Energy Efficient Cooling and Air Conditioning Tips
Air conditioning and cooling is among the most significant inventions of the modern age. They made summer movie blockbusters possible and helped boost production for wartime supplies and aircrafts.
Cooling, however, places enormous strain on the electricity system and generates massive quantities of pollution. This special IEA Report aims to raise awareness of the issue and provides solutions.
Energy Efficiency
When selecting the right cooling system, energy efficiency is an important factor. Upgrade to an efficient air conditioner and you’ll reduce your energy costs and also reduce your environmental impact. The energy efficiency of air conditioning units is evaluated in a variety of ways that include SEER and EER. These ratings tell you how much a unit can cool in a given amount of electricity consumed. The higher the rating, the more efficient the unit is. The SEER rating of a unit can be located on its yellow Energy Guide Label or by searching “SEER ratings”.
When you are looking for a new air conditioning unit, look for one with a good SEER rating. This rating shows how the unit performs in normal conditions during a particular season. A higher SEER rating can lower the cost of energy and consumption if you are replacing an older model.
Air conditioning systems are affected by other factors too. For example, high indoor humidity levels, lack of maintenance, and duct leaks can all make your system work harder and use more energy. Maintaining your system with regular maintenance and sealing duct leaks are easy steps to improve the efficiency of your system.
Large commercial cooling systems have particular energy efficiency considerations also. They usually use the combination of split or packaged compressors and massive pipes to distribute cooling throughout the building. These systems may also include steam systems that require specialized maintenance in order to prevent the pipes from becoming blocked.
Many of these systems can also be controlled by the use of 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 provide quick paybacks and incentives for their implementation.
The global effort to curb climate change is heavily dependent on the efficiency of energy used in cooling and air-conditioning. Ultimately, we need to ensure that manufacturers bring super-efficient cooling devices to market, and consumers demand them. In the meantime, we can take other steps to cut down on our energy consumption and greenhouse gases emissions.
Indoor Air Quality
Indoor air quality can be a serious health concern for many people who spend a substantial portion of their lives inside buildings. There are many ways to improve IAQ and avoid common ailments such as asthma, allergies fatigue, allergies, etc.
Particulate matter as well as volatile organic compounds and carbon dioxide are three of the most common sources of pollution in modern homes and office buildings. These pollutants are released into the air through a variety of activities, including cooking, cleaning, or smoking cigarettes, and can lead to respiratory issues and allergic reactions.
High levels of humidity can also cause havoc on air quality. Mildew and mold can thrive in moist air, which can lead to respiratory issues. Monitoring humidity and keeping the moisture at a minimum is crucial to avoid these issues. This can be achieved by regularly vacuuming and dusting, washing bedding, cushions and making use of a humidifier or dehumidifier that is based on the humidifier or hygrometer.
Apart from the obvious health benefits in improving IAQ can enhance the comfort in homes. A home with high levels of air pollution for instance, may smell musty. It can also trigger irritation to the eyes, itchy skin and a feeling of suffocation. These issues can be prevented by installing an air purifier, keeping the HVAC system, and making sure that windows and doors are open for ventilation as required.
Symptoms of poor air quality are varied and can include headaches difficulty in concentrating, and general feeling of malaise. While these symptoms can resolve themselves after leaving a space, prolonged exposure to air pollution can exacerbate existing health conditions and can even result in serious illness.
Ventilation is the most important factor that affects IAQ. This is affected by the weather, room occupancy rate, and the design. There are simple ways to improve IAQ. These include adding plants to the home, opening doors and windows whenever possible, and making sure that the HVAC system works effectively. If you’re looking to go a step further, we recommend that you talk to a Comfort Specialist for an assessment of indoor air quality.
Smoke Pollution
Central air conditioning systems are great in removing biological contaminants like bacteria, molds, pet dander and pollen. However they cannot remove smoke particles. The tiny particles that make up smoke from wildfires are extremely dangerous, and they can easily enter your nose, eyes and throat, causing symptoms like burning or itchy eyes congestion, a runny nose and coughing. They can also cause irritation to your lungs and aggravate chronic heart and lung conditions. The tiny particles of smoke can clog your lungs, triggering a variety of health effects such as an increase in asthma, bronchitis, and damage to your lungs and heart.
The haze that covered New York City last week was caused by forest fires that are burning in Canada. It can also cause dangerous air quality conditions across most of the north and south of the United States. The dense smoky haze reduces visibility and causes breathing difficulties for those who has to be outdoors.
Unfortunately, there is no way to completely prevent smoky air from getting into your business or home through doors and windows especially older houses with a lot of cracks and drafts. You can take steps to lessen the amount of smoke that enters your building.
Close all windows and doors when it’s smoky. This can cut down on the amount of smoke in the outside air by 30 percent. Place damp towels in the cracks around door frames and in the corners to slow down the flow of smoky ai.
If your HVAC system has an recirculation mode, make sure to turn off when you are in a smokey environment. This allows the system to expel the smoke directly outside instead of returning it to inside. If you have ducts within your building which connect to areas that can produce high concentrations of contaminants, such as 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 much more often during smokey conditions to ensure they are effectively removing the toxins from the air inside. Select a filter that has a minimum efficiency reporting value (MERV) of 13 or more, since these filters are specially designed to eliminate the smoke and other gaseous air pollutants.
Supercooling
Supercooling is a trend to save energy that has become more popular in recent years. It’s based on the idea that electricity isn’t priced the same amount at any time of the day. The majority of power companies offer “time of use” plans that offer different off-peak and peak rates. Supercooling lets homeowners cool their homes ahead of off-peak times, so they don’t need to run air conditioners during those costly summer peak hours.
This method requires an automated thermostat that can be programmed. Even so homeowners should take the time to analyze their patterns of usage of electricity to determine when their air conditioner is the most efficient. Many homeowners save around 25% or more off their energy bills through this method.
To make the house super cool, the homeowner sets their AC to lower temperatures in the morning and maintains it at that temperature for a few hours. This cools the walls, floors furniture, fixtures and furniture of the home as well as the air inside. When peak energy costs hit, the homeowner will increase the temperature of the air conditioner and leave it on until the next time it’s turned off.
This method works because cooling isn’t only about keeping the air inside the home cool. It is essential to stop heat from getting into your home through your windows, doors and other points that leak. That’s why homeowners should double-check that their home is properly sealed and insulate any leaky or drafty areas. It is also recommended to use window coverings to block sun light, especially those that get bright direct sunlight during the hottest times of the daytime. It is also important to make sure that all windows and doors are sealed tightly to stop air from escape during cooling cycles are in progress. Additionally, they should think about using smart thermostats to assist them in ensuring that they start and stop cooling at the best times of the day. This allows homeowners to keep their energy costs low and not worry about forgetting to turn off the system or on.