Many people can’t wait for summer as this is the time they get to have a good time outdoors and especially on the beach. Unfortunately, with the brutal heat, you have to keep the air conditioner running in your house. Two of the most popular air conditioners you can install are window and central air conditioners.
According to air conditioner repair services providers, a window air conditioner consumes less than 1/3 of the amount of energy it would take to run a central air conditioner. If you have to install two or more units, the costs can quickly add up.
It makes sense to use a window air conditioner if you have a small space, but if you have a large house or you have to cool several areas at once, you are better off installing a central air conditioner. If this is the first time purchasing an air conditioner, you must be wondering, do air conditioners use a lot of electricity?
The truth is that they do. Luckily, there are several things you can do to reduce the amount of energy they consume. Some of these things include:
Raise the temperature
Raising the thermostat a degree or two won’t kill you, will it? AC contractors report that by keeping your appliance a degree below 78C, you save your energy by 3-4%. The percentage might not seem significant, but when you save the same rate every day, it quickly adds up.
Make use of fans
In addition to being cheaper to buy, fans are also less expensive to run, where one fan can run for less than a penny an hour. When you properly use the fan, you can shave off 3-8 degrees allowing you to dial the air conditioner a higher temperature and still feel just as cool.
If you don’t already have a ceiling fan in your home, you should install one. Luckily as mentioned, they are cheap, and you can easily find them in your local store. When running the ceiling fan, ensure that it’s running in the right direction.
It also should be blowing down to send the air past your body hence removing the hot air surrounding your body. Thankfully almost all fans have a switch that changes the fan direction. Simply access the switch and change the fan direction.
Make use of a smart thermostat.
In addition to the smart thermostat making it easy to control the air conditioner, it also allows you to set the thermostat to turn off when you leave for the day and turn back on half an hour before you get home.
It’s easy to find programmable thermostats from your local home improvement store. You must have heard that keeping an air conditioner running saves you more money than turning it on and off, but this isn’t true.
When you keep the unit running the entire day, it turns into a heat magnet.
Don’t buy an air conditioner that is too large.
Many homeowners have the impression that a large unit is better, but this isn’t the case. When you are out buying an air conditioner, most HVAC contractors will try to sell you an appliance that is too big for your house.
This is usually because they are trying to upsell you or still having the old school mentality of bigger is better.
The truth is that you will be wasting money when you buy a large appliance. In addition to the large unit being expensive to buy, it’s also costly to keep it running. A large unit also keeps on cycling, which interferes with the quality of air in the house.
Keep the ducts clean.
Your air conditioner uses less power when it’s not struggling against the dirty vent and blocked airflow. When you keep the vents and ducts clean, you keep the air conditioner functioning efficiently, so it has fewer chances of breaking down; hence you don’t spend money hiring expensive air conditioning repair services Vienna VA providers to repair it.
Furniture tends to block the ducts and vents. Clear the way by getting the pieces out of the way, and the air conditioner will start functioning optimally.
