On hot summer days, when you can’t make it to the game, the next best thing is to watch it at home with your mates, something cool to drink and the air conditioner. But if you’re not careful the running costs can get away from you and don’t we know it when the electricity bill arrives. So, what are the best ways to run your air conditioner during summer and keep costs to a minimum? Atesh Mani, National Product Manager at Mitsubishi Electric Australia has the tips and tricks to help you out.
Getting the temperature right
An ideal room temperature to set the air conditioner to is 22°C or 23°C, which most people find comfortable enough. Setting the room temperature to 24-25°C will reduce power consumption, but it’s up to the individual if they find a slightly warmer set temperature comfortable enough.
Heat naturally flows from a hot body to a cold body. It’s the same for room spaces. Heat from a hot room will move to cooler, air-conditioned spaces. Closing doors to unused warmer rooms will reduce the load on the air conditioner.
Keep your air conditioner clean
Cleaning the filters of your air conditioning is the single most important piece of maintenance you can do. When an air conditioner is used frequently, the filters should be cleaned frequently too. Most split system air conditioners will let you remove the filters for cleaning. Follow the instructions in your user manual on how to clean them or watch our handy video for Mitsubishi Electric Split Systems https://bit.ly/ME_Clean_Filter. Again, check with your manufacturer for detailed instructions.
Ducted air conditioners have a filter at the return air vent. This should be removed for cleaning periodically too. Vacuuming the surface dust and fluff will be a minimum clean that you can do. Check with your installer for more information on how to clean it. The manufacturer of your system can advise you of your local service agent who can do a more thorough clean and check the system over in more detail. To find a Mitsubishi Electric service technician go to Find a stockist
The best time to run your air conditioner
During hot days, you might save energy if you turn the air conditioner on in the morning and the system keeps the space relatively cool throughout the day, so when you come home you don’t have to have the air conditioner running at maximum capacity. Instead, if the unit is a newer inverter unit it will ramp up and down during the day to maintain temperature.
Wi-Fi Control with remote access for air conditioners is ideal for turning the air conditioner on before you get home. If you know it’s going to be a hot day, you can use the schedule functions in your controller or Wi-Fi Control to turn the system on early in the day to pre-cool the house before it gets a chance to warm up.
Homeowners with solar PV can utilise their power generation during the day to offset the power consumption of their air conditioner.
