5 replies to this topic

[karnovking]

One of my in-laws and I have been disagreeing on a topic which I could use some insight on. 

This concerns a window AC.  She says if she leaves it run all day long and turns it down a little when she is at work, she would save more electric than turning it off completely for those 8-10 hours.  She thinks it will run harder cooling down the hot house.  (AC does not have a thermostat to shut it down when the room is at set temp)

 

I say it runs the same whether the room is hot or cool and having it run all day is just a waste of electricity for those 8-10 hours she is gone.  Any thoughts? 

[Northern-Tech]

   This is a window air conditioner, but does not have a T- stat to shut it down at some temperature ?? Was it removed in the past, and goes full blast all the time ?? If that is the case, this is not a good scenario. As far as energy conservation, the only was to find out for sure, would be to put a  meter to record the KWs used. However, my personal experience on this is.... I have a house, approximately 3000 sq. ft. I have a small 10,000 btu window air conditioner.

It runs quite a bit for a day or so, cooling down the house. However, after that, it cycles off and on, depending on the temperature. For me, it sure is nice to come home to a comfortable environment. Now, with the price of electricity going through the roof, that may have some bearing on your decision.

[Jedi Appliance Guy]

   Ah Grasshopper. In order to be at oneness with the Force we must first understand certain principles.  Heat energy is a Force.  It flows all around us.  It "wants" to spread around and be everywhere.  Cold is the absence of heat.  Heat energy travels toward cold.  Your air conditioner takes heat from one place and puts it in another using these laws of nature..

   Now let us look at your in laws place.  There is heat in the air.  There is heat in the walls.  There is heat in the ceiling.  There is heat in the floor. There is heat in the furniture. It's like the Force... It's everywhere.  All these things store heat.  There are different names for these different kinds of heat in these different places, but we won't get into that here. 

   The air conditioner removes heat (and humidity) from the air.  That is why it is called and air conditioner.  Even if  you "cool" the air, there is still heat in the floor, walls and ceiling.  These things will release their heat into the air as it is cooled.  

  Therefor it is best not to allow the solid matter in your home to store extra heat during the heat of the day.  There are other ways of achieving this other than leaving your A/C running.  Good insulation for one.  Generally on the central systems I service, I recommend setting the thermostat a few degrees higher while away, but never off.

[karnovking]

This AC has a manual thermostat as in if you want to turn it down you actually have to turn it down yourself.   unlike my window AC which will cut the cool and just run the fan when the room reaches the set temp. 

[Dan Webster]

down here its cheaper to let the ac run all the time and keep the house cool than it is to try and start cooling the house only when you are at home unless yu live in a midget house. she should set the temp on 3 or 4 to keep the house at least tepid till she returns home and then jack that tstat up to the moon.