MILWAUKEE, Wis. (WTAQ) - Wisconsinites will crank up their air conditioners today, with a heat index of up to 105 in the forecast. But US Energy Secretary Steven Chu says we’ll be leaking a lot of coolants into the air and he hopes new research by a Milwaukee firm will change that.
This week, the Energy Department gave three million stimulus dollars to the Astronautics Corporation of America to help the company find a more environmentally-friendly approach to air conditioning.
According to GizMag.com, the challenge is to find an alloy which works at room temperature that’s affordable, and does not use too much energy. The Astronautics Corporation is based in Milwaukee, and does work in Madison.
The grant was one of 43 given to energy-related projects around the country, totaling 90 million dollars. Meanwhile, the state DNR says today’s heat will also pose health concerns due to ozone and particle pollution.
An Air Quality Watch is in effect until midnight tonight for Milwaukee, Waukesha, Racine, Kenosha, Jefferson, Walworth, and Rock counties.
