In Asia, a typical household will pay up to 70% of their energy bill for their house air conditioning all year round. In summer, the average American family pays around 40%? To reduce or optimize this high energy cost, just follow these simple tips to help you keep your house cool and significantly reduce your energy bills during the hot months.
1. If you need to cool only one room, don't use your central air conditioning. Use Split air conditioner, instead. Modern split units have a very high energy efficiency rating, so it will cool your room effectively and save you a lot more money. This is the reason why mini split air conditioners are gaining popularity as they allow you to selectively cool certain rooms only.
2. Install mini-blinds or use sunshade screen or solar film on your windows to cut down the sunlight getting indoors. Mini-blinds can be very effective and can reduce heat gain from direct sunlight by 40-50 percent. You can also hang bamboo shades or tightly woven screens outside your windows. This will stop up to 80 percent of the sun's heat from getting through your windows.
3. For those who live in houses, use of sidings can greatly reduce the amount of heat absorbed by the walls. Keep all windows closed during the day. At night you can open them for ventilation and switch on a fan instead of an air conditioner.
4. If you are using a mini split air conditioner, make sure that the outside compressor is well shaded and ventilated. Do not place objects or plants next to the compressor; it needs some room for air flow. Clean the cooling fins regularly to keep them free from dust and leaves from blocking its airflow.
5. It is best to clean your air conditioner filter at least once a month (Weekly or Bi-weekly cleaning is recommended if air conditioner is used on a daily basis). Dust build-ups can significantly reduce air flow. Brushing and vacuuming is an ineffective and even hazardous way to clean. Mold can build up inside your air conditioner. These mold spores can spread throughout the household if they are not removed properly from your system. By far, the most effective and safest way to clean is to use chemical washing on your cooling coils and blower blades. Research the web to find lab tested or certified cleaning products for air conditioners. These products should not only clean but have anti-bacterial and anti-fungal capabilities. Cleaning should be done about every three month for best results. Avoid using conventional caustic hydroxide products that are frequently used by air conditioning services. These chemicals will shorten the life of the air conditioner and if not cleaned properly will produce hazardous VOC's (Volatile Organic Compounds, see Wikipedia).
6. When buying an air conditioner unit, make sure that it is the right size for your room. A unit that is too small will not cool your room effectively, and an A/C that is too large will consume much more energy than necessary. But under sizing your air conditioner will also cause your energy bills to increase as the compressor will always be running since the room does not get cool enough to trigger the thermostat to cutoff. Make sure you get a reliable air conditioning dealer to size your air conditioning unit.
7. If you use central air conditioning, seal all A/C ducts. Insulate ducts that run through rooms that don't need cooling, like the basement or the attic.
8. If your air conditioner is older than 6 years, you should replace it with a modern high efficiency unit. Since Older A/C systems have a SEER (seasonal energy efficiency ratio) of only 6 or 7, you can save 50% of your energy by using the newer air conditioners on the market today which offer SEER as high as 13.
9. Use roller blinds to partition your rooms especially the spacious rooms such as your master bedroom. When you sleep at night, you do not need a huge space but you cool that space anyway because it is part of the room. You should partition that off. In some case where your air conditioner airflow is weak or the cooling capacity has dropped, partitioning will reduce the cooling space, enabling the room to become cooler.
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