The air conditioner is now an indispensable appliance, but it is often used incorrectly, which leads to waste, excessive consumption and exorbitant bills. To avoid all this, it is important to pay attention to a series of factors.
How to save with air conditioningin these increasingly torrid summers? This is one of the questions that Italian families ask themselves in this period, when the switching on of the heating systems home air conditioning reaches its peak.
On the other hand, with temperatures constantly above 30 degrees, it is more than natural to seek refreshment. Yet it is a question that should be asked even in winter, if you decide to use this appliance for heating the rooms.
Once intended for the wealthiest families, today the air conditioner has become a consumer good. There are all types on the market, equipped with various functions and suitable for all budgets. And their diffusion in the Italian population is certainly felt.
However, on the hottest days of summer it is not uncommon to find blackoutdue precisely to the great hunger for energy of these appliances. Below, some useful information to save.
How much does the air conditioner consume?
As already mentioned, the air conditioner is a household appliance increasingly widespread in Italian homes. It has practically replaced the classic fan, for its effectiveness in cooling rooms. And there are more and more owners who use it in winter to generate heat, considering that all models on the market now have both heating and cooling functions. But how much does it consume?
Unfortunately, the air conditioner is one of the most energy-hungry household appliances. energyalso due to the complexity of its operation. Its complex system is not dissimilar from that of a refrigerator or a heat pump. A special liquid is made to flow in special coils that, depending on the selected function, subtract or release heat from the air in the rooms.
On average, Italian families consume from 450 to 600 KWh per year to keep the air conditioner on, regardless of whether you use it in winter or summer. This translates into billdepending on the area of residence and the selected operator, in an increase of the annual economic outlay between 120 and 350 euros.
Air Conditioning On 24 Hours: Is It Helpful?
One of the factors that most influences the fan’s consumption is the very widespread habit of keep it on 24/7. Or, again, for a large part of the day. But is it a useful practice?
There is no precise answer, because much depends on the model you own, the energy saving options offered by the appliance and its age. In general, an average quality air conditioner with less than two years of life requires at least 1.80 euros to work 24 hours a day. A figure that translates into a good 54 euros per month.
However, if you stay away from home for a long time for work reasons or take advantage of the natural freshness guaranteed by the air in the early morning and during the night, this figure can be significantly lowered. Keeping it on for six or eight hours, the cost drops to 0.80-0.90 cents per day.
How to save with air conditioning
But how to save with the air conditioner, are there settings or techniques that allow you to protect your walletwithout giving up the cool? As you can easily imagine, there are small tricks that can make a difference in your bill.
Adjust the temperature
A bad habit, with an impact on energy consumption, is to keep the air conditioner on extreme temperatures. Sometimes even more than ten degrees compared to the outside temperature. This is a real waste, because the house should not turn into a freezing igloo, even 2-3 degrees of difference are enough to feel immediately refreshed.
Experts always recommend do not go below 4 degrees compared to the outside temperature, also to avoid imbalances when leaving the house. If you really can’t resist, you should not exceed 8 degrees of difference.
Adjusting the device by just two degrees – from 26 to 24, for example – allows you to achieve up to 20% cutting on the energy consumption. And if everyone set their temperatures to cool, but not excessively so, global energy demand during the hottest seasons would be reduced by 7%.
Choosing the right size
One air conditioner is not like another, the models on the market are not all identical. To avoid unnecessary waste of energy, it is necessary to choose the appliance of the right size for the room you want to cool or heat, perhaps with the help of a technician at the home appliance store.
- And air conditioner too bigwill produce excess cooling, with an energy waste of approximately 15-20%;
- And air conditioner too small will not be able to compensate for the hot – or cold, in winter – air present inside the room, it will literally launch into overwork, consuming up to 40% more than expected.
Install the air conditioner high up
Air conditioners, especially if designed to cool rooms, should always be installed on the highest part of the walls. This is for a very simple reason: cold air tends to sink downwards, while warm air tends to rise upwards.
An optimal position allows you to optimize the appliance’s energy consumption by up to 15%.
Clean filters and manage windows
I filters of the appliance must be cleaned regularly: when dirty and clogged, they require greater effort from the air conditioner to produce cold or hot air, thus requiring more electricity.
Again, when turning on the appliance it is always recommended to keep the windows tightly closed. This is because, if they are opened perhaps with the false belief of making a draft and cooling off, in reality, hot air from outside will be incorporated into the house and the air conditioner will work harder.
Cheap ways to cool your home
The easiest way to save money and protect your wallet? Keep the air conditioner off. It may seem really impossible, especially in these increasingly sultry summers, and yet there are some Grandma’s remedies quite cheap but definitely functional.
Opening the windows
During the summer, the windows They should only be opened early in the morning and late at night, so as to cool the house. At these times the outside air has not yet reached scorching temperatures and circulating it in the house will cool the rooms.
By doing so, you can also reduce the mercury levels in the column by 2-4 degrees compared to the open air.
Luce
When the sun shines very strongly, especially if the house faces south, it creates a real greenhouse effect with its rays. Passing through the glass of the windows, it heats the rooms internally.
For this reason, it would be necessary to block light sources during the hottest hours of the day, using curtains and very thick curtains or, again, roller shutters and blinds.
Fan and ice
Il fan It is a relatively cheap tool, with lower consumption than the air conditioner. Sometimes, however, its power is not enough to obtain effective cooling. Have you ever thought of having a DIY air conditioner starting from a fan?
A very effective old wives’ remedy is to apply some ice on its rear surface. Take a sturdy bag, attach it to the rear grille of the fan and make sure that the bag itself does not get caught in the blades of the appliance.
Why, however, does this method work? The mechanism is very simple: the fan draws air from its rear portion and, by moving its blades at very high speed, cools it, then pushes it into the rooms. By applying ice, this forced air current will have to collide with the bag which, being extremely cold, will instantly reduce the temperature of the air itself.
Of course, the bag will have to be completely waterproofto prevent the ice – once melted and transformed into water – from affecting the electrical circuits of the appliance, possibly with very dangerous consequences.
Source: www.greenstyle.it
