. Security\nand the economy are bigger factors here. In addition, Israel\u2019s ecological\nfootprint, compared to that of the United States, China, or Europe, is very\nsmall. Hence it is harder to put environmental issues at the forefront, but\nwith a lot of hard work invested by NGOs and scientists, things are starting to\nchange here rapidly,\u201d Lipman says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cNonetheless, people slowly come to realize that this is no excuse for not joining the fight against climate change. For example, there has been a lot of environmental innovation and new green technology coming from Israel that shows that we can and want to contribute to the fight against climate change,\u201d Lipman concludes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>This ZAVIT article was also published in\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.jpost.com\/health-science\/could-there-be-an-israel-without-air-conditioning-632369\">The Jerusalem Post<\/a> on 06\/22\/2020.<\/em><br><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In May, Israel experienced a record six-day heatwave with temperatures exceeding 38 degrees Celsius (~100 degrees Fahrenheit) all across the &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":182,"featured_media":2792,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[15,11,8],"tags":[],"acf":[],"post-meta-fields":{"_edit_lock":["1593431313:11"],"_thumbnail_id":["2792"],"_edit_last":["11"],"subtitle":["After almost two months of nation-wide lockdown due to COVID-19, Israel went from quarantine straight into a record-breaking heatwave, and AC\u2019s throughout the country were running at full speed "],"_subtitle":["field_59d3d36ea7fe1"],"_wpml_media_duplicate":["1"],"_wpml_media_featured":["1"],"_oembed_317570a1d2e86a3704bbd650fe634d0a":["<iframe title=\"Air Conditioning in Israel\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/vYVFo3SqVJo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>"],"_oembed_time_317570a1d2e86a3704bbd650fe634d0a":["1593424519"]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2791"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/182"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2791"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2791\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2819,"href":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2791\/revisions\/2819"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2792"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}