Can this startup cool NYC’s sweltering subway stations?

Air conditioning New York’s subway system would require major renovations. A new pilot will test whether simple-to-install radiant cooling can make the subway system more comfortable—and potentially reuse extra heat as a resource. On a hot summer day in New York City, walking into a subway station can feel like descending into a sauna, improbably even hotter and muggier than the air outside. Unlike more modern subway stations around the world, New York’s century-old stations lack air conditioning—with staircases open to the outside air, AC would be inefficient and ineffective. And while you can blissfully cool off on the air-conditioned trains, they’re also making the problem worse: Cooling the cars means constantly pumping hot air into the tunnels and stations.