School of Engineering News

Professor Bob Critoph recently appeared on The Naked Scientists podcast to help answer their Question of the Week: Will heat pumps make cities cooler?

He explained to presenter James Tytko how heat pumps work, noting that they use less energy than gas boilers and therefore have the potential to reduce the urban heat island effect that affects cities around the world.

Professor Critoph also pointed out that the increasing use of air conditioning in cities during the summer is arguably more problematic. Air conditioners cool buildings by moving warm air outside, which - combined with the energy used to power them - further heats the surrounding environment. This creates a feedback loop where more electricity is needed to keep buildings cool, as well as increasing overall demand for cooling.

“All that electricity used ends up heating the environment, so you need a bit more electricity to cool you down in your building. It’s a bit of a vicious circle!”

He suggests that solar-powered air conditioning could be part of the solution, with electricity generated by photovoltaic (PV) panels during the summer months.

Listen to the episode on Spotify (from 38:51): https://open.spotify.com/episode/0Ntd1I1uNc6a3h9rXdz0wP?si=3XVnQYeDStekyUvdov2izALink opens in a new window

The Naked Scientists is an award-winning science radio talk show with 500,000 monthly listeners. It has been broadcast weekly on BBC Radio 5 Live and ABC Radio National Australia.