Is Elon Musk going to reinvent the air conditioner?

Is Elon Musk going to reinvent the air conditioner?

What is that man smoking?

In a long interview that he may well regret, Elon Musk briefly discussed a more efficient air conditioning system. According to Fred Lampert at Electrek (since I do not have the patience to listen to two and a half hours of this)

When discussing solar energy and how the capacity for a Tesla solar roof to power an entire home is dependent on the home’s energy efficiency, Musk started getting into the idea of a smarter air conditioning system:

“It should predict when you are going to be home and then cool the rooms that you are likely to use with a little bit of intelligence. We are not talking about a “genius home” – just basic stuff.”

Apparently, since they know where your car is, they will be able to adjust the air conditioner to cool your house down before you get home. But Musk wouldn't say much more, noting that “I cannot answer questions about potential future products.”

.⁦@elonmusk⁩ to make homes more efficient, start w/ technology we already have—air-sealing, high insulation, and well-tuned windows. We need well-built (and well-retrofitted) dumb houses more than new tech that ignores physics. See #PassiveHouse. https://t.co/TapwLwcdZn

— Mike Rogers (@MikePRogers) September 8, 2018

Poor Mike Rogers jumped in to complain about this, using my favourite phrase about dumb houses, and had to withstand the wrath of the fanboi crowd. But the fact of the matter is that it is not the best approach to the problem.

Pretending you can keep a house comfortable (and healthy) without paying attention to infiltration/exfiltration, insulation levels, and corresponding temperatures of surfaces not just air is ignoring physics and more. And that’s true whether you build cool rockets or not.

— Mike Rogers (@MikePRogers) September 9, 2018

It should also be pointed out that there are already smart thermostats that track your car or your phone, like the Honeywell Lyric, which follows you around and adjusts your AC as required. I was not impressed when it came out, writing:

Honeywell video/Screen capture

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