In trying to save energy does it help to drop the temperature of the house during the night when it’s cooler outside? Does the a/c unit not have to work at hard at night? Perhaps drop the house down to, say, 65 degrees by morning so that the next day already starts off cool?
Is it more efficient to run Air Conditioning mostly at night to cool off the house for the following day?
February 1st, 2010 by My Efficient Planet Leave a reply »
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To a point. With cooler night time temps the A/C has less work to do and runs more effeciently. The problem is is that your house isn’t a very good ‘bank’. The cooling you bank by cooling beyond what you normally might will work out in short order and your system will need to come on soon anyway.
The lower temp (inside temp) will increase the heat gain since the heat transfer depends on the DIFFERENCE between inside and outside temps. This will off-set the small gain in efficiency that running at night might save.
Commercial systems will sometimes store an evening’s cooling in the form of frozen brine that can be used through the heat of the day. Usually a lower electric rate is negotiated when power is consumed off-peak.
probably not, although there are several variables.
the condenser, outside, will work better.
the evaporator, inside, will not work as well.
there is also the question of where you are? alaska? Arizona?
the largest part of the problem is probably the evaporator, where the internal temp might be 40 degrees, so you’re working against a 25 degree difference at 65 degrees, or a 35 degree difference at 75 degrees.
if you’re in Arizona, it never goes off.
if you some place where it cools off at night, it’s more efficient to open the windows at night and allow the “free” cooling to do it’s job.
yes that is what i would do
that way you will not make it work harder by letting hot air inside every time you open a door or window
also, it is recommended to use all major appliances [dishwasher, clothes washer/dryer, although i recommend a clothesline] outside of the peak hours that energy is commonly used during the day. that means it is best to use them in the early morning or after 7 in the evening.
IT IS TRUE THAT ENERGY COSTS ARE CHEAPER DURING NON-PEAK HOURS OR NIGHT HOURS, ALSO THAT THE UNIT WONT WORK AS MUCH OR TURN ON AS MUCH BECAUSE OF THE TEMPERATURE DIFFERENCE. ON THE OTHER HAND IT IS NOT EFFICIENT TO RUN IT MOSTLY DURING THE NIGHT OR DROP IT TO 65 DEGREES. THE BEST WAY TO BE EFFICIENT IS INSULATION AND BY THAT I MEAN THE DEFINITION OF THE WORD NOT JUST THE FIBERGLASS MATERIAL. YOUR HOUSE LEAKS A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF AIR AND YOU CAN REDUCE THE AMOUNT BY SEVERAL WAYS:
RAISE THE TEMPERATURE 5 DEGREES HIGHER THAN YOU NORMALLY DO. IT IS A FACT THAT PEOPLE USUALLY PUT THE UNIT AT A LOWER TEMPERATURE THAN THEY WANT.
PLUG ALL POINTS OF ESCAPE THROUGH CEILINGS AND ATTICS BY APPLYING FOAM TO PENETRATIONS. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS GET A ENERGY QUALIFIED INSULATION COMPANY TO TELL WHERE EXACTLY, OR INVEST IN SOME INSULATION FOR WALLS, FLOOR, AND CEILINGS; WHICH NOW THERE ARE ENERGY REBATES FOR IT ALL OVER. THERE ARE SO MANY ENERGY SAVING TIPS. SEARCH GOOGLE FOR ENERGY SAVING TIPS.
IT IS TRUE THAT ENERGY COSTS ARE CHEAPER DURING NON-PEAK HOURS OR NIGHT HOURS, ALSO THAT THE UNIT WONT WORK AS MUCH OR TURN ON AS MUCH BECAUSE OF THE TEMPERATURE DIFFERENCE. ON THE OTHER HAND IT IS NOT EFFICIENT TO RUN IT MOSTLY DURING THE NIGHT OR DROP IT TO 65 DEGREES. THE BEST WAY TO BE EFFICIENT IS INSULATION AND BY THAT I MEAN THE DEFINITION OF THE WORD NOT JUST THE FIBERGLASS MATERIAL. YOUR HOUSE LEAKS A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF AIR AND YOU CAN REDUCE THE AMOUNT BY SEVERAL WAYS:
RAISE THE TEMPERATURE 5 DEGREES HIGHER THAN YOU NORMALLY DO. IT IS A FACT THAT PEOPLE USUALLY PUT THE UNIT AT A LOWER TEMPERATURE THAN THEY WANT.
PLUG ALL POINTS OF ESCAPE THROUGH CEILINGS AND ATTICS BY APPLYING FOAM TO PENETRATIONS. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS GET A ENERGY QUALIFIED INSULATION COMPANY TO TELL WHERE EXACTLY, OR INVEST IN SOME INSULATION FOR WALLS, FLOOR, AND CEILINGS; WHICH NOW THERE ARE ENERGY REBATES FOR IT ALL OVER. THERE ARE SO MANY ENERGY SAVING TIPS. SEARCH GOOGLE FOR ENERGY SAVING TIPS.
Oops, should have mentioned solid post! Waiting on the next one!