For decades, climate change has been a hot topic in the media and in political discussions.
It seems like we can’t go a day or two without hearing something about how adversely our environment is being affected by human-caused greenhouse gas emissions and wasteful energy practices.
Vocal proponents on both sides of the spectrum offer convincing arguments for their positions. Whether or not ‘global warming’ is actually a real phenomenon that is tied to human activity is something we’ll leave for environmental experts to discuss.
Bringing things closer to home, here in Colorado, we spend our energy on one thing: making Front Range HVAC customers happy with highly efficient and effective HVAC solutions, from air conditioning repair to sales featuring Carrier AC units.
Even though we’re not environmental experts, we do work in an industry that is very aligned with the rise and fall of temperatures. After all, heating and air conditioning are just technology-assisted methods of changing the temperature around us.
As we’ve seen the summers in Colorado get warmer in the past few years, it has us wondering: is our state actually getting warmer with time? Is Colorado, with its ‘semi-arid, alpine’ climate, succumbing to a kind of global warming effect?
We thought we’d take to the internet to find out. Here’s what we discovered.
Are Things Heating Up? In a Word: Yes.
If you’ve been noticing, like we have, that the mercury here in Colorado seems to continue rising year after year, you’re not alone.
Climatologists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have been keeping track of the average temperature here in Colorado since at least 1895. The information they’ve collected over all these years should have us all sitting up and taking notice.
For the past 26 years, Colorado has had an average temperature that is higher than the 1901-2000 mean. What this means is that, when compared with what the average temperature was for Colorado in a 100-year timeframe, Colorado has been, in fact, getting progressively warmer for the past two-and-a-half decades.
Another indication that things are getting, on the whole, warmer is the surge of new high temperature records that are set on a fairly regular basis. In fact, Colorado heat recently broke the all-time highest temperature record. This happened in July of 2019 in Las Animas, Colorado, where 115° Fahrenheit raised the bar for the warmest weather recorded throughout the state since record keeping began.
If record-low temperatures were being set alongside these higher ones, it might make sense to think that everything was balancing out. But, because record low temperature records haven’t kept up with the highs, it’s safe to assume things are heating up.
What Does This Mean for Air Conditioners in Colorado?
Simply put, air conditioners have to work harder to cool down warmer air. It’s basic physics.
Therefore, it’s going to cost more to operate residential and commercial AC systems in climates with higher average temperatures.
How much more depends largely on how efficient your air conditioner is. With our summers getting increasingly warmer over the past few years, it’s clear that both home and business owners are going to start looking more to higher-efficiency AC systems. This is a smart idea, because an investment in more efficient AC systems means less costly cooling of the warmer air surrounding all of us.
Also, because air conditioners in Colorado have to work harder in higher-temperature weather conditions, there’s a higher chance of premature breakdown or malfunctioning. The best way to thwart this is to ensure your air conditioner is routinely maintained by an HVAC professional who knows what maintenance tasks to perform in order to get the most life from your AC unit.
Looking for an Air Conditioning Expert? Call Us!
The AC professionals at Front Range HVAC specialize in outfitting Colorado homes and businesses with efficient, reliable AC systems that stand up to even the most sweltering heat that our climate can dole out.
If your older air conditioner just isn’t doing the job anymore, or if you’re curious about how much you could save on your energy bills every month by upgrading your AC system, contact our team today. You might be surprised to learn how much you could gain by optimizing the way you cool your home or commercial property.
Even though the weather in Colorado is getting warmer, we have the equipment and expertise needed to rise to the challenge of keeping indoor temperatures comfortable all year long.
When you’re ready to talk air conditioning, we’ll be standing by to take your call—just dial (303) 835-0720.
