30% of Hongkongers have been awoken by cold air-con temperatures, green group says
Author: Hongkong FP Date Posted:13 September 2017
A study conducted by an environmental group has found that around 30 per cent of Hongkongers have experienced being woken up by cold temperatures resulting from air-conditioning use.
In August, Green Sense conducted street questionnaires at five locations across Hong Kong and collected 507 responses.
- 73.6 per cent of interviewees turned on their air-conditioners every day in the summer.
- Around 90 per cent said they used air-conditioning in July and August.
- Over 90 per cent said that the reason they turned on the air-conditioner was that the weather was too hot. Almost 30 per cent said that they wished to improve their sleeping quality, whilst round 10 per cent said that they used the air-conditioner as a dehumidifier.
- Nearly half of the interviewees said their reason for not turning on the air-conditioner was that the electricity fee was too costly, and over 25 per cent said it was to reduce carbon emissions.
- Amongst interviewees who set their air-conditioner temperatures at 22 to 24 degrees Celsius, 35 per cent said they have experienced being woken up at one point by the cold, as had 32 per cent who set their temperatures between 24 and 26 degrees Celius.
The study also revealed that over 40 per cent of Hongkongers do not know which energy label grade the air-conditioners at their homes belonged to. This indicates that it is necessary for the government to increase awareness and encourage the public to purchase air-conditioning units with greater energy-saving abilities, the group said.
It urged officials to push for reduction of carbon emissions at a consultation meeting for the 2017-18 policy address.
It is also organising “Hong Kong No Air Con Night” on September 29 – “a territory-wide energy saving event to promote the wise use of air conditioning, in order to lower the emission of greenhouse gases.” HKFP is a media sponsor for the event.
