Energy Efficient Cooling and Air Conditioning Tips
Cooling and air conditioning are among the most important inventions in the history of modern times. They made blockbuster summer movies possible and helped boost manufacturing for wartime supplies as well as airplanes.
Cooling, however, places enormous strain on the electricity system and produces huge amounts of pollution. This particular IEA Report raises awareness of the issue and offers solutions.
Energy Efficiency
When choosing a new cooling system energy efficiency is an important factor. Upgrading to an efficient air conditioner will save on your energy bills and reduce environmental impacts. The energy efficiency of air conditioners is assessed in various ways such as SEER and EER. These ratings indicate how much a unit can cool with a certain amount of power consumed. The higher the rating the more efficient the unit. You can locate a SEER rating of a system on its yellow Energy Guide label or by searching for “SEER ratings” on the internet.
If you are looking for an air conditioner that is new pick one with an A+ rating. This rating reveals how the unit performs under normal conditions during a given season. If you’re replacing an older model with a higher SEER rating, it will drastically reduce your energy use and costs.
Other factors can affect energy efficiency in air conditioning systems, too. For example high levels of indoor humidity, lack of maintenance, and duct leaks can make your system work harder and consume more energy. Making sure you are keeping up with routine maintenance and sealing leaks in ducts are easy ways to improve your system’s energy efficiency.
Commercial cooling systems are also subject to energy efficiency concerns. They typically use a combination of split or packaged compressors with huge pipe networks to deliver cooling throughout the building. These systems may also include steam systems that require specialized maintenance to keep the pipes from becoming blocked.
In addition the majority of these massive systems are controlled by something known as a Building Automation System (BAS) that integrates all heating and cooling systems in the building into one central system. Verde has been able to improve the efficiency of the systems by offering retrocommissioning strategies that offer quick paybacks.
The global effort to reduce the effects of climate change is heavily dependent on the efficiency of energy used in cooling and air-conditioning. Ultimately, we need to ensure that manufacturers introduce super-efficient cooling equipment to market, and consumers want them. In the meantime we can also take other measures to cut down on our energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
Indoor Air Quality
A large portion of people live their lives in structures, and these structures can cause serious health risks when their indoor air quality is not as good. Fortunately, there are a number of ways to improve IAQ that can help prevent common problems such as asthma or allergies, as well as fatigue.
Particulate matter, volatile organic compounds, and carbon dioxide are three of the most prevalent sources of pollution in modern office and home buildings. These pollutants can be released into the atmosphere through a variety of actions such as cleaning, cooking, and smoking. They can trigger allergies and respiratory issues.
High levels of moisture can also have a negative impact on the quality of air. Moist air encourages the growth of mold and mildew which can cause respiratory problems. Monitoring humidity and keeping the moisture at a minimum is crucial to avoid these problems. This can be achieved by regularly vacuuming and dusting, washing bedding, soft furnishings and using a dehumidifier or humidifier that is based on the humidifier or hygrometer.
In addition to the obvious health benefits in improving IAQ can improve the comfort of homes. For instance, a house that is contaminated by air pollutants could become musty and smell unpleasant. It can also trigger irritated or itchy eyes, and also a snoring sensation. Installing an air purifier and maintaining the HVAC system can help avoid these issues. Also, make sure that you open windows and doors for ventilation when needed.
Symptoms of poor air quality are varied and include headaches, difficulties in concentrating, or general malaise. While these symptoms can be relieved after leaving a area, prolonged exposure could worsen existing health issues and may lead to serious health issues.
Ventilation is the primary factor that impacts IAQ. This can be affected by the weather, room occupancy rate and the design. However, simple steps can be taken to enhance IAQ, including introduction of plants into the home, opening windows and doors as much as possible and making sure that the HVAC system is operating correctly. If you want to go further, we suggest that you consult a Comfort Specialist about an indoor air quality assessment.
Smoke Pollution
Heat pumps and central air conditioning systems are excellent at filtering out biological pollutants such as bacteria, molds pollen, pet dander and mold. However, they do not remove smoke particles. Wildfire smoke contains microscopic particles that can cause symptoms such as burning or itchy eyes, congestion, runny nasal, and coughing. They can also cause irritation to your lungs and cause worsening of chronic lung and heart problems. Smoke particles can cause a range of health issues such as bronchitis and aggravation of asthma.
The haze that engulfed New York City last week was caused by forest fires that are burning in Canada. It is also causing dangerous air quality conditions across much of the north and south of the United States. The thick fog of smoke reduces visibility, and can cause respiratory distress to anyone who is required to be outdoors.
There is no way to stop smoke from entering your home through windows and doors especially in older houses with a lot of drafts and cracks. You can take steps to lessen the amount of smoke that enters your building.
Close all doors and windows when it’s smoky. This can cut the amount of smoky air by 30 percent. If you can, put wet towels around the door frames and cracks in order to slow the flow of smoke into your home or business.
If your HVAC system has a recirculation function, make sure you turn it off when the air is smoky. This allows your HVAC system to exhaust the smoky indoor air outside instead of returning it. If you have ducts in your building that connect to areas that could have high concentrations of pollutants, like attached parking garages and loading docks, you should be sure that those ducts are separate from the rest of the duct system.
The EPA recommends that you change your HVAC filters more often when you are in a smokey environment to ensure that they are effectively removing pollutants from the air in your home. Select a filter with a minimum efficiency reporting value (MERV) of 13 or greater, as these filters are specially designed to remove smoke and other gaseous air pollutants.
Supercooling
In recent years, supercooling has become an energy-saving method that is popular. It’s based upon the notion that electricity isn’t priced the same amount at any given time of the day. In fact, many electricity companies offer “time-of-use” plans that offer different peak and off-peak rates. Supercooling lets homeowners pre-cool their homes in off-peak hours, so they don’t have to run their air conditioners during high-cost summer peak hours.
This requires a thermostat that is able to adjust itself automatically. However, even with this, homeowners should be aware of and look up their electric usage patterns and determine when it’s most cost-effective to run their air conditioner. This strategy could save you as much as 25 percent on your energy bills.
To cool the house homeowners should set their AC at lower temperatures the next morning and then keep it there for a few hours. This cools the walls as well as floors, furniture and fixtures, as well as the air inside. Then, when the peak energy-cost times arrive the homeowner, he or she turns the air conditioner up and leaves it running until it shuts off for a few hours again.
This strategy is effective since cooling doesn’t just refer to making the air inside the home cooler. It’s important to prevent heat from entering your home through your windows, doors and other points that leak. This is why homeowners should ensure that their home is constructed and insulated, and also insulate any leaky or drafty areas. Also, they should consider using blinds to block the sun’s rays, especially those that get direct sunlight that is bright during the hottest hours of the day. Additionally, they should make sure that all windows and doors are sealed to prevent air from escaping during cooling cycles. Finally, they should consider using smart thermostats that can help them remember to start and stop cooling at the ideal times of the day. This allows homeowners to keep their energy costs at a minimum without having to remember to switch off or on.
