William asks…
How much energy does an air conditioner with an 9.7 eer save as opposed to a 10.7eer?
admin answers:
A 10.7 EER unit is more efficient than one with an EER of 9.7.
BTU rating ÷ watts = EER
If the two units are exactly the same BTU rating, then the incremental efficiency of the 10.7 EER unit is: (10.7 – 9.7) ÷ 9.7 = 10.3% more efficient than the 9.7 EER air conditioner.
The actual energy savings will depend on the BTU rating of the AC unit.
Laura asks…
LANDLORD WANTS EXTRA MONEY FOR ME TO RUN MY AIR CONDITIONER!!?
Hello everyone.
Im a little confused on something and I need help 
My boyfriend and I moved into this 2 bedroom apartment on October 1st/2009 and we met with the landlord and we asked a bunch of questions one of those questions being how much with rent and are the utilities included. he said the rent is $600.00/month utilities included. Now I just put my rent money in yesterday and the landlord came today and put a note under my door and it basically says if your going to run your air conditioner it will be an extra $65.00 a month on top of your rent which is $600.00. Now what I wanna know is can they do that? because they/he never mentioned anything to my boyfriend or myself when we moved in about having to pay an extra $65.00 a month to run an air conditoner!!
p.s we just went and spent $509.00 on a brand new energy saving portable air conditioner.
Thanks for your help.
admin answers:
You have added a major appliance, unless he knew in advance that you would be operating an AC he has every right to tell you not to do it or pass the expense to you.
Lisa asks…
air conditioning and saving energy?
I have my thermostat set at 80 which sux as it is. I find it a miserable temperature but want to save some energy but
I really dont see how keeping it at 80 is any better than 75 once the temperature is maintained. Cooling it to 75 from 80 is the same amount of energy to cool from 85 to 80. 5 degree difference either way right? Correct me if im wrong.
But the real question is that I wake up in the morning..with thermostat set to 80 and it is 75 outside. Is it better to turn off the air conditioner till it is hot again or to leave it be. Yesterday it was 75 in the morning so it turned it off. It was 89 or so in here before i decided to turn it back on. Then it ran for a few hours straight catchin up. What is the right thing to do? It seems that utilizing the cool air outside will save money but running the air so much to catch up seems counterproductive as well.
Thanks.
admin answers:
When you’re home and using it set the thermostat and leave it. It’s designed to maintain the temperature much more efficiently than you can manually. It turns it on for a few minutes when the temp goes over the temp you set it for so it maintain a temp and never have to overwork. Letting it climb up to 89 to bring it back down 10 degrees does use more power than if it was set at 80 all along. You’ll also be much more comfortable if it’s constantly 80 than you are having it rise and fall all day long.
Steven asks…
Would it be considered “Big Brother” watching if Government took steps to save more energy?
Nowadays Government is constantly referred to as “Big Brother” for many things it does. But does anybody agree with me that it is horrendous how energy is wasted and that some methods should be implemented as to reduce waste. There are so many public places such as hotels in which only a small or medium-sized air conditioner is used to cool huge, sun bathed lobbies. To make matters worse the front door is opened wide by hotel staff (due to the heat) so some fresh air can come in! It would be completely energy efficient if door remained shut as it should, and either curtains or some form of dividers were placed near the many door openings or stairway entances.
Also, I believe that using “extremely” cold air conditioning in buses_while in some it is barely noticeable_as well as public buildings, it is a great waste of energy. Most of the times it’s so cold people keep sneezing and coughing! It would probably take a fuel crisis such as one during late 70′s for people to start saving!
admin answers:
You now have the CIA and Homeland Security checking you out.
Daniel asks…
Does running an ac fan without actually having the ac on save energy?
I live in an old apartment building with an old built-in ac unit (an Emerson Quiet Kool 12GJ14 Thru-Wall/Window Air Conditioner, to be exact). I don’t really feel the need to run the ac, but it’d be nice to not have to buy a fan for my living room. Does anyone know how much energy difference there is between running the ac and just running the fan on the unit? I know that running the ac itself would cost up to 47 dollars a month in my area.
admin answers:
What you want to consider is product improvements..
Useing the manufacturing DATE..
Chances are good that a New Electric Fan..is much more efficient than an older design..
Of course look for the UL label..
I use a small AC…along with a large room fan..
Also American designs are too be better than many other countries..
Made in the USA..should be considered–along with the UL Label.
Carol asks…
please help–window air conditioner problem with neighbor–water dropping on mine driving me insane!?
My upstairs neighbor window ac unit is dropping water on mine, driving me insane. I can’t sleep at night. It’s probably too much trouble for him to fix it on his side, and I trust my own ingenuity more than his to do it right but not sure how to go about it. I thought about putting a towel on mine or some kind of cone or surface to deflect the water so it doesn’t make so much noise. I just want to find the best way to do it so that I can save time, energy and money. And to get some sleep.
the sponges are a good idea. the way that the apartments and windows are structured would not allow neighbor to move his ac unit. this guy has no incentive to fix on his own–have had noise problems that didn’t cease before with same neighbor. rain doesn’t bother me–it’s a relatively constant noise and it’s not rained much here this summer.
admin answers:
Well, I don’t know diddly squat about air conditioners. But a lazy idea would be to stick a normal kitchen sponge right where it’s leaking on your AC unit and change it at least once a week. That’d be something to do while waiting for your upstairs neighbor to fix the problem.
Thomas asks…
How does the Air Conditioner work ? I have 17 year old air conditioner and looking to replace to a new one?
I have an AC unit (condenser? ) out side and then I have a Handler(?) inside garage area. How does it both work together?
My AC guy recommended Split System with a heat pump to save on the energy bills. How does it different from my current one ? I know I will have a heat pump out side (looks like just another AC condenser to me), and then will have a handler inside just like the system I have now… how is this a split system ?
The model my AC guy recommended was by Trane Hyperion Handler and a 15 seer heat pump. My estimate says “3 ton Trane Hypeerion R-410R A Split System, 15 seer heat Pump”. does it make sense ? I went to an Trane web site and got confused as i could not find “Hyperion R-410R Spilit system”. Instead, I found this …
http://www.trane.com/Residential/Products/Air-Handlers/Hyperion-Air-Handlers
then this …
http://www.trane.com/Residential/Products/Heat-Pumps/XR15-Heat-Pump
Am I looking at the right product / page on there ??
admin answers:
A heat pump system is useless unless your home is extremely energy efficient and tight. Some unscrupulous and naive HVAC salesmen still persist in selling these systems to just anyone,… Looking for that fat installation contract that will pay their next boat payment….
Your home must be very well insulated and have very efficient windows & doors. Extra insulation in the attic doesn’t hurt.
To answer your query: a split system is quite literally split in two. It typically has an inside evaporator connected to the outside condenser via refrigerant lines. I refer you to: http://www.howstuffworks.com/ac.htm
A heat pump has pretty much the same set up except in winter, the outside coil becomes the evaporator… Using a 4 way valve and a series of check valves and a TXV metering device on each end of the high side…
If your home is suitable, a 15 SEER Trane unit would be a fine choice. I would take a look at York, Lennox and Rheem units too. Carrier is an industry standard and they are very proud of them….trouble is, when they do need service, almost every part is proprietary and expensive..
(there are up to 18 SEER Goodman units available)
Michael asks…
Air Conditioner or Heat Pump in Western PA, which one should we buy?
We are looking to install either an air conditioner or heat pump to an existing 80% efficient two-stage furnace (Carrier Weather Maker). We’ve gotten quotes for both an AC and Heat Pump in 13 and 15 SEER ratings.
(cheapest being 13 SEER AC, most expensive 15 SEER Heat pump)
We don’t know which one is the best option for us. Will the 2 additional SEER rating be that much more energy efficient? How much energy will using a Heat Pump save? There are so many variables involved with the cost of gas and electricity that it’s hard to figure. Here’s a link to Pittsburgh’s average temperatures.
http://www.cityrating.com/citytemperature.asp?City=Pittsburgh
Any advice is welcome.
admin answers:
It all boils down to how long you plan to stay in your current house. Of course the 15 SEER heat pump unit is going to be better in the long run, but would you ever recover the extra cost? Well, national average is right around 2-3 years for a break even point over a 13 SEER A/C only unit. I’d personally go with the biggest, baddest unit I could. It will add to your home’s value and lower your utility costs. Get good installers to put it in! That’s probably the best advice I can give you.
————–
In order to give you an exact break even point, I’d need to know the heat transfer coefficient of your house, its exposed area, how the house is oriented, the average cost of electricity per kWh in your area, the cost of natural gas per cubic foot in your area, the size of your system, and your square footage. The beast is gonna be figuring out the actual average heat transfer coefficient over the entire surface area of the house.
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