Energy Efficient Cooling and Air Conditioning Tips
Air cooling and conditioning is one of the most significant inventions of modern history. They made blockbuster summer movies possible and helped boost manufacturing for wartime supplies and aircrafts.
However cooling puts a huge burden on electrical systems and causes huge quantities of pollution. This particular IEA Report aims to raise awareness of the impact and provides solutions.
Energy Efficiency
When you are choosing an air conditioner energy efficiency is an important aspect. Upgrading to an efficient air cooling system will lower your expenses for energy and reduce the environmental impact. Air conditioning units are rated using a variety of energy efficiency ratings, such as SEER, EER, and HSPF. These ratings indicate how the air conditioner is able to cool with a certain amount of electricity. The higher the rating, the more efficient the unit is. You can find the system’s SEER rating on its yellow Energy Guide label or by searching for “SEER ratings” on the internet.
When looking for a brand new air conditioning system, search for one with a high SEER rating. This rating reveals how the unit performs under normal conditions in a given season. If you’re replacing an older model with a higher SEER rating will significantly reduce your energy use and expenses.
Other factors can impact the efficiency of energy in air conditioning systems too. For example high levels of indoor humidity and a lack of maintenance and duct leaks can all make your system work harder and consume more energy. Maintaining your system with regular maintenance and sealing leaks in ducts are easy ways to improve the efficiency of your system.
Large commercial cooling systems have their own energy efficiency considerations also. They usually use an array of split or packaged compressors with huge pipe networks to deliver cooling throughout the building. They might also have steam systems, which require specialized maintenance in order to keep the pipes from becoming blocked.
In addition to that, many of these huge systems are controlled by what’s known as a Building Automation System (BAS), which integrates all cooling and heating systems within the building into one central system. Verde has helped clients optimize 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 element of global efforts to reduce climate change. Ultimately, we need to ensure that manufacturers bring highly efficient cooling devices to market, and consumers want them. In the meantime, we can take other measures to cut down on our energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
Indoor Air Quality
A lot of people spend the majority of their lives in buildings, and these structures can cause serious health risks in the event that the indoor air quality is poor. Fortunately, there are a number of ways to improve IAQ and stop common issues like asthma as well as allergies and fatigue.
Particulate matter as well as volatile organic compounds and carbon dioxide are three of the most frequent sources of pollution in modern office and home buildings. These pollutants can be released into the air by a number of activities like cooking, cleaning 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 moist air, which can cause respiratory problems. To prevent these issues it is crucial to monitor humidity and keep the moisture at a low level. The best way to accomplish this is by regularly dusting and vacuuming, washing furniture and bedding and using an air dehumidifier and humidifier if needed based on the readings of a hygrometer.
Aside from the obvious health benefits in improving IAQ can increase comfort in homes. For example, a home that is contaminated by air pollutants could become musty and smell unpleasant. It can also cause irritation or itchy eyes, and also a snoring sensation. These issues can be prevented by installing an air purifier, maintaining the HVAC system, and ensuring that doors and windows are open for ventilation as required.
Poor air quality can trigger headaches, difficulty concentrating and general unwellness. While these symptoms can resolve themselves after leaving a space, prolonged exposure can cause health problems that are already present and can even result in serious health issues.
The primary factor that affects IAQ is the rate at which fresh air replaces old air, a process that is known as ventilation. This is influenced by the weather, room occupancy rates, and also the design of the structure. However, simple steps can be taken to improve IAQ by introduction of plants into the house, opening windows and doors as much as possible, and ensuring that the HVAC system is operating properly. For those who would like to take a more thorough approach, it is suggested to speak with a Comfort Specialist regarding an indoor air quality assessment.
Smoke Pollution
While heat pumps and central air conditioners do a great job of filtering out the majority of biological contaminants, like bacteria, molds and pet dander pollen, they’re not designed to remove smoke particles. Wildfire smoke contains microscopic particles that can cause symptoms such as burning or itchy eye congested nasal, runny nose and coughing. They can also cause irritation to your lungs and exacerbate heart and lung conditions that are chronic. Smoke particles can trigger a range of health issues such as bronchitis and aggravation of asthma.
The smoke blanketing New York City this week is the result of forest fires in Canada and is causing dangerous air quality conditions across a large portion of the northern US and southern Canada. The thick smoky fog can reduce visibility, and can cause respiratory stress to anyone who is required to be outdoors.
There is no way to keep smoke from getting into your home through doors and windows particularly in older homes with a lot of drafts and cracks. However, you can take steps to reduce the amount of smoke entering your building.
Keep all doors and windows shut when it’s smokey outside. This can cut down on the amount of smoky outside air by 30 percent. If possible, place wet towels around the door frames and cracks in order to slow the movement of smoky air into your business or home.
If your HVAC system has a recirculation function, make sure that you shut it off when air is smoking. This will allow the system to expel the smoke directly outside instead of returning it to inside. If you have ducts within your building connected to areas that can produce high concentrations of pollutants, like parking garages with attached loading docks, you should be sure that those ducts are separate from the rest of the duct system.
The EPA suggests that you change your HVAC filters more often when you are in a smokey environment to ensure that they are eliminating toxins from indoor air. Choose a filter with a minimum efficiency reporting value (MERV) of 13 or greater, as these filters are designed to remove gases and smoke pollutants.
Supercooling
In recent years, supercooling has been a popular energy-saving technique. It’s based off the idea that electricity costs different amounts at different times of the day. The majority of electricity companies offer “time of use” plans that offer different rates for off-peak and peak times. Supercooling lets homeowners pre-cool their homes during off-peak times so that they don’t need to run their air conditioners during those high-cost summer peak times.
This method requires an automated thermostat that can be programmed. Even so homeowners must be aware of their electricity usage patterns to determine the time when their air conditioner is most cost-effective. This strategy could save you up to 25 percent on your energy bills.
To supercool the home, the homeowner set their AC to a lower temperature in the morning and maintains it at that setting for a couple of hours. This cools the walls as well as floors, furniture and fixtures, as well as the inside air. When energy costs are high homeowners, they turn the air conditioning up and leave it on until the next time it’s turned off.
This strategy works because cooling isn’t only about keeping the air inside the house cool. It also aims to prevent heat from getting into the house through windows, doors and other leak points. It is essential that homeowners check their home’s insulation and insulate any leaky or drafty areas. Also, they should consider using window coverings to block the sun’s rays particularly in areas that get bright direct sunlight during the hottest hours of the day. Also it is important to ensure that all windows and doors are sealed to prevent air from escaping during cooling cycles. Finally, they should consider installing smart thermostats that will help them remember to start and stop cooling at the best times of the day. This allows homeowners to keep their energy bills low and not worry about forgetting to turn the system off or on.