Do you need to turn off your air conditioner when you’re not home? It depends | Rare Techy

A close-up of a digital thermostat mounted on a Robertshaw wall, which reads 71 ​​degrees Fahrenheit, is pictured at a home in Lafayette, California, April 2, 2021.

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Most people believe that turning off their air conditioner when not at home saves money. Well, researchers from the University of Colorado Boulder put that theory to the test.

A team of researchers used electrical models that simulate heat transfer and the operation of an AC system to tackle the question everyone wants an answer to: Turning off the air conditioning doesn’t make you Home saves energy?

They found that it depends on the type of heating system in your home, the climate of the area where you live and the type of construction of your home.

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Researchers found that when your house is hot, the process of heat transfer accelerates. In the end, it reaches zero thermal equilibrium, when the internal temperature is equal to the external temperature.

Honeywell International Inc. Lyric Round Wi-FI smart thermostat hangs on display in a home at a Lennar Corp. development. Marina Shores in Alameda, California, US, on Monday, October 17, 2016.

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According to research, your AC cools less in the heat, so blocking the time during the hottest parts of the day will increase the efficiency of the system. These effects mean there’s no real answer if you have to blast the AC all day or wait until you get home from work.

Using energy modeling software developed by the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory for analyzing energy use in residential buildings, a team from the University of Colorado Boulder looked at several test cases for use energy in a 1,200-square-foot apartment.

In their study, the researchers considered three strategic scenarios in two warm areas: Arizona and Georgia.

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One set the internal temperature to 76 degrees Fahrenheit (24.4 degrees Celsius). A second would allow the temperature to reach 89 degrees Fahrenheit (31.6 degrees Celsius) during an eight-hour workday – a “return.” The latter used temperatures down to 89 degrees Fahrenheit (31.6 degrees Celsius) for a four-hour shorter workday.

A description of Nest Labs Inc. is shown. at a conference in San Francisco, California, US, on Wednesday, June 17, 2015.

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They looked at three different AC technologies: a single-phase AC, an air source heat pump (ASHP) and slightly–separate heat pump unit. Central AC units are kind of what most people use today.

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They found that when the AC is turned on for a short time to recover from the high indoor temperature, the energy consumption is still low in the reverse case when it is running continuously. temperature throughout the day.

The researchers said that on an annual scale with conventional central AC, this would result in energy savings of up to 11%.

They also found that both the central air source heat pump and the sub-space heat pump were more efficient overall but had lower savings from warm events.

The eight-hour shift on weekdays saves money regardless of the system, but the benefits from the four-hour shift are less flexible.