By Nandita
It is scorching heat and almost no tree around us! We humans have cut all the trees on the name of development, which has led to global warming and climate change. People of 90’s and prior must recall their childhood and youth, when they used to enjoy their summers under the mango shade. Even in afternoon, no fans were required, forget about AC and coolers.
But, things have changed now. Due to tremendous growth in population and deforestation, we are witnessing a tremendous rise in the temperature of the earth’s surface. As a result, we have started depending upon luxuries like Air Conditioners, Coolers and Refrigerators etc. Today, nearly every middle-class household has at least one AC in their house, even if not one in each room. At times, without AC, we cannot live comfortably even for a minute. This results in increased electricity bill, which further bothers us.
In this article, we will discuss upon some of the ways, with the help of which, you can reduce your AC power consumption.
Ways to Reduce Air Conditioner Power Consumption
Turn the Temperature Up
When you run an AC in your room, its temperature affects your power consumption to a great extent. This is because, for every unit that you lower the temperature, you consume 6% more electricity. Thus, you only have a power to regulate your electricity consumption by bringing the temperature of the AC up.
Get a Regular Servicing of Your AC
Regular AC servicing is important for an AC as it enables the AC to run smoothly and efficiently. After a period of AC usage, its filter needs to be cleaned as it accumulates dust and dirt from its environment and gets clogged. This congests the airflow of the AC, making it work harder to keep up with the inputs and resulting in higher power consumption. Besides cleaning, servicing of the AC also fixes for lubrication and other problems.
Keep Your Doors and Windows Shut
While running an AC, you should keep your windows and doors closed. Your air conditioner will have to work a lot harder to cool your room if you keep the windows or door open, which would lead to heavy power consumption. Fix your door with a door closer, so that it shuts itself behind you. Additionally, seal the windows so that they don’t allow the exit of the AC’s cooling. If there is any other opening in the room, close it for similar reasons.
Set a Timer and Avoid Using All the ACs Together
An air-conditioned room during peak summers might be the only saving grace, but avoid using an air conditioner 24/7 as it will put a lot of load on the AC and its components. For this, you can try setting a timer in your AC that causes it to turn off automatically after the specified time. This is especially useful during nights when you can allow your AC to switch off after you fall asleep.
In families, where multiple people are living together, each member tends to switch on the AC of their room altogether. In such situations, power consumption goes through the roof. So, avoid doing this also.
Use a Fan with AC
Using a fan along with AC can help you in reducing your electricity bill. They can be a great medium to circulate the cooling produced by the AC in all corners of the room and share its workload. Such a practice can also drive out the hot air and allow ventilation.
Buy an Energy Efficient AC
Today markets offers you a large variety of energy-efficient ACs, which consume lesser power than regular AC. While shopping for an AC, give preference to a convertible AC. Also, look for its star rating as it accounts for its cooling and energy efficiency. This star rating is legitimate and provided for customer awareness by BEE (Bureau of Energy Efficiency.)
Ridhi Jain