New research led by University of Hawai‘i (UH) at Mānoa atmospheric scientists found that the century-old yardstick used across many industries to estimate air-conditioning and refrigeration energy demand — called cooling degree days — is missing something fundamental. New research led by University of Hawai‘i (UH) at Mānoa atmospheric scientists found that the century-old yardstick used across many industries to estimate air-conditioning and refrigeration energy demand — called cooling degree days — is missing something fundamental. Their study, published recently in Nature Communications, reports a new, physics-based version of the metric — effective cooling degree days — that captures how temperature and humidity together impact the actual work a cooling system is required to do. “Estimates of cooling degree days are used everywhere,” said Jake Casselman, Atmospheric Sciences postdoctoral researcher in the UH Mānoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST). Read More at: University of Hawaii at ManoaThe research team assessed efficiency and energy demand of cooling across North America, including in the desert Southwest.