If you live somewhere hot, it’s surprisingly easy to forget how hard your home air conditioning system works all year round. It’s also just as easy to neglect the overall condition and therefore efficiency of your cooling unit.
Keeping a watchful eye on your air conditioning’s energy-efficiency may seem complex or more trouble than its worth, but this is a popular misconception among homeowners. By regularly focusing on the everyday activity of your system, you can help it preserve excess energy and prevent any from being wasted, control rapid temperature changes within your living spaces, minimise ambient humidity, and save much more money than you might expect.
To help you get the very best out of your home air-con system without compromising the temperatures or comfort you need, here are some top tips to raise your unit’s efficiency.
Energy Preservation
Every UK air conditioning system is rated from A to G on an energy efficiency scale. Measured in kilowatts (kW), it takes into account your energy consumption (input and output) during frequent usage no matter what month of the year you’re in. Even if your system is already rated highly on the scale there are many ways to continue to improve and maximise its efficiency, like allowing ambient heat from the fire, kitchen or bathroom to circulate, or getting the unit serviced regularly to check for energy loss and have any problems identified.
One of the simplest ways to ensure you use your air conditioning unit as efficiently as possible is not to tamper with or alter thermostats and temperature control panels unless it is absolutely necessary.
Most people hold the misconception that a room or space will warm-up or cool down faster if they change the temperature settings more aggressively – not true. This method simply wastes extra energy you will not get back. So next time you’re overheating and are easily tempted to ‘speed up’ the air-con, think of the money you’ll save by powering through and letting your air conditioning unit do its thing.
BOXT are proud suppliers and installers of top-quality air conditioning units for homes and businesses all over the UK. Their huge team of professional installers can remove your old worn out unit and replace it with a new one as soon as the next day to make sure your home is running as efficiently as possible and you can keep cool in the summer months.
Temperature Control
Though a high-quality air conditioning system can do the heavy lifting when it comes to keeping your home cool, it shouldn’t have to do too much work. You can make sure your home unit stays running more efficiently by taking some of the pressure off and making small changes to the way you control the internal temperature of your home.
How? This can be done in a multitude of ways, such as drawing your curtains to keep out harsh sunlight and high temperatures during the hottest summer months and keep heat in during the colder autumn and winter seasons.
Automatic ventilation and exhaust fans that can either attach to your ceiling lights or be installed within your walls can also remove and filter heat, taking the pressure away from your air conditioning unit and allowing you to run the unit on its lowest setting to ensure efficient functioning.
Humidity Control
A lesser-known trick to using your home air conditioning system more efficiently is to reduce the humidity levels in your living spaces using dehumidifiers. These machines are easy to come by at most UK hardware retailers and are relatively inexpensive considering the powerful function that they perform, not to mention the health benefits that come with having a well-ventilated and de-humidified environment to live in.
Humidity goes unseen all around you, but it can make the air feel hot, heavy, damp and even cause respiratory and sinus issues, this feeling of unbearable, sticky heat forces you to want to ramp up your air conditioning, though this is actually ineffective against humidity and instead simply grows your carbon footprint to no avail.
Instead of running for the thermostat, its always a great idea to question whether the heat is a product of the humidity or the temperature, then take the right action accordingly.
Now you’re more aware of the ways you can use a home air conditioning system more efficiently throughout the year, your household will be on your way to saving a heap load of extra cash to save or spend elsewhere around the home, lowering your carbon footprint and minimising your overall energy usage – it’s a win-win situation.