Every region in the U.S. is experiencing record-breaking heat. More households now require home cooling solutions to maintain safe and liveable indoor temperatures. While air conditioning (AC) can offer immediate relief, the rapid scaling of AC has created new vulnerabilities: rising energy bills are straining people’s wallets, while surging electricity demand mounts pressure on an aging power grid increasingly prone to blackouts.
What Americans need to be prepared for more extreme temperatures is a resilient cooling approach. Resilient cooling works across three interdependent systems — buildings, communities, and the electric grid — to affordably maintain safe indoor temperatures during extreme heat events and reduce power outage risks.
This webinar will overview resilient cooling, implicated technology systems and the policies needed to affordably cool people and communities under extreme heat conditions. Participants will hear directly from experts about dimensions of access and affordability, public health, workforce development, and grid reliability.
Learning Objectives
- Understand the Basics: Define extreme heat and the vulnerabilities created by the rapid scaling of air conditioning and mechanical cooling systems.
- Clarify the Landscape of Need: Explore the essential imperatives to rethink the way we cool as heat waves increase in duration.
- Explore Strategies for Action: Discover the concept of resilient cooling as a strategy to address existing cooling needs, while ensuring affordability, health, sustainability, grid resilience, and workforce development.
- Clarify Stakeholder Roles: Learn how different levels of government and non-governmental organizations coordinate and play a role in advancing resilient cooling for both households and communities.
