Energy Efficient Cooling and Air Conditioning Tips
Cooling and air conditioning are one of the most significant inventions of modern history. They were instrumental in making summer blockbusters, wartime planes and supplies possible.
However cooling places a significant burden on electrical systems and causes huge quantities of pollution. This special IEA Report aims to raise awareness of the effects and suggests solutions.
Energy Efficiency
When you are choosing a new cooling system, energy efficiency is a crucial factor. Making the switch to a more efficient air cooling system will lower your energy costs and also reduce the environmental impact. Air conditioning units are rated with several different energy efficiency ratings, including SEER, EER, and HSPF. These ratings indicate how much an air conditioner can cool using a certain amount of electricity. The higher the rating, the more efficient the unit is. You can locate a 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 unit, look for one with a good SEER rating. This rating indicates how well the unit performs in normal conditions. A higher SEER rating could reduce your energy costs and consumption when replacing an older model.
Other factors can impact energy efficiency in air conditioning systems, too. Insufficient humidity in the indoors, lack of maintenance and duct leaks, for example, can all cause your system to perform more efficiently and consume more energy. Maintaining your system with regular maintenance and sealing leaks from ducts are easy ways to improve your system’s energy efficiency.
Commercial cooling systems are also subject to energy efficiency concerns. They typically make use of a combination of split or packaged compressors with huge pipes to distribute cooling throughout the building. They could also include steam systems, which require specialized maintenance to prevent the pipes from becoming blocked.
Additionally the majority of these massive systems are controlled by what’s known as a Building Automation System (BAS) that integrates all cooling and heating systems within the building into a single system. Verde has helped clients optimize the performance of these systems by providing simple retrocommissioning suggestions that usually offer quick paybacks as well as incentives for implementation.
The global effort to combat the impact of climate change is largely dependent on energy efficiency in cooling and air-conditioning. We need to ensure that cooling appliances are super-efficient and that consumers demand these appliances. In the meantime, there are a variety of actions we can take to reduce our energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
Indoor Air Quality
Indoor air quality is a major health risk for those who spend a significant portion of their lives inside buildings. There are a variety of ways to improve IAQ and prevent common problems such as asthma, allergies fatigue, allergies, etc.
Particulate matter and volatile organic compounds and carbon dioxide are three of the most prevalent pollutants in modern office and home buildings. These pollutants can be released into the atmosphere by a number of activities such as cooking, cleaning and smoking. They can cause allergies and respiratory issues.
The high levels of humidity can also create destruction on the air quality. Moist air encourages the growth of mold and mildew, which can trigger respiratory issues. Monitoring humidity and keeping the humidity at a minimum is crucial to avoid these problems. This can be achieved by regularly vacuuming and dusting, cleaning bedding, furniture and using a dehumidifier or humidifier using a humidity gauge.
In addition to the obvious health benefits of improving IAQ It can also increase the comfort in your home. For example, a home that is contaminated by air pollutants could be stale and smell unpleasant. It can also cause irritation to eyes, itchy skin and a snoring feeling. Installing an air purifier as well as maintaining the HVAC system can help keep these issues from happening. Also, ensure that you open your windows and doors to let air flow in when needed.
Poor air quality can lead to headaches, problems with concentration and a general feeling of malaise. While these symptoms will disappear after leaving the space, prolonged exposure can cause health problems that are already present and can even result in serious illness.
The main factor that affects IAQ is the rate that fresh air replaces the old air, a process referred to as ventilation. This is affected by the weather conditions, the room occupancy rate and the design. But, a few simple steps can be taken to enhance IAQ by introduction of plants into the house and opening doors and windows as much as possible, and ensuring that the HVAC system is working correctly. For those who would like to take more of a thorough approach, it is recommended to consult a Comfort Specialist about an indoor air quality assessment.
Smoke Pollution
While central air conditioners do an excellent job of filtering out the majority of biological pollutants, including bacteria, molds, pet dander, and pollen, they are not designed to eliminate smoke particles. The tiny particles of smoke from wildfires are extremely dangerous and can easily enter your eyes, nose, and throat causing symptoms like burning or itchy eyes congestion, runny nose, and coughing. They can also irritate your lungs and cause worsening of chronic lung and heart problems. Smoke particles can trigger a variety health effects like bronchitis, as well as aggravation of asthma.
The smoke that has blanketed New York City this week is the result of forest fires in Canada, and it has created hazardous air quality conditions across a large portion of the northern US and southern Canada. The dense smoky fog reduces visibility and may cause respiratory stress for anyone who has to be outdoors.
Unfortunately, there is no way to completely block smoke from entering your home or business through doors and windows particularly older homes with a lot of drafts and cracks. You can take steps to reduce the amount of smoke that enters your home or business.
Keep all windows and doors closed when it’s smoky outside. This will reduce the amount of smoky air by 30 percent. Put wet towels in cracks of door frames and around them to reduce the flow of smoky ai.
If your HVAC system has the ability to recirculate air, be sure you shut it off when air is smoking. This will allow your HVAC system to exhaust the smoky indoor air outside instead of returning it. If you have ducts within your building connected to areas that may have high concentrations of contaminants, such as parking garages with attached loading docks, make sure that those ducts are separate from the rest of the duct system.
The EPA recommends changing your HVAC filters much more often during times of smoke to ensure they’re effectively taking out the toxins in the air inside. Choose a filter that has an MERV that is at least (MERV), which is 13 or greater. These filters are designed to get rid of gaseous air pollution and smoke.
Supercooling
In recent times, supercooling has become an energy-saving method that is popular. It’s based on the idea that electricity costs different amounts at different times of the day. In fact, most power companies offer “time-of-use” plans that feature different peak and off-peak rates. Supercooling allows homeowners to cool their homes ahead of off-peak times, so they don’t have to run air conditioners at those expensive summer peak hours.
This requires an automatic thermostat that can be programmed. However, even with this, homeowners need to be aware of and examine their electricity usage patterns and figure out the best time to run their air conditioning. Many people save about 25% or more off their energy bills by using this method.
To cool the house, the homeowner should set their AC at an lower temperature the following morning and maintain it for a few hours. This cools the floors, walls furniture, fixtures and furniture of the home as well as the air inside. Then, when peak energy-cost hours hit the homeowner, he or she turns the air conditioner up and then leaves it running until it’s off for several hours again.
This strategy is effective because cooling isn’t just about keeping the air inside the house cool. It is essential to stop heat from entering your home through windows, doors, and other leaky points. It is crucial that homeowners double-check their home’s insulation and insulate any leaky or drafty areas. Also, they should consider using window shades to block sun light, especially those that get bright direct sunlight during the hottest hours of the day. Additionally it is important to ensure that all windows and doors are sealed tightly to prevent air from escape during cooling cycles. They should also think about using smart thermostats to assist them remember when to start and stop cooling. This helps homeowners cut their energy costs without having to remember when to turn off or on the system.
