Comfort Solutions
If you have ever walked into a baking-hot home at the end of a long day at work, you have no doubt wondered if the air con could be left on all day at a moderate temperature. The joy of arriving home to a cooler home is priceless.
How do you ascertain if the energy used by your North Shore air con for the ‘emergency’ cooling down at the end of the day is a similar trade-off to a moderator all-day cooling option?
We talked to energy experts and have collaged the replies into our article below.
The overall sentiment we received was that it saves energy to turn off your aircon when no one is home as the cost and environmental savings add up to a fair amount. Another important point to note is that air cons only reach peak efficiency when running at full speed.
So the big push initially to rapidly bring the temperature down by 10 degrees celsius consumes less energy than running the machine for the whole day at a moderate speed.
If you have split units, ducted aircon or a window unit (all with thermostats), you will use less energy overall by setting the thermostat a little higher. If you don’t like the below options and want to run your aircon all day, then you will use up to five per cent less energy for every degree higher the thermostat is set. To get achieve optimal savings, for this option only, set your thermostat to twenty-five degrees while you are out.
Regardless of your choice of either turning the air con off or setting the temperature up when you’re away from home, a digital thermostat that can have multiple settings programmed will be a significant benefit to your cooling and cost goals. You can set it to switch on before you arrive home to cool the interior.
Select a thermostat that provides cooling and heating options and it compatible with heat pumps.
A ceiling fan is an essential element in your cooling strategy. They don’t cool the air however moving air creates a wind chill factor as it moves hot air away from your skin. This means you can set a higher temperature on your air con and save energy as the fan consumes minimal energy. Don’t leave a fan on while you are out as it doesn’t drop a room’s temperature – it is a breeze-on-skin factor.
A natural cooling factor is planting bushes and trees on the sunny side of your home. Even planting ground cover or grass instead of using paving or tarmac up to your house edge will reduce radiated heat dramatically.
Bushes and trees will shade the house structure and minimise daily heat gain.
Another take on the ceiling fan benefit is to create a cross-breeze through your home. Whilst opening a window wide will let heat rush in, you can also open it a little bit to create a through-draft.
If you have sash windows, open the bottom panel of one a very little bit e.g. a ‘crack’, and open the top panel of one on the opposite side a very little bit as well. If you have a two-storey open then the top panel opening can be on a window upstairs on the opposite side of the building.
And there are our coolest tips of the day!
Need more advice for your air con on the North Shore? Talk to our team toda
