Aircon Power Saving Tips during Summer

How to save with your Air Conditioner (AC) Consumption during summer. Use your thermostat wisely!

Now that it is summer, set your thermostat as high as you can comfortably tolerate, ideally 25 degrees Celsius or higher. Every degree of additional cooling increases energy consumption by 6 to 8%. You can also set a timer for your AC to turn off after a given amount of time. This will help you avoid over usage that can be very wasteful.

Meralco has an Appliance Calculator (App Cal) is your smart tool to track how much energy your appliances consume every hour, day, week, and month. Get near-accurate estimates based on how often you use your appliances. Backed with all the information on your consumption tested by Meralco Power Lab, you can now conveniently adjust your usage according to your budget.

For a Window Type Inverter with 1.0 HP the Estimated Energy Consumption Per Use (kWh) is 0.4243 and Est. Cost to Operate (Php) is 4.13. For a Split Type Inverter with 1.5 HP the Est. Energy Consumption Per Use (kWh) is 0.2735 and  the Est. Cost to Operate (Php) is 2.66

Based on App Cal’s computations, the cost of keeping the AC on for 6 hours a night versus 8 hours is only P8! Instead of getting up 2 hours early every morning just to switch your AC off, get some well-deserved shut-eye!

According to Meralco study, Air conditioners can account for 40% to 50% of your total household consumption. Keeping them in check and with the right technology and practices can significantly cut your cooling costs.

Consider Inverter Technology. Inverter air conditioners are more efficient versus conventional units. Inverter Technology’s optimum control of motor operation results in eliminating the consumption of excessive electricity. Based on Power Lab tests, realize savings of 25% to 64% on energy costs using inverters – for the same or even better comfort.

Keep your air conditioner in a cool place. A unit operating in the shade uses 10 percent less electricity than when it’s in direct sunlight. Provide shade for your aircon but be sure not to block the airflow. Don't place lamps, television and other items, which can be a source of heat near your unit. The thermostat senses the heat given off by these items, causing your unit to run longer than necessary.

Set the thermostat at the highest most comfortable level. A comfortable room temperature setting is about 24 or 25 degrees Celsius. Setting your thermostat at a colder setting than normal when turning your unit on will not help cool your room any faster. Based on Meralco Power Lab tests on a 1.0 window-type aircon at mid (25°C) vs high (18°C) setting for 8hrs/night use, save P991 a month when you switch to mid setting.

How to save P60k on your aircon as per Meralco study:

Meralco has tested more than 300 aircons in the last 5 years, using its Power Lab facility that can simulate various room sizes. And it has some very interesting findings.

1. If the last 10 years is any indication, technology dramatically improves efficiency and after 5 years, so it becomes more cost efficient to replace an aircon after 5 years. We tested a 5-year-old 1HP aircon (P7.50 per hour of use) versus a new one (P3.75 per hour). If you use the AC for 8 hours per day, you save P900 per month*. If a new one costs 20K, it would have paid for itself in less than 2 years.

    

2. Under or oversizing your aircon relative to your room size or dimensions will cost you an extra P1,000 a month*. That’s P60k in five years. If you buy a small aircon (say 0.5HP) for a big room (say 30sqm), yes that small aircon will be able to cool the room soon enough, but it will cost you because its compressor will be working all the time. If you do the reverse, say install a 1.5HP aircon in a 6 sqm. room, it will still cost you P1,000 more per month because its compressor will be cycling more, which drives consumption.

The lesson here? The older your AC is, the more energy it will consume compared to the newer models. And an oversized or undersized AC will give you additional costs on your monthly bill! Manage your consumption with these energy efficiency tips so YOU have the power this summer!

To learn about all type and brand of Air Conditioner avaibale in the market together with their power consumption, please visit Meralco complete table of AirCon Power Consumption. 

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