Energy Efficient Cooling and Air Conditioning Tips
Air conditioning and cooling is among the most important inventions of our time. They made blockbuster summer movies possible and helped boost manufacturing for wartime supplies as well as airplanes.
However cooling places a significant strain on electricity systems and creates massive quantities of pollution. This particular IEA Report raises awareness of the issue and suggests solutions.
Energy Efficiency
When you are choosing a new cooling system energy efficiency is a key aspect. The upgrade to a more efficient conditioner will help you save on energy bills and reduce environmental impacts. The energy efficiency of air conditioning units is assessed in various ways that include SEER and EER. These ratings indicate how the air conditioner is able to cool using a specific amount of electricity. The higher the rating, the more efficient the unit is. The SEER rating of the system 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 that has a high SEER rating. This rating indicates how efficiently the unit performs during the course of a season in normal conditions. If you’re replacing a model that’s older with a higher SEER rating will drastically reduce your energy use and expenses.
Air conditioning systems can be affected by other causes too. Insufficient humidity in the indoors, lack of maintenance and duct leaks, for example, can all make your system be more demanding and consume more energy. Making sure you are keeping up with routine maintenance and sealing duct leaks are easy steps to improve your system’s energy efficiency.
Commercial cooling systems are also subject to energy efficiency concerns. They usually utilize the combination of packaged or split compressors with huge pipe networks to distribute cooling throughout the building. They might also have steam systems, which require specialized maintenance to ensure that the pipes do not become blocked.
A lot of these huge systems can also be controlled with the use of a Building Automation System, which integrates the cooling and heating systems into one centralized system. Verde has assisted clients in optimizing the performance of these systems with simple retrocommissioning recommendations that typically have quick paybacks and incentives to implement.
Energy efficiency in cooling and air conditioning is a key component of global efforts to combat climate change. We must ensure that cooling equipment is efficient and that consumers are demanding these appliances. In the meantime, there are other actions we can take to help cut our energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
Indoor Air Quality
Indoor air quality can be a major health risk for those who spend a large part of their lives inside buildings. There are a variety of ways to improve IAQ and avoid common ailments such as asthma, allergies fatigue, asthma, etc.
Particulate matter (PM) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and carbon dioxide are the three main pollutants in modern workplaces and homes. These pollutants can be released into the atmosphere through a variety of actions such as cleaning, cooking and smoking. They can cause allergies and respiratory problems.
The high levels of humidity can also cause havoc on air quality. Mildew and mold can thrive in humid air, which can lead to respiratory issues. To avoid these issues it is crucial to monitor humidity and ensure that the moisture level remains at a lower level. This can be done by regularly cleaning and vacuuming, washing bedding, cushions and using a dehumidifier or humidifier using a hygrometer.
In addition to the obvious health benefits of improving IAQ, it can also improve the comfort of your home. A home that has high levels of air pollution, for example, can smell musty. It can also trigger itchy skin, irritated eyes and a feeling of suffocation. This can be addressed by installing an air purifier, keeping the HVAC system, and making sure that doors and windows are kept open to let in air as needed.
Symptoms of poor air quality can be a variety of symptoms and can include headaches difficulty concentrating, and even general feeling of malaise. These symptoms may resolve when you leave the room however, prolonged exposure to poor quality air could exacerbate existing health issues or cause serious illnesses.
The primary factor that affects IAQ is the rate that fresh air replaces stale air, a process known as ventilation. This is affected by the weather, the occupancy rate of the room, and the design. But, a few simple steps can be taken to enhance IAQ, including introduction of plants into the home, opening windows and doors as much as is possible and making sure that the HVAC system is working correctly. If you’d like to take an even more comprehensive approach, it is recommended to consult a Comfort Specialist about an assessment of indoor air quality.
Smoke Pollution
While heat pumps and central air conditioners do an excellent job of filtering out most biological pollutants, such as molds, bacteria, 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 eyes, nose and throat, causing symptoms like burning or itchy eyes, congestion, a runny nose and coughing. They can also cause irritation to the lungs and exacerbate heart and lung conditions that are chronic. Smoke particles can trigger a variety of health problems, including bronchitis and aggravated asthma.
The smoke that has blanketed New York City this week is the result of forest fires in Canada and is causing hazardous air quality conditions across much of the northern US and southern Canada. The thick fog of smoke reduces visibility, and can cause respiratory distress for anyone who has to be outside.
Unfortunately, there is no way to completely prevent smoke from entering your business or home through windows and doors, especially older homes with a lot of drafts and cracks. However, you can make steps to limit the amount of smoke entering your home or business.
Keep all doors and windows shut when it’s smokey outside. This will reduce the amount of smoke from outside air by 30%. If you can, place damp towels around the door frames and cracks to stop the movement of smoky air into your home or business.
If your HVAC system has the recirculation feature, make sure to switch off the recirculation mode during smoke conditions. This will allow the system to exhaust the smoky air directly outside, rather than the air being recirculated inside. If your building has ducts connecting to areas where contamination is likely to be high, such as loading docks and parking garages, you should ensure that these ducts are isolated from the rest.
The EPA suggests changing your HVAC filters much more often in the event of smoke to ensure they’re effectively taking out the toxins in the air inside. Select a filter with an MERV that is at least (MERV) that is 13 or more. These filters are designed to eliminate gaseous air pollution and smoke.
Supercooling
In recent years, supercooling has been an energy-saving method that is popular. It’s based on the notion that electricity isn’t priced the same amount at all times of the day. The majority of power companies offer “time of use” plans with different rates for off-peak and peak times. Supercooling lets homeowners pre-cool their homes in off-peak hours so they don’t have to use their air conditioners during those high-cost summer peak periods.
This requires a programmable thermostat that is able to adjust itself automatically. Even with this, homeowners still need to examine their patterns of usage of electricity to determine when their air conditioner will be the most efficient. A lot of people save 25% or more off their energy bills using this method.
To supercool homeowners, they set their air conditioner to lower temperatures in the morning, and then keeps it at that setting for a couple of hours. This cools the floors, walls furniture, fixtures and furniture of the home as well as the air inside. When peak energy costs hit the homeowner, he or she will increase the temperature of the air conditioner and leave it on until the next time it is shut off.
This strategy is successful since cooling doesn’t just refer to making the air in the house cooler. It also aims to prevent heat from entering the house through doors, windows and other leak points. It’s important that homeowners double-check their homes’ insulation and seal any drafty or leaky areas. Also, they should consider using window shades to block out sun particularly those that receive direct sunlight that is bright during the hottest hours of the daytime. Also, they should ensure that all windows and doors are sealed tightly to stop air from escaping when cooling cycles occur. Also, they should consider using smart thermostats that can assist them in ensuring that they start and stop cooling at the ideal times of the day. This helps homeowners cut their energy bills without having to remember when to turn off or on the system.
