FE S October 9, 2009 Missileer 7


Energy conservation: Myth versus reality
Energy conservation: Myth versus reality


MYTH: When buying
an air conditioner, the
bigger the better.

REALITY: A bigger
unit is not neces-
sarily better. The
unit should be sized
properly to cool
and dehumidify the
intended space. A
small unit running
for an extended peri-
od of time operates
more efficiently and
is more effective at
dehumidifying than
a large unit that
cycles on and off too
frequently.
 An air conditioner
that is too large will
not cool an area
uniformly and may
not provide proper
dehumidification.
In areas that have
high humidity during
the cooling months,
proper dehumidifica-
tion, drying of the air,
may be as important
to feel comfortable
as lowering the air
temperature. A lower
humidity reduces
skin temperature and


makes you feel cooler
in warm weather.
Conversely, a high
humidity level pro-
duces a "clammy"
feeling even though
the air temperature is
cool.

MYTH: You were very
conscientious and
raised the thermo-
stat temperature for
your air conditioner
(or turned off the
air conditioner com-
pletely) before leaving
the house. Now that
you've returned home,
the house is hot. Turn
down the thermostat
to 50 degrees so that
the air conditioner will
cool the house quickly.


MYTH: Many
people believe
that it's better
to keep a
central air
conditioner
running at an
even tempera-
ture than to
lower it drasti-
cally when no
one's around.
They believe
that the unit
will use as
much or more
energy to cool
down the
house because
the house has
heated up con-
siderably.


REALITY: Less
energy is required
to let a house tem-
perature "float" dur-
ing the day and then
cool and maintain the
house temperature
for a certain period of
time than to cool and
maintain the house
at this temperature
for a longer period of
time. Less heat enters
a house when it is
"floating" (that is, not
being cooled) than
when it is air
conditioned because
heat transfer occurs
at a greater rate
when the difference
between the inside


and outside tempera-
tures is greater.
 When an air condi-
tioner is first turned
on, it must remove
more heat than when
it is just maintaining
a set temperature.
The compressor will
run longer during this
time, but a constantly
running compres-
sor is operating more
efficiently than one
that keeps running
and shutting down.
Also don't worry about
harming the air con-
ditioner by letting the
house warm up dur-
ing the day. This is
another myth.