Cold comfort: How to keep cool without destroying the planet

The hotter it gets outside, the more we use air conditioning, and the more we use air conditioning, the hotter it gets. AC units and refrigeration combined adds up to 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. But how can we solve this cooling paradox? Building on last episode’s conversation with the UN’s global chief heat officer, host Manjula Selvarajah meets the experts harnessing novel innovations to keep cities and people cool — from massive infrastructure projects using ice-cold lake water to microscopic solutions to get rid of that sticky, sweltering humidity. 

David MacMillan is a manager in the City of Toronto’s Environment, Climate and Forestry division. He and his team are focused on planning for low-carbon development and energy systems, which includes implementing the Toronto Green Standard, which aims for net-zero new buildings by 2028, and renewable energy programs such as SolarTO and Wastewater Energy.  

Cameron Leitch is the director of solutions and innovations at Enwave Energy Corporation, which oversees the largest deep lake water cooling (DLWC) project in the world. Pulling near-freezing water from the depths of Lake Ontario, this massive infrastructure system provides alternative cooling to more than 100 buildings in downtown Toronto, including arenas, condos, offices, data centres and hospitals — a clean energy initiative that has been recognized by the United Nations. 

Evelyn Allen is the co-founder of Evercloak, a Waterloo-based company that has developed graphene oxide membranes that helps to dehumidify air before it reaches AC and HVAC units, significantly reducing the energy and refrigerants needed to cool a space. The company is currently part of the Mission from MaRS: Better Buildings Adoption Accelerator program. 

Daniel A. Barber is a professor of architecture and the environment at Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands. Barber’s research and work focuses on how changing temperatures have altered our built environment, and how architects can help adapt to the climate crisis. At architecture symposium Biennale Venice, his interactive installation, “Terms and Conditions,” allowed participants to experience the stifling effects of the waste heat that air conditioning units produce. 

Further reading: 

• Air conditioning poses a climate conundrum
• Toronto company using lake water to cool buildings expands system
• Toronto is home to the world’s largest lake-powered cooling system. Here’s how it works.
• Air conditioners fuel the climate crisis. Can nature help?
• How to build an AC that will get the world through hotter summers
• A rebuke to Modernism: the Venice Architecture Biennale imagines new ways of building to cope with climate change

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Solve for X is brought to you by MaRS, North America’s largest urban innovation hub and a registered charity. MaRS supports startups and accelerates the adoption of high-impact solutions to some of the world’s biggest challenges. For more information, visit marsdd.com.