Eco-Friendly Air Conditioning Tips

September 20, 2023


Excerpt: An eco-friendly home uses less energy without sacrificing comfort. In this article, you’ll learn more about how you can follow eco-friendly cooling practices in your home.

On a hot summer day, you rely on your air conditioning to keep your home cool and comfortable. Using smart cooling practices will not only result in greater home comfort, but improve the eco-friendliness of your lifestyle as well. There are many ways you can enjoy a cool home environment while using your air conditioning without requiring excessive energy usage; keep reading to discover a few simple and easy eco-friendly air conditioning tips you can use this summer in Columbus.

Air Seal Your Home

Air sealing means eliminating air exchange between your home and the air outside. By maintaining an enclosed indoor environment, you will keep your air conditioner from doing more work than is necessary to keep your home cool. Although some ventilation is needed for good indoor air quality, the ventilation provided by your home’s roof ventilation system should be sufficient. This means you should opt to keep windows and doors closed during hot summer days, rather than opening them in the hopes of catching a breeze. If you prefer moving air for comfort, use an overhead fan instead, which will also boost your air conditioner’s cooling capacity. The more stable your indoor temperature remains, the easier it will be for your air conditioner to cool your home while using the least amount of energy possible.

Maintain a Consistent Temperature

Maintaining a consistent temperature inside your home requires less effort from your air conditioner to achieve home comfort. In the summer, this means reducing the amount of heat sources in and around your home. Utilizing curtains or even landscaping to block incident sunlight will reduce solar heating to keep your home cooler. Consider cooking meals outside on a grill or indoors using the microwave to reduce heating from your stove and oven whenever possible. Early in the cooling season or on milder days, avoid letting your home get too stiflingly hot before you opt to turn on your air conditioner—the higher the temperature inside, the more your air conditioner must work to lower it. Additionally, it takes more energy for your air conditioner to start up than it does for the unit to keep running. Although you may have to turn on your air conditioning sooner, the smaller the difference between your current indoor air temperature and the temperature you want, the less work your air conditioner will do overall.

Install a Two-Stage System

When it’s time to replace your air conditioner, opt for a two-stage system. Single-stage A/C systems run at only one speed, often providing much more cooling than you need and increasing the energy costs of cooling your home. By contrast, a two-stage system utilizes a two-speed compressor, which can tailor your cooling needs depending on the temperature outside and the temperature you want to maintain indoors. In fact, most two-stage systems run at the lower of two speeds up to 80% of the time, but can switch to greater speed without a hitch when extra cooling is needed. This adaptability will reduce the overall energy consumed by your air conditioner, while still delivering exactly the amount of cooling you need for maximum comfort.

Your Columbus HVAC expert can help you determine the best way to keep your home cool and eco-friendly this summer. We invite you to take a look through our website to learn more about our cooling products and services, or click through our blog for even more home cooling and energy savings tips.

Last Updated: March 26, 2024