Cooling your own environment (Image: E. Rowe/Getty)
WE’RE used to taking command of our personal climate in planes and cars by using simple controls. Why not in buildings too?
A study of the effect of installing individual air-conditioning vents at office desks, and putting controls at each worker’s fingertips, suggests it can cut a building’s energy use in half.
The approach costs more to install than a conventional system, and has never taken off commercially. But engineer at the University of California, Berkeley, and colleagues say their research shows the idea is worth revisiting, as companies and…
