Air Conditioning Tips to Save Energy

With technology evolving, there are numerous ways to save on your energy bills. Even old-school ways such as shade screens are being upgraded with technology to help save more energy by reducing heat while maintaining good interior lighting.

Shade Screens

In the summer most buildings have two sources of heat to contend with. Exterior and interior. As sun enters your home, it warms up the objects in your home, warming your home from the inside.

Fiberglass or metal shade screens are often cost-effective for low-rise commercial applications and are capable of reducing solar heat gain up to 80 percent compared to un-shaded clear glass. A shade screen is a specially fabricated screen of sheet material with narrow louvers formed in place to prevent solar radiation from striking a window—the louvers are so small that only tiny insects can pass through. The air space between the exterior shade screen and the window helps carry away heat absorbed by the shade before it can be transferred through the window.

Window Film

Generally, window film is used more on commercial buildings than residential. However, a home with exterior walls consisting of 20% or more than windows may want to consider such treatments. Window films are thin layers of polyester, metallic coatings, and adhesives that save energy by limiting both the amount of solar radiation passing through the window and the amount of internal heat escaping.

Window films can be retrofitted to existing windows to reduce heat gain from solar radiation and provide low-cost cooling load reduction. They can be applied directly to the interior surfaces of all types of glass and generally last 5 to 15 years. Window films can be retrofitted to existing windows to reduce heat gain due to solar radiation and provide a low-cost cooling load reduction.

Appliances

Did you know that nationally the average home spends about $2,000 on energy bills every year? When buying an appliance, remember that it has two price tags: what you pay to take it home and what you pay for the energy and water it uses. ENERGY STAR qualified appliances incorporate advanced technologies that use 10–50% less energy and water than standard models. If you are not seeing this many savings in your water heater. Good chances are water heater repair Philadelphia division can change that.

The Energy Star website, www.energystar.gov, is an excellent resource for more ideas. They have a KIDS page full of great ideas on how children can become involved.

Although each clock or chip uses only a little energy, the constant consumption 24 hours a day, seven days a week, adds up. To get an idea of how many vampires are lurking in your home, take a simple inventory. How many clocks (night stand, microwave and oven) are plugged in? Does your coffee maker have a timer and clock for turning it on and off at preset times? How many CD, VCR or DVD players are plugged in that have clocks or memories? Any electronic with a box-like transformer at the plug end of the cord is drawing power on standby, which is why the transformer is always warm to the touch.

Television

We all heard how too much TV was bad for us while we were growing up and maybe there was some truth to that but for energy reasons.

First, the question of new flat-screen TVs versus old cathode-ray TVs. Generally speaking, large-screen TVs consume more energy than the smaller-screened CRT-based TVs they replace. And most people are adding TVs.

That is, they tend not to replace old TVs with new ones but add a second or third TV. And since TVs consume power even when they’re not on, just adding a TV set or two can add dramatically to your power consumption.

A recent report from the BBC found that in the United Kingdom, plasma televisions, which it says are about 50 percent bigger than their cathode-ray-tube equivalents, “consume about four times more energy according to the government-funded Energy Saving Trust.” And when looking at the carbon emissions from the power plants, the same group found that old-style TVs produce 100kg of climate-warming C02 per year, while larger, plasma screens will pump out 400kg from the plant. A recent report from Panasonic, makers of both LCD and plasma TVs, said that the new TVs consume more power than older CRTs, but the company is working to get the new TVs to be more energy efficient.

Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs (CFL)

CFLs use about 25% of the power of a standard light bulb and best of all, they give off about 1/4 the heat of a conventional light bulb as well. So they use less power and cause your air conditioner to run less

Change Your Thermostat Setting

For every 2 degrees warmer you set it in the summer or two degrees cooler you set it in the winter, you can save between 4 and 6%. Going from 78° to 80° is about a 10% savings! This is where a programmable thermostat earns its keep! Knowing the pros, cons and myths of thermostats is important for the homeowner, take a look at below’s energy saving tips.

Want Even More Energy Saving Tips?

Electronic Devices – Did you know that many of your home electronic devices (computers, DVD players, etc) still use power when they are turned off? They can use as much as 75% of their “on” use when off. When practical, such devices should have their power disconnected when not in use.

Dishwasher – Try to not run the dishwasher until it is full and don’t use the Heat Dry if possible.

Time Of Day Plans – If your utility has a Time of Day plan, you may be able to get substantial savings if you participate and can run your appliances during off-peak times.

Upgrade Your Windows – If you’re moving into a house with single-pane windows, or living in a climate with extreme heat, you should consider putting something on the outside to reflect the light. Upgrading to a Low E, dual pane type of window will save energy and increase your home comfort.

New Heating and Cooling System – Replace older heating and cooling equipment with a new high efficiency system. Systems available today are as much as 40% more efficient than those installed just 15 years ago. Have your cooling and heating system professionally maintained. A system with proper air flow and refrigerant charge can be as much as 30% more efficient than one that is not operating correctly.

Old Refrigerator or Freezer? – Putting an old refrigerator or freezer in your garage can really cost you! Many garages can get well over 120° in the summer, well more than the appliance was designed for when it was new. Now that it is 10yr old, it will really struggle and in the meantime use a lot of power to do so. Replace your old refrigerator. This is the second biggest energy-guzzling appliances in the house, says a spokeswoman for a company that does home energy audits, and there have been big changes in the efficiency of this appliance over the last five years. “If you look back at the top-rated refrigerator in 2001 that was Energy Star, and one you’d buy today with an Energy Star rating, there would be a 20% to 40% difference in energy efficiency,” she says. Her firm performs home energy audits and is an energy retailer.

Air Conditioning Tips To Save Energy

Shade Producing Landscape – Planting a tree or some vegetation outside a big window can shade your house from the strongest rays of the sun and stifle freezing winds. Planting low-water native plants can also cut your water bill, lowering the total cost you pay for your home each month.

Proper Attic Ventilation – This is another way to lower your cooling bill. Improperly vented attics can reach as high as 170 degrees in the summer causing your cooling system to work even harder.

Weatherproof Your Home – Air leaks around doors and windows will cause your heating and cooling system to run more. Have questions? See HVAC FAQs page.