Many of us have purchased oil or natural gas to heat our homes. The price we pay for delivery is known as the direct cost. The direct cost doesn’t reflect the actual costs we all pay.
The price of these fuels have hidden costs known as externalities. These hidden costs have severe consequences to our individual lives and people’s lives on a global scale. While we are burning these fossil fuels for comfort and pleasure, cases of asthma and cancer rise along with the sea level each year.
Carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide add to the pollution that is already plaguing the planet. In areas where we can change, we choose not to make the necessary changes to provide the many long-term benefits we all desire.
Many of the consequences of our actions are far removed from our daily experience and only immediately affect small populations. The stories of the coal miners who have lung cancer are just stories until someone we know is involved and is slowly suffering from the harsh reality that they are in a relentless fight for their life.
Do the costs of our actions outweigh the reward?
Like all other products we have become accustomed to, the Ductless Mini Split also has these external costs. These externalities come from the acquisition of raw materials, production, and the transportation of raw and finished goods. However, the return on investment to the individual, the population at large, and the environment ultimately outweighs the cost.
Consider the cycle of pollution when burning oil, wood, etc. and how it provides temporary comfort. That energy used for those fleeting moments remains in the environment. Enough of this energy overtime increases the global temperature.
This global temperature increase impacts the cold regions and destabilizes the polar vortex, which regulates weather patterns. These new patterns begin to shift warm and cold air currents randomly. Over time, glaciers melt and break off into the oceans. This melting creates rising sea levels, land erosion, and the release of other global warming gasses previously trapped in the ice.
The Ductless Mini Split recycles the heat energy that has been put into the environment to produce heat and cooling. Although this does not fix the damage done, it becomes a solution to drastically decreasing global pollution.
The sacrifice we could make and the reward we would gain
I often think of the fast-food industry when I consider internal and external pollution. If I eat enough fast food, I will become unhealthy, sick, and have many health-related issues later in life. By supporting these venues, I am directly contributing to the environmental waste as I will not reuse the paper/plastic products used in packaging
I am also factored into the production of these foods as I would naturally expect such fast delivery. When consumers don’t show up, these companies discard the overproduced food. Also wasted are the hidden costs of that food’s production.
When we apply the same logic to the heating and cooling of our homes, we find similar connections. When using fossil fuels to heat and cool our homes, we pollute the environment at a much greater rate. When we turn on our furnaces to heat our homes, we add heat energy into the atmosphere—the waste compounds when that energy heats empty rooms.
Don’t get me wrong, I use natural gas for cooking and for heating the water to take a warm shower; but when I heat or cool the house, hours of use go by rather than minutes here and there. When we consider this on a grander scale, we begin to see the picture. When we think of the Ductless Mini Split alternative, we discover a solution to waste. We also realize how the Ductless Mini Split minimizes our expense, carbon footprint and maximizes efficiency and comfort.
Our part in energy conservation and global pollution
Each of us contributes to the destruction of Earths’ natural resources. Through the way we choose to live, we can also give back more than what we consume. The effort is small, and the price is minimal compared to that which our health and comfort will eventually pay. Mini Split systems are energy-efficient solutions that are readily available.
With the addition of an ActivePure hood, it can further protect your home from viruses, bacterial contaminants, and other harmful germs.
Collectively we can reduce water pollution, noise pollution, acid rain, light pollution, and more. The best part is that our small effort enhances the quality of our life. Our combined efforts can change the health of the planet.
