Disclaimer: The opinions expressed herein are my own personal opinions and do not represent my employer's view in any way.Send your question to Umbra! We are in the midst of a heat wave. I have a window unit air conditioner in my tiny apartment. There is an “energy saver” option that shuts down once the temp reaches the desired setting (generally 79 degrees), then starts back up again when the mercury rises. It’s been so hot that it seems to only take a few minutes till it fires back up. Is this really saving energy? With hope, the heat will have broken by the time you read this. But we all know it will rise again, and we’ll have plenty more days when we can hear the entire country lean back in its chair, wipe its brow, and mumble, “Hot enough for ya?” Except here in Seattle, where we get approximately one hot day a year, usually the third Tuesday in September. Before we get to your question, a few eye-opening facts about America’s love of indoor climate control: In the late 1970s, 23 percent of American homes had some form of air conditioning;

today, 87 percent do. We have become so addicted that 9 out of 10 new homes are built with central air. We spend $40 billion a year air-conditioning our buildings, says the EPA, and cooling our homes accounts for 17 percent of household energy use. In return, we get — well, I’ll let author Stan Cox say it: “Air-conditioning buildings and cars in the U.S. has the climate impact of half a billion metric tons of carbon dioxide a year. ac and heater not workingThat exceeds the total annual carbon dioxide emissions of any one of these nations: Australia, France, Brazil, or Indonesia.”home ac parts miami Wait, you mean the thing we use to get through the record heat is … helping to cause the record heat? central ac price listI believe that is what the kids call ironic.

So my first piece of advice is, when you can stand to go without the AC, please do. Keep your blinds closed against the sun, use a fan, unplug appliances that generate heat, eat popsicles, drink water, place wet washcloths upon your fevered brow, sleep naked. When you use the AC, please set it at a reasonable temperature (your 79 is very civilized) and do not — do not — crank it all day while you are gone, people. Your dining room set does not need to be comfortable. Emily, you’ve perhaps passed out while waiting for me to get to your actual question. I have experienced “energy-saving” mode, and I’ll admit I find it rather annoying. The mechanical hum stops. Your brain adjusts to the quiet. And then — ga-glunk — it starts up again. It can’t seem to decide. Here’s what is actually happening: Air conditioners remove heat and moisture from your air by passing it over coils filled with refrigerants. In a window unit, a compressor moves the refrigerants through the coils, and fans move the air where it needs to go.

In energy-saver mode, the compressor shuts off when, as you say, the desired temperature is achieved. The fans turn off too, but they come back on every so often to check in on you, see whether you need any lemonade, etc. When the fans find air that’s too warm, the compressor comes back on. So what you might be hearing every few minutes is the fans turning on and off, while the compressor is laying low. According to the EPA, this mode uses about 10 percent less energy than the conventional “cool”mode, so that saves you a little money. I’ve had trouble getting more detail than that from several manufacturers I contacted, none of whom could provide specifics on power savings by my deadline. Some even seemed a bit stymied. Generally I can count on geeky online chats to yield at least one insanely detailed calculation in these situations, but here, too, they all just shrug and say, “Eh, doesn’t save you much.” I guess even the geeks are feeling hot. If I do get more details, I’ll add an update here.

Meanwhile, I can tell you that choosing a unit that’s the right size for your dwelling is the real key to efficiency and comfort. Make sure your home is properly insulated, too — that will keep you comfy in summer and when the now-unimaginable chill of winter descends.CleanTechnica is the  in the world. Published on September 17th, 2012 | Affordable Solar-Powered Air Conditioner in a Neat Little Package is Finally Here September 17th, 2012 by Nicholas Brown Kingtec Solar* has developed affordable solar-powered air conditioning in a relatively neat package. Here are some of the key details: Cooling capacity: 16,000 BTU (4.7 kW of cooling capacity). Power consumption: 850 watts. SEER (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio): 22.5. EER (Energy Efficiency Ratio, which is a measure of the BTUs of cooling capacity per watt of power consumed): 18.8. Weight: 200 pounds (This is tremendous for a window air conditioner of this size! But it does contain extra parts for the solar setup).

Why Solar Panels Are Not Integrated Directly into A/C Units A/C units tend to be shaded by the roofs of houses, as well as awnings, so they are usually not exposed to direct sunlight, and they shouldn’t be. It is best that they are kept as cool as possible. This single issue is a big one, but as long as the solar panels can be a decent distance away, this isn’t a problem. Main Benefits of Solar Air Conditioning Normally, to solar power an air conditioner, you would have to buy an air conditioner, then a separate inverter, separate batteries, solar panels, and hire both an electrician and a building contractor to set up the system for you, and that costs a fair bit of money. Home solar power systems tend to cost $7 per watt in the United States (without tax credits), and around half of that cost is installation alone — this is because you have to hire contractors to set up the electronics such as the batteries, panels, etc. by hand. However, for situations where it works, there are some big advantages.

The second benefit: Solar panels tend to generate more electricity at the same time that air conditioner power consumption increases. The fluctuating power consumption of air conditioners (caused by weather variation) is a problem for the electricity grid because power plants are not able to adjust their power production quickly enough to meet power demand spikes. Cutting Your A/C Use Finally, while this is a clever invention which can take advantage of economies of scale (due to factory production), unlike traditional hand-built solar setups, you can substantially reduce your air conditioner usage using simple measures such as closing window blinds on some windows, opening other windows to facilitate ventilation, and much more. One of the greatest conservation tips of all is to use less energy (not reduce your standard of living, just turn things off when you aren’t using them — you don’t have to use them less to conserve energy), then go about obtaining energy from more sustainable sources, in general.