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Summer is a tough time for the household budget as this entails the air conditioner running from day to night at almost every single day. This is also a tough time for the energy department as they cannot emphasize more the importance of conserving energy during summer season to make energy supplies last through the rest of the hot months ahead.
So how does one effectively cool the room during hot summer months without consuming more energy? Is it even possible? Yes this is totally possible but people need to be properly educated from the point of buying air conditioners and carefully guided through the process of actually using them.
Choosing the Right Air Conditioner For Your House
How can you save energy this summer season if you have bought the wrong type of air conditioner for your house? Again, yes, this is possible. There are those who simply get the most decent looking air conditioner without really learning about its capabilities and features. Do you know what happens if you get the wrong type of air conditioning unit?
If one gets a big room air conditioner for a relatively small room, common notion is that the room will ultimately be cold almost instantly. Now one may think that it is okay and even better but truth of the matter is the unit will perform less efficiently and even less effectively than that of a smaller air conditioning unit.
The reason behind this is because a big unit tends to cool the room to the thermostat set-point way too early and even before proper humidification occurs. As a result, the room may feel cold but totally uncomfortable.
Just the same, a small air conditioning unit put on a very large room will be pushed to work doubly hard to cool the whole place. As a result, you will get inefficient coolness and since the unit is overworked, expect problems to show early on.
The Worthy Air Conditioning Tips
From your air conditioner settings to the adjustments that one would have to make around the house to pave way for more effective cooling without exactly putting a hole in the pocket, we have compiled a short list of worthy tips that should be practiced at all times possible.
More than that, this will make sure energy is conserved especially during the hot summer months.
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Which type of Air Conditioner?
Have the right decision which type of AC you require for your house. Mini split ACs are ideal to get a fixed mounted cooling system. The window-mounted ACs are a perfect choice when you can’t have a mini split AC and still require a fixed unit and the portable ACs are the best choice when you want to use the unit in different rooms or store it easily away in the winter period.
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Check the energy efficiency of your old air conditioner
How many years have you been using your current air conditioner? Does it bear the Energy STAR label? If not, you might want to consider buying a new one that has this instead of going back and forth the air conditioning service repair center.
Any unit with the Energy STAR or EnergyGuide level automatically assures you that they are at least 10-15% more efficient than the other ordinary and old models.
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Never put any appliance beside the air conditioner
Appliances tend to generate heat. Have you noticed how your television seems to feel warm after a few hours of being turned on? Putting the television right beside the air conditioning unit will make the warm television absorb the cold air faster than it can spread around the room first. As a result, you might get the feeling that the unit is not cooling the room efficiently.
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Never put the thermostat setting on high upon turning on
Some people think that putting the thermostat in the coldest setting possible might make the room cool faster. Truth is you are risking excessive cooling and additional unnecessary electric expenses. It might not even cool the room any faster than a normal thermostat setting would.
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Consider adding a ceiling fan
A ceiling fan helps spread the cool air around the room faster. This is most especially helpful for large rooms and/or houses. You can actually save more energy by doing so instead of hitting the air conditioner on full blast all day long.
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Have the air conditioning unit cleaned regularly
This is a must for every air conditioner as dust normally accumulates inside it. Check out what filter is used by your current unit. Different filters have varying suggested lengths of time that it should be replaced or cleaned. Regular cleaning also ensures that your air conditioning unit will last longer.
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Keep humidity out of the house as much as possible
Even during summer season, there are cold nights when we all think we could go by without opening the air conditioner. However, experts warned about opening the windows on a cold night and letting humidity in. If weather forecast indicates that tonight will be cooler but tomorrow is still hot, skip the night off from the air conditioner, keep the windows closed, and turn the unit on.
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Turn off unnecessary lights
Do not make your air conditioner work harder in keeping the room cooler just because all the lights are open. Keep in mind that ordinary light bulbs emit heat which could push the air conditioning units to work harder and therefore, consume more energy.
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Make sure to seal all leaks
There is no sense in using an air conditioner to cool a room or a house full of leaks. The cold air produced by the air conditioning unit will still be able to escape anyway. In such cases, be prepared to shell out more for your energy bill.
Using air conditioners during summer season and at the same time saving money and energy is absolutely possible. Just make sure to follow every single tip we have given above and you can enjoy cool air from your air conditioning units without breaking the summer budget.