Usage of Electricity at Home

[devonsc]

Hi, first of all, I guess I better apologize as my questions will be real dumb. Thousand apologies. Just asking about a few matters that I'm not sure of:

a.) By lowering the volume of air-conditoner used, will I lower down my electricity usage? :wink:

b.) By turning on the fan to a faster speed, I will definitely increase the usage of electricity, is this right?

Thanks in advance...

(Guess everyone in this forum knows the answer except me :cry: )

 

[stevez]

Regarding the air conditioner - maybe, it depends on a lot of things. Is this a window AC unit, split system (furnace w/condenser outside), ?

Usually fans will use less HP if their speed is reduced, all other things remaining unchanged.

More specifics would help.

 

[Juglenaut]

You will save energy from turning down fan speed on both AC system and regular fans, but here is the kicker, most AC systems will always run the compressor all the time full cycle duty during the on phase untill the temp of the house is low enough according to the T-stat setting to turn it off so running the fan at lower speed pushes less saturated air thru the accumulator thus possiblly increasing run time and energy use.

New state of the art AC systems uses a varible duty cycle compressor drivers and automatic fan settings that according the Energy Star and Honeywell will save money. Most low end AC systems sub 3-4 thousand dollars (USD) don't have these features, but are still Star certified.

If you run the AC fan lower so should the compressor unfortunatly not all AC systems discretely control the compressor.

From your aspect using AC less will save money, but it is a term of comfort. If you are comfortable at 74, diseased slightly by 78 then set it for 78 to save money.

Another thing about setting high temps is the compressor will work harder the higher the inside temp is because simply there is more heat to transfer and most likely more humidity this loads the freon and makes it harder to pump in the suspension carrier liquid> higher pressure.

If you let the house sit for a day (24 hours) without AC and then turn it on you will burn up 2 days worth of energy (4 or 5 dollars) of running at a constant temp to bring it down to 76ish. Run the AC more at night when temps are somewhat lower, less than at mid-day.

 

[williB]

a.) By lowering the volume of air-conditoner used, will I lower down my electricity usage? :wink:

b.) By turning on the fan to a faster speed, I will definitely increase the usage of electricity, is this right?

Thanks in advance...

LOL I wish it was warm enough here to need an air conditioner..

 

[stevez]

Some window air conditioners have a single fan motor that drives the evaporator (cold) and condenser (hot) fan. Slowing the fan may save fan energy but compressor energy could increase or remain relatively unchanged. I'd recommend a comprehensive look at the entire system. Yes, the fan itself may use less energy but the net effect may increase energy or damage equipment.