How to set the air conditioner in winter saving money? What is the ideal temperature? What is the right use? In this post we try to answer these questions and give some useful tips on how to use the air conditioner in winter to save money.
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During the winter, the need to heat the rooms we live in clashes with recent increases in electricity costs. Buying a low-consumption air conditioner can help a lot, but it is essential to be careful to optimise its use and balance the need to stay warm with the cost of the bill.
How to use the AC in winter
In order to save money, or at least spend the right amount, when using an air conditioner during the winter season we can refer to some basic principles that are always valid.
First of all, the relationship between the power of the air conditioner and the size of the room in which it is installed. If the correct relationship is not respected, the device will make a greater effort, and consequently consume more electricity.
Correct behaviour must then be adopted to maintain a constant temperature inside the room, such as keeping balconies and windows closed. And then the right temperature. In both summer and winter, there must not be a large temperature difference between the indoor and outdoor environment.
We will go into these concepts in more detail in the following paragraphs.
AC and room size
Every air conditioner is designed to perform optimally within a room of a certain size. If these are too large in relation to the power of the device, it will make a greater effort to keep the temperature constant. And it will probably never get to ‘sleep’, i.e. to stand by, consuming electricity continuously.
It is therefore advisable to bear in mind a few pointers when buying an air conditioner:
- In a room of about 25-27 m², we should install a 9000 Btu air conditioner
- In a room of about 30-35 m² circa, we should install a 12000 Btu air conditioner
- In a room of about 50 m², we should install a 18000 Btu air conditioner
- In a room of about 80 m², we should install a 24000 Btu air conditioner
When you are on the verge of buying an air conditioner, the choice is not always easy, as there are so many options and considerations to be made, not only inherent to the room size. We try to give you some tips in this post to help you Choose an air conditioner.
AC ideal temperature in winter
This is a question that may require a subjective answer. There are those who may wish to have a much higher temperature inside their flat than outside, but this can lead to high electricity consumption
The colder the outside temperature, the more the air conditioner will have to work to maintain the set indoor temperature.
Therefore, the ideal temperature for an air conditioner in winter should be set between 20°C and 22°C. In this way, the air conditioner will have less difficulty reaching the desired temperature, and will be able to keep it constant for a longer time.
Proper behaviour
In order for the air conditioner to keep the temperature set by the remote control constant, certain behaviours must be kept in mind to help the unit not to overwork itself, consuming a lot of electricity.
The first is to keep balcony and window frames closed. The higher the thermal output of these (i.e. the ability to keep warm or cold inside the room), the less effort the air conditioner will make: once the desired temperature is reached, it will go on stand-by and will only restart when the degrees in the room decrease (or increase, depending on the season).
Another piece of advice we would like to give you is to rely on a technician when installing an air conditioner. This aspect can also affect the performance of the air conditioning unit. If, for example, there is a lot of distance between the indoor unit and the outdoor unit (and therefore very long connecting pipes), the efficiency of the machine is reduced.
And then there is maintenance, which is just as fundamental as knowing how to clean your air conditioner, but is often an underrated habit.
Cleaning the filters of the indoor unit is a practice that should be done periodically, at regular intervals. If the filters, for example, are dirty with dust, the air will encounter a significant obstacle to escape, delaying the reaching of the set temperature. Ultimately, it is possible to save money by using air conditioning in winter, even on a daily basis. To do so, it is essential to adopt virtuous behaviour in its use, avoiding excesses during operation and following the advice we have tried to give you in this post.
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