Energy Efficient Cooling and Air Conditioning Tips
Air cooling and conditioning is one of the most significant inventions of modern history. They helped make summer blockbusters and wartime planes and other equipment possible.
However cooling puts a huge strain on electricity systems and causes huge quantities of pollution. This particular IEA Report raises awareness of the effects and offers solutions.
Energy Efficiency
When choosing the right cooling system, energy efficiency is an important factor. Upgrade to an efficient air conditioner and you will reduce your energy costs and also reduce your environmental impact. Air conditioners are rated with several different energy efficiency ratings, such as SEER, EER, and HSPF. These ratings indicate how much an air conditioner can cool in a given amount of power consumed. The higher the rating is, the more efficient the unit. You can find the SEER rating on the yellow Energy Guide label or by searching for “SEER ratings” online.
When you are looking for a new air conditioning system, search for one with a high SEER rating. This rating reveals how efficiently the unit can perform during the course of a season in normal conditions. If you’re replacing an older model with a higher SEER rating will significantly reduce your energy consumption and expenses.
Other factors can affect energy efficiency in air conditioning systems, too. For example high levels of indoor humidity and a lack of maintenance and duct leaks could all make your system more efficient and use more energy. Making sure you are keeping up with routine maintenance and sealing duct leaks are simple steps to increase the efficiency of your system.
Commercial cooling systems are also susceptible to concerns about energy efficiency. They typically utilize a combination of packaged or split compressors and massive pipe networks to distribute cooling throughout the building. They may also incorporate steam systems that require special maintenance to keep the pipes from getting blocked.
A lot of these huge systems can also be controlled by a Building Automation System, which integrates the heating and cooling systems into a single central system. Verde has helped clients improve the performance of these systems by providing simple retrocommissioning guidelines that typically have quick paybacks and incentives for their implementation.
Energy efficiency in cooling and air conditioning is a key element of global efforts to combat climate change. In the end, we must ensure that manufacturers introduce super-efficient cooling appliances to market, and that consumers want these appliances. In the meantime, there are a variety of actions we can take to help cut our energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
Indoor Air Quality
Indoor air quality is a serious health concern for many people who spend a substantial portion of their time in buildings. There are fortunately many ways to improve IAQ and be a solution to common ailments like asthma as well as allergies and fatigue.
Particulate matter and volatile organic compounds and carbon dioxide are three of the most frequent sources of pollution in modern homes and office buildings. These pollutants can be released into the air by a number of activities like cooking, cleaning and smoking. They can trigger allergies and respiratory problems.
High levels of moisture can also have a negative impact on the quality of air. Moisture can encourage the growth of mildew and mold that can trigger respiratory problems. To prevent these issues it is crucial to keep an eye on humidity levels and ensure that the moisture level remains at a low level. The best method to do this is by regularly dusting and vacuuming, washing bedding and soft furnishings and using an air dehumidifier and humidifier if required based on readings from hygrometers.
Aside from the obvious health benefits as well as the obvious health benefits, improving IAQ can improve the comfort of homes. A home that has high levels of air pollution for instance, may smell musty. It can also cause irritation or itchy eyes, and also a snoring sensation. This can be addressed by installing an air purifier, keeping the HVAC system, and ensuring that doors and windows are open for ventilation as required.
Poor air quality can cause headaches, problems with concentration, and a general feeling of ill-health. These symptoms may resolve after leaving the space however prolonged exposure to poor quality air can worsen existing health conditions or even cause serious health issues.
Ventilation is the primary factor that affects IAQ. This can be affected by the weather, occupancy rates, and the design of the structure. There are many ways to improve IAQ. This can be done by adding plants to the home, opening the windows and doors whenever feasible, and making sure that the HVAC system is working properly. If you want to go one step further, we suggest that you consult a Comfort Specialist about an indoor air quality assessment.
Smoke Pollution
While central air conditioners do a great job of removing the majority of biological pollutants, including bacteria, molds, pet dander, and pollen, they are not designed to eliminate smoke particles. The microscopic particles in smoke from wildfires are extremely dangerous and easily get into your nose, eyes and throat, causing symptoms like burning or itchy eyes, congestion, a runny nose and coughing. They can also irritate your lungs and cause worsening of chronic heart and lung conditions. Smoke particles can cause a variety health effects, including bronchitis and aggravated asthma.
The smoke that has blanketed New York City this week has been caused by forest fires in Canada and is causing dangerous air quality conditions across much of the northern US and southern Canada. The dense smoky haze reduces visibility and can cause breathing difficulties for those who has to be outdoors.
There is no way to stop smoke from getting into your home through doors and windows particularly in older homes with many cracks and drafts. However you can take steps to reduce the amount of smoke that enters your home or business.
Keep all windows and doors shut when it’s smokey outside. This can cut the amount of smoke by 30 percent. Place wet towels in the cracks around door frames and in the corners to reduce the flow of smoke.
If your HVAC system features an recirculation feature, make sure you switch it off when the air is smokey. This will allow the system to eliminate the smoke outside rather than recirculating it inside. If you have ducts in your building which connect to areas that may have high concentrations of pollutants, like attached parking garages and loading docks, you should be sure to have those ducts separated from the rest of the duct system.
The EPA recommends changing your HVAC filters more often during smokey conditions to ensure that they are effective in eliminating the toxins from the air inside. Select a filter that has a minimum efficiency reporting value (MERV) of 13 or greater, as these filters are specially designed to eliminate gases and smoke pollutants.
Supercooling
In recent years, supercooling has been an energy-saving method that is popular. It’s based off the idea that electricity costs different amounts at different times of the day. The majority of power companies offer “time of use” plans with different peak and offpeak rates. Supercooling allows homeowners to pre-cool their homes at off-peak times so that they don’t need to run their air conditioners during those high-cost summer peak periods.
This requires a thermostat with programmable settings that can be adjusted automatically. However even with this, homeowners must be sure to examine their electricity usage patterns and determine the most cost-effective time to run their air conditioning. A lot of people save 25% or more on their energy bills using this method.
To make the house super cool, the homeowner sets their air conditioner to a lower temperature in the morning, and then keeps it at that setting for a few hours. This cools the walls, floors furniture, fixtures and furniture of the house as well as the air inside. When peak energy-cost hours hit the homeowner cranks the air conditioner up and leaves it running until it is turned off for several hours again.
This strategy is successful because cooling doesn’t just mean making the air inside the home cooler. It also aims to prevent heat from entering the home through doors, windows and other leak points. That’s why homeowners should double-check that their homes are properly insulated and cover any drafty or leaky areas. It is also recommended to use window coverings to block out sun particularly those that receive direct sunlight that is bright during the hottest times of the daytime. It is also important to ensure that all doors and windows are tightly sealed to prevent air from getting out during cooling cycles are in progress. Also, they should consider using smart thermostats that can help them remember to start and stop cooling at the ideal times of the day. This will allow homeowners to keep their energy costs at a minimum without having to remember to turn the system off or on.
