Air Conditioning

Being comfortable in your home or while at work requires a steady and agreeable indoor climate. In summer, air conditioning is the cooling solution for those living in places where hot weather presides during summer and in some cases even longer.

It is quite common to find many older buildings that are not equipped with a mechanical cooling system. Yet they seem to be able to deal with warm weather during summer very well without becoming uncomfortably hot inside.

On the other hand, many more recently built homes and offices were not so well designed and seem unable to avoid excessive internal heating when the weather turns hot.

When it gets unbearably hot inside, it's only natural to demand an effective means of reducing the indoor temperature, which is where air conditioning comes to the rescue.

Demand and Supply

Luckily for many people living in the warmer states, this is a solution that is readily available and affordable to most homeowners who enjoy a level of disposable income that can be put to good use. Air conditioners come in a variety of forms and configurations, including:

Large, whole building central systems
Large or small distributed standalone ductless mini-split AC units
Individual room-by-room window units
Small yet surprisingly effective vented or unvented portable air conditioners

One or other (or sometimes a combination of different types) can be found in homes and places of work where their ability to provide a cooler internal atmosphere is required during hot weather. There are several options available to people who need a seasonal cooling solution, although the benefits of AC seem to far outweight most of the alternatives currentrly available.

The Benefits of Air Conditioning

Modern AC configurations (systems and/or individual units) are considerably more efficient and surprisingly economical than their older counterparts. What makes them appealing to many homeowners is the fact that they are comparably way more affordable these days than they were several decades ago.

There are many very attractive benefits that accompany modern systems and standalone units. They include:

They are cost effective to purchase, install and run
They can be economical when used correctly and sensibly
Make it possible to enjoy a more comfortable living and working indoor climate
Systems are reliable and long lasting when regularly serviced and maintained
They look good in most situations

Despite the general concensus that AC is an inefficient energy hog as the older systems tended to be, modern units are much better designed and can be much more economical as long as they are used sensibly and regularly maintained by professional service engineers.

Energy Consumption

As already mentioned, a lot of the bad press suffered by AC with regard to excessively high energy consumption in the home is a result of incorrect thermostat setting. Another cause is the system had been allowed to get too old and deteriorated through neglect and a lack of regular maintenance and servicing.

However, there are some simple remedies that employ little more than common sense that can transform the energy consumption figures even with older equipment.

This can be highlighted by the fact that even very new equipment can be made to consume much more power than is necessary if it is not operated correctly by family members who may be unaware of the correct settings to use. Most unnecessarily high power consumption tends to occur when the thermostat has been set much too low or an individual AC unit is left running in an unoccupied room.

There is no need to set the thermostat so low that it gets very cold inside the home or in an individual room. Very low settings may actually damage the refrigeration unit and cause ice to build up inside the condenser. This causes the compressor to overwork and consume far more energy than is necessary to maintain a comfortable temperature indoors.

Thermostat Setting

Setting the thermostat to maintain a comfortable indoor temperature is important not just to conserve power buit also to create an environment that people can relax in without feeling too cold. A sensible way of going about this is to set the temperature to a level that would be considered "comfortable" all year round.

Around 72-75 degrees is a comfortable level that allows people to feel neither too hot or too cold, but just right. This is a sensible level where the system can work efficiently and economically and will not be forced to use more power than necessary.

That's how to promote an economical way to stay comfortable indoors not just during summer but at any time of the year. It saves money, energy and is better for the environment as a whole.

More Information

You can get more information covering all aspects of air conditioning by reading the free to view informational articles that have been published in this section of the website for you to expand your knowledge if you so desire. Titles are listed below and clickable: