Heat pumps are hot, but cool roofs are cool too

Aug 25, 2022 View in browser   By Debra Kahn THE BIG PICTURE Nearly 90% of U.S. households have some form of air conditioning. Those without might have more difficulty sleeping. | Lucas Davis, UC Berkeley Most of the country already has air conditioning, but the parts that don't are going to want it. Increased temperatures are going to bring more demand for air conditioning. The least air-conditioned states are scattered around the country, but are mostly in the West, where drought and heatwaves are making summer less tolerable along the Pacific Coast and in the Rocky Mountain region, according to a new analysis of Energy Department data by University of California, Berkeley economist Lucas Davis. And, of course, the impacts of heat are unevenly distributed within states. A study published last week in the journal Temperatures found links between increased nighttime temperatures and sleep disturbances, which will primarily affect those without the ability to adapt. California has the highest number of households without air conditioning, at 3.7 million. Advocates of reducing emissions from the built environment are looking there to stave off big increases in energy use. "People are going to buy air conditioners; that's a given," said Panama Bartholomy , executive director of the California-based nonprofit Building Decarbonization Coalition. "The question is, how good are those air conditioners going to be and what kind of impact on the grid is it going to have?" Heat pumps have plenty of tailwinds these days. The Inflation Reduction Act provides rebates of up to $8,000 and tax credits of up to $2,000 for the units, which can replace furnaces or full HVAC systems. California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) set a goal last month of 6 million heat pumps by 2030. A $40 million rebate program for heat pumps in California that started in December was supposed to run through next year, but demand was so high that it started running out of money in May. It's funded about 20,000 heat pumps for both HVAC and water heating using revenue from the state's cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gases. Backers are hoping to get more money in the state budget being finalized this week — and anticipating it will serve as an example for other states doling out federal cash. There are other solutions competing for funding. One is installing reflective coatings on roofs, pavement and other surfaces that absorb heat. "It's almost half of the toolbox we have available for dealing with global warming, and nobody's using it," said Roel Hammerschlag, a climate and energy policy consultant who presented his research at a meeting with the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy earlier this week. This experiment could help make L.A. cooler — 10 to 12 degrees cooler on the surface, possibly. | Photos by Dan Burke, courtesy of GAF Standard Industries' roofing subsidiary GAF installed 1 million square feet of reflective coating across a 10-square-block area of Pacoima, Calif., last month. It also set up monitors to measure the results. Previous experiments have found a 10- to 12-degree reduction in surface temperatures. "Air conditioning is kind of an insulative approach," said Jonathan Parfrey , executive director of Los Angeles-based nonprofit Climate Resolve, which was involved in the project. "It's something where people take care of themselves and they're not necessarily looking out for their neighbors."   SUBSCRIBE TO POWER SWITCH: The energy landscape is profoundly transforming. Power Switch is a daily newsletter that unlocks the most important stories driving the energy sector and the political forces shaping critical decisions about your energy future, from production to storage, distribution to consumption. Don't miss out on Power Switch, your guide to the politics of energy transformation in America and around the world. SUBSCRIBE TODAY.     YOU TELL US GAME ON — Welcome to the Long Game, where we tell you about the latest on efforts to shape our future. We deliver data-driven storytelling, compelling interviews with industry and political leaders, and news Tuesday through Friday to keep you in the loop on sustainability. Team Sustainability is editor Greg Mott, deputy editor Debra Kahn and reporters Lorraine Woellert and Jordan Wolman. Reach us all at gmott@politico.com, dkahn@politico.com, lwoellert@politico.com and jwolman@politico.com. Want more? Don't we all. Sign up for the Long Game. Four days a week and still free! WHAT WE'RE CLICKING — Dairy farmers in India are trying music to soothe heat-stressed cows. — California regulators are voting today to phase out gas-powered cars by 2035. — A new initiative is focusing on Black Americans' exposure to climate change.   LISTEN TO POLITICO'S ENERGY PODCAST: Check out our daily five-minute brief on the latest energy and environmental politics and policy news. Don't miss out on the must-know stories, candid insights, and analysis from POLITICO's energy team. Listen today.       Follow us on Twitter Debra Kahn @debra_kahn Greg Mott @gwmott Lorraine Woellert @Woellert Jordan Wolman @jordanwolman   Follow us

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