Air Con Hacks to Use Less Power and Save You Money on Your Electricity Bill 

Summer is well and truly here and Australians turn to air conditioning to gain relief from the heat. Unfortunately, the lowered temperature provided by your air conditioner means a rising cost in your electricity bill. Have you ever stopped to think about how much it’s costing you per hour or day when you flick on the switch?

Like many appliances in your home, the cost of running an air conditioner can vary significantly, depending on the make and model, how you use it (number of hours and time of day), the size of the space you’re cooling, the energy rating and the effectiveness of insulation in your home. This can range from $0.25 per hour for a small unit cooling a smaller space, and more than $3.00 per hour for a reverse-cycle unit, ducted to cool your entire home. When your air conditioner is running most days of summer, the cost can quickly add up. According to consumer advocacy group Choice, the cost of running an air conditioner can range between $286 – $586 a year.

Follow these simple tips for air conditioning to that will help you to save money and reduce your environmental impact while staying cool this summer:

 Close off the room you are cooling to keep the cold air in.

 Where possible, only cool a small space to reduce the amount of energy required.

 Set the temperature between 22-24°C in summer months – even slight changes to the temperature settings can make a surprising difference to your electricity bill.

 Close blinds and curtains to block out added heat from the sun.

 Use fans to assist in circulating the air, increasing the efficiency of your air conditioner.

 Keep your air conditioner clean (clean the filter, check outdoor condenser coils and remove any dirt debris around the unit) – a well maintained air conditioner unit will run more efficiently than one that hasn’t been cleaned which works harder to cool your home.

 Seal all windows properly to avoid cool air escaping from your home.

 Use your air conditioner efficiently – consistent use at a higher temperature uses less energy than blasting it at a lower temperature for shorter periods of time.

 If you have a solar PV system, consider running your air con during the day, even if you are not at home. This will cool the the house down with your own solar energy production and will require less cooling in the evening when you have to purchase energy from the grid.

If you are thinking about changing to a more energy efficient air conditioning system, consider systems that use inverter technology and advanced design – which can save up to 40% of energy over standard. Also, make sure that it’s the right sized system for the space you want to cool – avoid purchasing a system that is too big (consuming lots of energy to turn itself on and off) or too small (working harder to cool the space and chewing up more electricity in the process).