With ever-rising electricity prices, using air conditioning becomes a luxury in the summer. But it is emerging as an increasingly sought-after alternative for heating in the winter, given the galloping price of gas.
So, do you already have an air conditioner, or are planning to buy one? Save money and energy with the following 5 tips for using and maintaining air conditioners.
1. Adjust your thermostat.
Use the thermostat on your air conditioner or central air conditioning system if you have one. Use it when you're away and leave the air conditioner on at a constant rate. This way the air conditioner won't be running at full blast, saving you money and energy than turning it on when you get home, and it's still reaching the desired temperature.
2. Clean the air filter of your air conditioner.
Whether you use a central air conditioning system or a room air conditioner, a dirty filter will reduce the efficiency of your air conditioner, and use more energy to do the same job as with a clean filter. Check your filter every month and change it every 3 months. This will definitely result in less electricity used and hence lower electricity bills.
3. Do annual prevention.
Once a year, it is mandatory to carry out preventive maintenance; this ensures full operability and efficiency of the air conditioner. If there is a problem, prevention will save you money before the winter heating months or the hot summer cooling days arrive.
4. Don't think big.
Cooling a room with a room air conditioner requires much less energy (and investment) than a central air conditioning system. Ask or consult about exactly where and for what purpose you will use your new air conditioner, and choose the most correct option that will work for you.
5. Buy energy-saving and environmentally friendly air conditioners.
Many of the new air conditioners are energy efficient and use about 10%/25% less energy than standard old models, some of them are even cheaper. And by purchasing an energy-saving air conditioner, you have the opportunity to apply for an energy efficiency program, with which you receive a grant in the amount of 20% of the amount of the purchased energy-efficient air conditioners and air conditioning systems with an equivalent value of 350 to 2000 USD.
We all make this mistake with the air conditioner, it costs us a lot of money
Believe it or not, it turns out that during the winter heating season, almost all of us make a scandalous mistake with the air conditioner that costs us a lot of money.
It is precisely because of that our electricity bills are much higher, which, with the already high prices of all products and consumables, can seriously weigh on your budget.
Many of us do not like to read the instructions for use, where this error is actually described in detail, but it has become a real mass practice among people.
Even the basic models of air conditioners have the option to determine the direction of the airflow - up, down, or to the side. Usually, we set it up, especially if the air conditioner is mounted above the bed, desk, sofa, or mattress. We just want to avoid direct contact with the air jet. But this is a huge mistake.
The air temperature in the upper part of the room is the highest. When the warm jet of the air conditioner is pushed up, the temperature there becomes even higher. As a result, the air in the lower part of the room becomes even cooler and the floor of the house becomes cold.
The experts are adamant that the air jet of the air conditioner should always be directed downwards. In this way, the device will work more efficiently, it will consume less electricity and the floor will not be cold.
When the air conditioner is in heating mode, the first and most important rule is not to turn it off. Inverter technology works on the principle of power distribution, only when it is needed.
Conclusion
The so-called seasonal coefficients of air conditioners reflect the actual electricity consumption of the heat pump based on its energy efficiency for a whole year. SEER (for cooling) and SCOP (for heating) measure annual energy consumption and efficiency under typical daily use. In the longer term, they account for temperature fluctuations and standby periods to provide a clear and reliable view of typical energy efficiency throughout the heating or cooling season. Depending on their value, the energy class can reach A+++