When it comes to your Twin Cities area home’s air conditioning system, there are a ton of frequently told energy-savings myths about how to best cool your indoors during the summer season. Some of these myths promise to save you energy and money, but in reality they can force you to spend a lot more on cooling your home. Prevent yourself from wasting both energy and money by disregarding the following energy-savings myths:
- A house cools faster with a cranked-down thermostat. Unless your A/C uses a variable speed air handler capable of adjusting output to meet demand, most cooling systems employ a single-speed fan. This means that cranking the thermostat down to 60 in an attempt to get to 70 more quickly won’t make any difference. You’ll arrive at 70 just as quickly as if you had set the thermostat at that temperature, but will also run the risk of forgetting to readjust the thermostat after it arrives at 70.
- Central A/Cs should be turned off when occupants are gone. This depends on how hot it’s going to be
outside during the day. During hot summer days, it’s better to leave your A/C on, but at a higher than usual temperature (perhaps 8-10 degrees higher). This way, your A/C won’t have to work as hard to bring your home back to a comfortable temperature when you arrive home, as if you had turned it off completely. A programmable thermostat will allow you to set energy-saving temperatures while you’re gone, and then return to your comfort level shortly before you arrive home. - Ceiling fans cool empty rooms. Ceiling fans cool people, not rooms. This is because they use the wind-chill effect that gives the impression of cooling, without actually lowering a room’s temperature. In an occupied room, a ceiling fan can provide a cooling effect that will allow you to raise the thermostat three or four degrees without any loss of comfort.
- Close air vents to boost efficiency. This supposed energy-savings myth can actually cost you a lot. Modern central A/C systems are designed to cool a certain size of home; when rooms are closed off, the system works just as hard to cool the other rooms, but can’t operate in a balanced fashion. The increased air pressure in ducts serving closed-off rooms will force open duct connections, springing air leaks.
To learn more about the facts behind energy-savings myths, contact your local experts at Marsh Heating & Air Conditioning Co. Our technicians proudly serve residents throughout the Twin Cities Metro area.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about energy savings and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
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