Air conditioning has developed a bad reputation over the years for polluting the environment, but recently all that has changed.

In the past air conditioning systems contained Chlorofluorocarbons, a chemical compound of chlorine, carbon and fluorine which was found to be a contributing factor in the depletion of the ozone layer.

However in recent years the use of chlorofluorocarbons in air conditioning and other devices has been all but eradicated and have been banned in most countries since 1996.

Today air conditioning manufacturers must follow directives to ensure that the systems they produce are as eco friendly as possible and in some cases they are less harmful to the environment than more commonly used heating and cooling systems such as radiators or cooling fans.

Statistics show that constantly heating and cooling spaces, as in the case of radiators or other household heating systems, is harmful to the environment and keeping homes and businesses at a constant temperature uses less energy and lessens the carbon footprint.

In the UK summer can happen any time between April and November, as was proved this year when Britain enjoyed the hottest days of the year at the beginning of October. The unpredictability of the British weather could be one of the reasons why air conditioning isn’t commonplace in households and why many smaller businesses choose not to use it.

However anyone who has worked in an office will know what an uncomfortable and frustrating experience it can be when the country heats up but there is no provision made for this. Or even worse when fans are plugged in everywhere, blowing paperwork about and giving everyone chapped lips!

Fans are notorious energy guzzlers and it really shows a lack of foresight from business owners if they think that using fans for eight hours a day is more economical than fitting a good air con system.

Recent studies have shown that poor air quality in offices is responsible for 35% of sick days taken in the UK, a problem which exacerbated by poor ventilation in buildings. This is a problem that can be fixed easily by fitting a good air conditioning system and ait filtration system – saving business owners even more money.

So the next time your home or office is overheating in the summer sun just consider how much you could improve the atmosphere by fitting air conditioning.