Expert advice on how to use air conditioners to consume less electricity
(Baonghean.vn) - According to Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Viet Dung - Director of the Institute of Thermal and Refrigeration Science and Technology, Hanoi University of Science and Technology, actual measurements show that air conditioners consume the most electricity in households during the 4 summer months.
Specifically, measurement results for many types of houses over many years show that electricity consumption in the 4 summer months is 20-50% higher than other months; of which air conditioners account for 28-64%, refrigerators account for 6-22%, the rest are other devices such as TVs, lights, kitchenware, etc.
Save electricity for air conditioning
Choosing an air conditioner that is suitable for the room area is an effective way to save electricity right from the start. Specifically, a 9,000 BTU/h air conditioner is suitable for a room of 10-16 m2; 12,000 BTU is suitable for a room of 12-22 m2; 18,000 BTU is suitable for a room of 18-36 m2. "You cannot arbitrarily install air conditioners for different rooms, to avoid the situation where the device runs overloaded, which will not save electricity and will quickly break down," Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Viet Dung emphasized.
On hot days, when the outdoor temperature increases, the air conditioner will consume more electricity. Specifically, according to Associate Professor Dung, if the outdoor temperature increases by 1 degree Celsius, the air conditioner will consume 2-3% more electricity. If the set temperature of the air conditioner in the room is 1 degree Celsius lower, the electricity consumption will increase by 1.5-3%. Therefore, setting the air conditioner temperature low to cool quickly will increase electricity costs.
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| Need a way to use air conditioner to save electricity |
In response to readers' concerns about the power saving ability of inverter air conditioners, Associate Professor Dung said that at 30-70% of load, inverter air conditioners save more electricity than conventional air conditioners. Comparing inverter and non-inverter air conditioners in the laboratory, with the same energy star level, inverter air conditioners will save 15-28% of electricity depending on usage conditions.
However, if operating at 100% rated load or overload, this type of air conditioner will not save electricity, and will even cost more because it has to add electricity to the inverter.
To use the inverter air conditioner effectively, the temperature setting needs to be reasonable: during the day, set it at 25-27 degrees Celsius; at night, select Sleep Mode so that the machine runs in an ideal state; combine turning on the air conditioner at 26-27 degrees Celsius with a fan to save 2-3% of electricity compared to only turning on the air conditioner at 22-24 degrees Celsius. In addition, users should turn on the Magic Eye mode so that the machine automatically adjusts the appropriate temperature.
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| Electricity consumption of household appliances in summer (according to research by Associate Professor Dung). |
In addition, there are some ways to use air conditioners economically from international friends: the internationally recommended air conditioner setting temperature is 27 degrees Celsius, humidity 50%; European countries focus on the insulation of house walls, well-insulated walls, reasonable ventilation can reduce 15-30% of air conditioner power consumption; Singaporeans often arrange plants on balconies, west and east facing walls to reduce solar radiation...
Save electricity for other devices
Electrical appliances such as air conditioners, fans, TVs, digital TV transceivers, Wi-Fi, microwaves, etc., when not in use but still plugged into the power source in standby mode; or desktop computers and laptops in sleep mode still consume electricity. For example, air conditioners that have not been disconnected from the circuit breaker will consume 8-20 Wh, equivalent to an LED light. Therefore, if electrical appliances are not used for a long time, people should completely disconnect the power source.
With a refrigerator, users should first buy the type that suits their needs. According to American standards, a person needs 60-100 liters of refrigerator capacity. A family of 4-5 members will multiply accordingly. In addition, avoid putting hot items in the refrigerator and limit opening and closing the refrigerator. "According to our research, every time you open the refrigerator, it takes 2-3 hours for the refrigerator to return to a balanced state," Associate Professor Dung cited.
Solar panels are also a topic of interest to many consumers. This type of energy is used to run lighting systems and provide hot water very well. However, the weakness of solar panels, especially in the North in winter, is low solar radiation, hot water temperature only reaches about 30 degrees. The optimal solution now is to connect a solar water heater to a heat pump, both providing hot water on demand and saving electricity.
The unusually hot weather has caused an increase in electricity demand. According to statistics from Vietnam Electricity Group, in March there were only about 385,000 customers with a consumption of 400 kWh/month, but in April, May and June, the number of customers was about 600,000 customers/month, of which May was the highest with 617,000 customers. To reduce electricity consumption, people need to practice saving electricity, consult information from reputable sources to have the most effective plan for using electrical equipment.