Single-room air conditioning vs. fan

Here's how the two options match up

By ERIC BARTELS

Pamplin Media Group, Jul 10, 2007, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (1 Reader comment)

Portland Tribune

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If Portland were virtually anywhere else in the United States — the Southwest, Midwest, Deep South or the Eastern Seaboard — a debate about the merits of home air conditioning versus lower-tech alternatives would be academic.

Summers in many parts of the country involve searing heat, oppressive humidity or both, making anything short of icy, conditioned air a poor excuse for living right.

Yet even in the relative comfort of a Pacific Northwest summer, some folks at least occasionally will crank up the AC. Is it a necessity or a luxury we cannot afford?

For the purposes of this analysis, smaller single-room air conditioners — rather than whole-home cooling systems — serve as the point of comparison.

Energy use

An air conditioner actually is less of an energy hog than you might imagine. Think of it as a small refrigerator that cools its surroundings rather than its contents, and nobody loses sleep over the energy consumed by running the fridge around the clock.

Nonetheless, the vastly more complex technology of the air conditioner gives it no chance in this category. No regional energy grid ever went down because of an oscillating fan.

Advantage: Fan

Health

It’s said that a poorly maintained air conditioner can lead to the spread of microorganisms, but such cases are relatively rare. On the other hand, air conditioning is known to provide relief for allergy and asthma sufferers.

Another consideration that has gained attention in recent years involves obesity, which is increasingly seen as a major health issue in the United States. The use of air conditioning, and the subsequent comfort zone it creates, means the body is not required to regulate its own temperature, a process which burns stored energy — i.e., fat.

Then again, if you’re so miserably hot that you can’t bear to move, very little calorie-burning activity will take place.

Advantage: Even

Manufacturing

The most elaborate fan is still a simple machine, a series of surfaces pitched at a certain angle and powered by a small electric motor. Manufacturing one is a fairly straightforward matter in terms of resources and energy consumed.

The simplest air conditioning unit sets up a complex series of heat transfers using a compressor, an evaporator, coils, filters and gas compounds. Much more complicated.

Advantage: Fan

Sale price

A trip to the home-improvement store will reveal fans starting at just over $10 and ranging up to $169 for high-performing models. Somewhat surprisingly, bottom-of-the-line room air conditioners begin under $100, although there is virtually no limit to the amount that can be spent on whole-house systems.

Advantage: Fan

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