The Number One Air Conditioning Mistake
Many resources offer air conditioning tips to save money but one of these is bad advice. Do not follow this bad tip for air conditioning savings.
Your air conditioner is designed to comfort your home and you expect to pay for this comfort. But you don’t want to waste money or waste energy. So, to guide you, there are unlimited sources of air conditioning tips and blogs on how to achieve energy savings and improve summer comfort. But air conditioning tips have been recycled and reprinted for decades and very few of these recycling experts really understand air conditioning and home comfort. And most of these AC tips are the same old information.
Well here’s a new air conditioning tip! Don’t follow the AC tip that causes the number one air conditioning mistake!
Did your list of AC tips suggest you open up your home and turn off the AC on cool nights to save energy? It seems to make sense. You’re trying to cool your home to 75 degrees and the outside temperature is dropping to 74 and lower through the night. Then maybe we could get some “free” cooling by opening all the windows?
If you live in a humid climate, do not do this. Your air conditioner has not only cooled your home but also reduced the humidity. Cool night air is still full of moisture. If you allow this air to come indoors, the next day it will force your air conditioner to work much harder trying to take out the humidity. You are better off simply leaving the home closed, keeping the moisture out and allowing the AC to run as needed. The extra AC run-time on a cool night is not too much. You will use much less energy if you do not need to re-cool and struggle to dry out your home the next day.
Health and Comfort
The number one mistake in air conditioning also hurts home comfort. Many times, the high moisture air inside the home is not easy to remove. Your AC runs based on temperature not humidity. So, if the weather is mild, the AC does not need to run much and the humidity remains high. This creates an uncomfortable, muggy, unhealthy indoor environment.
When should you open your home for fresh air in the summer? Even in a humid climate, there are occasional times when the weather turns both cool and dry. Watch the dew point temperature on your weather app. When the temperature is cool and the dew point temperature hits 55 degrees or lower, then you can open your home to save money and enjoy the refreshing outside air.
Some of our customers ask, “What if my home is already muggy and I do not even open the home at night?” The solution is a whole house dehumidifier. Ask us about this device, especially if you live in an energy efficient, air-tight home
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