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AC Energy Saver mode Curly Sue 07-03-2006
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Posted by Mark on July 3, 2006, 10:46 am

Curly Sue wrote:
>
> >
> >
> >> I have a 1 yr old through the wall unit, around 18000 btu with a 220v
> >> plug.
> >
> >> 1) Does the energy saver mode make a measurable difference in energy
> >> use? Mine goes on and off in what I think is short cycles, I assume
> >> because the room temp increases rapidly. I keep the temp set at
> >> around 74 deg. The room stays comfortable enough.
> >
> >Not sure what the desiners meant by energy saver mode in your unit. Any
> >description in the User Manual? Or is it in Chinese?
>
> I found this on the website (it's a GE):
>
> Energy Saver Switch
> A sought-after feature of GE Room Air Conditioners is the Energy Saver
> Switch. With the switch in the "normal" position, the fan runs
> continuously and provides more uniform temperature in the room. In the
> "save" position, the fan turns off and on with the air conditioner's
> compressor to help reduce power consumption and operating cost.
>
> >> 2) Is all of that turning on and off bad for the unit? Should I just
> >> keep it on regular mode running all the time, instead? I know that
> >> the cooling part cycles on and off to keep the temp constant so I
> >> assume the energy saver feature just controls the fan?
> >
> >Depending how often it cycles. Starting a motor does increase the temp
> >temporarily, but it stabilizes in a minute or so. If the cycles are several
> >minutes, there should be no prob. Again assuming the design eng KNEW what
> >he was doing. Slower fan speed will save a bit of energy, but very little.
>
> They seem to make a big deal of it (as per excerpt above) but
> apparently it doesn't change the behavior of the compressor.
>
> After reading the responses, I assume that it doesn't make such a big
> difference.
>
> Thanks.
> Sue(tm)
> Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

Turn the temp up a few degrees or turn off a light or two will save
much more...

It takes about 2 Watts of power to cool the room for every Watt of
heat....so running a 60 Watt bulb costs you 180 Watts, 60 for the bulb
and 120 to get rid of the heat..

Mark


Posted by Curly Sue on July 3, 2006, 11:42 am

>
>Curly Sue wrote:
>>
>> >
>> >
>> >> I have a 1 yr old through the wall unit, around 18000 btu with a 220v
>> >> plug.
>> >
>> >> 1) Does the energy saver mode make a measurable difference in energy
>> >> use? Mine goes on and off in what I think is short cycles, I assume
>> >> because the room temp increases rapidly. I keep the temp set at
>> >> around 74 deg. The room stays comfortable enough.

<snip>

>Turn the temp up a few degrees or turn off a light or two will save
>much more...
>
>It takes about 2 Watts of power to cool the room for every Watt of
>heat....so running a 60 Watt bulb costs you 180 Watts, 60 for the bulb
>and 120 to get rid of the heat..

Thanks- I didn't know that. It's a good perspective.

In that regard I'm doing OK. In addition to turning off the light
bulbs (in the daytime, anyway) I use compact fluorescent bulbs and I
pull the shades on the sunny side of the house.

I put the AC on 74 because it is a multiroom unit and it's not located
well. Plus, when I'm moving around working, the humidity gets to me.
But when I'm just sitting in the living room I adjust the temperature
higher and turn on the box fan.

Last fall I went through hell putting insulation in the crawl
space/attic. I think it's paying off though; upstairs doesn't seem to
get as hot and the second floor ceiling hasn't yet gotten hotter than
83F according to my surface thermometer (which I wish I'd had last
year before I put in the insulation). I'll see what happens when it
gets really hot here.

Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

Posted by RichK on July 3, 2006, 11:55 am


> Turn the temp up a few degrees or turn off a light or two will save
> much more...
>
> It takes about 2 Watts of power to cool the room for every Watt of
> heat....so running a 60 Watt bulb costs you 180 Watts, 60 for the bulb
> and 120 to get rid of the heat..

Excellent advice!

I did not know about the energy comparison - seems high to me. It seems
that it should not take so much energy to move the heat out. If so, would
Heat Pumps make sense?

RichK





Posted by Mark on July 3, 2006, 11:57 pm

RichK wrote:
>
> > Turn the temp up a few degrees or turn off a light or two will save
> > much more...
> >
> > It takes about 2 Watts of power to cool the room for every Watt of
> > heat....so running a 60 Watt bulb costs you 180 Watts, 60 for the bulb
> > and 120 to get rid of the heat..
>
> Excellent advice!
>
> I did not know about the energy comparison - seems high to me. It seems
> that it should not take so much energy to move the heat out. If so, would
> Heat Pumps make sense?
>
> RichK

Sorry, I got it worng.. its more like it takes 1 Watt of AC for every
2 watts of heat removed, so the 60 Watt light bulb example needs
another 30 Watts for the AC to cool it for a total of 90 Watts, not
180 Watts.
Mark


Posted by yourname on July 3, 2006, 11:27 am
Curly
> After reading the responses, I assume that it doesn't make such a big
> difference.
>
> Thanks.
> Sue(tm)
> Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!



Once the room is at a stable temp, it can make quite a difference. At
work I switch it ot energy save node at night, and find that it results
in a few degrees higher real temp. It is great for when youare not
there, it saves power[since if the room is not hot, the ac is off] but
keeps the palce decent for when you return. Say you were leaving for 2
days, turn the a/c to paoer saver and leave at 80 degrees, that way the
room will be dehumidified and reasonable for when you come back, but if
it isn't really hot out it won't run at all.

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