Incredibly obvious. In humid areas, air conditioners condense a large amount of moisture out of the air, which absorbs a huge amount of cooling capacity. Water has one of the highest heats of fusion (energy given off or absorbed during change from gas to liquid or vice versa). This is the exact mirror of why swamp coolers work in dry, low humidity areas.
All true. The HN headline for the article is misleading, according to the article the tech provides a 50% increase in efficiency in humid climes as well (their example is Houston).
