For nearly a year, employees and customers at a Collinsville strip mall have endured summer heat without reliable air conditioning, forcing some businesses to cut hours and, in one case, temporarily close.
Advocates say air conditioning is no longer a luxury but a public health and affordability issue.
Refrigerants are chemical fluids that have made air conditioning and refrigeration possible, but they are hundreds or even thousands of times more powerful at warming the planet than carbon dioxide, the most notorious greenhouse gas.
This week 10 News has been investigating reports residents at The View at 777 sent to us about issues ranging from dead rodents in units to a collapsed ceiling.
Federal program Energy Star did not have Virginians in mind when it made recommendations for in-home air conditioners. The program recommends to help keep costs down, you might try to skimp on the AC but that can create squabbles in the family over which temperature setting is more comfortable. Energy Star, a joint federal program run by the DOE and the Environmental Protection Agency, recommends that for optimal cooling and energy efficiency, the coolest you should keep your house is 78 Fand thats only when youre at home and awake. If you arent comfortable at 78 F, lower the temperature a degree at a time and let your system reach the new setting before ratcheting it down further. A ceiling fan or box fan causes a wind chill effect that makes you feel cooler at a higher temperature setting, as long as the humidity isnt too high.
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