Like the wheel, the air conditioner revolutionized our way of life. The air conditioner makes it possible to live in deserts such as Dubai, Las Vegas, Phoenix and many others. Air conditioners allow you to have a cool, comfortable house while the outside is crazy hot.
While most of us can’t live without air conditioners, most people installing the units for the first time ask, is air conditioning expensive? To answer this question, we have to hear what expert AC repair services providers have to say.
How does the cost of running air conditioners compare to that of other appliances?
While the cost of running the cooling appliances varies depending on the location of your house, its size, its age, insulation, presence of double pane windows, outside temperature, and the amount of time you keep the appliance running, it’s no lie that maintaining an air conditioner is expensive.
By comparison, it will cost you $2.50 per hour to cool your home with an AC, $1 an hour to run a gas stove, 45 cents to use an overage sized refrigerator and 85 cents an hour to dry clothes with a clothes dryer.
The main reason why air conditioners are expensive to run is that they have many moving parts.
Due to the high cost of cooling the house, you should work at ensuring that you keep energy costs low as much as possible. Luckily there are plenty of things you can do about it.
How to reduce your air conditioning costs
Install an appliance of the right size: The size of the air conditioner not only affects your coolings costs, it also affects the efficiency of the appliance. Most first time AC buyers have the impression that they will get the most from a large appliance, but this isn’t the case.
In addition to a large appliance consuming a lot of energy, it’s also incredibly inefficient, especially when you install it in a small house. A large appliance also creates inconsistent temperatures throughout the house as it cycles on and off too frequently.
For you to get the most from your appliance, ensure that you buy an appropriately sized unit. If you aren’t sure about the right size of unit you should go for, consult an HVAC service professional.
Watch where you place the air conditioner.
Where you place the air conditioner has a significant impact on how efficient it is at cooling the house. When you place the appliance at a sunny spot outside the house, it will receive a lot of direct sunlight; hence it doesn’t function as well as it should.
The best place to put the appliance is in a shady area that isn’t blocked by bushes or other features. While you might not like the look of the air conditioner, it will cool the house more efficiently.
Give the air conditioner a break.
Unless during a time like this of a global pandemic, you don’t spend all of the time in the house, right? When you aren’t in the house during the day or at night while you are asleep, turn it up, so you save some energy.
To have an easy time doing this, consider investing in a programmable thermostat. Using the thermostat, you will even be able to control the air conditioner from your office automatically.
Avoid changing the temperature too often.
While we are advocating changing the temperature at night and when you aren’t in the house, you shouldn’t turn the settings too high or too low. A temperature cooler than 24 C is a waste of energy and one warmer than 27 C is too uncomfortable.
Pick a temperature within the range and stick to it.
Make use of your windows.
While you might enjoy the summer breeze, keeping the windows open will be problematic as it will keep the air conditioner working too hard. To prevent cool air from getting lost, keep the windows closed.
Instead of opening the windows for the breeze to get into the house, make use of ceiling fans. AC repair services McLean providers advise you to use the fans sparingly as you can end up spending too much energy than you are looking to save.
