While it’s convenient, there’s always the issue of whether or not you should leave the air conditioner on 24/7 throughout the summer. It’s true that it helps you feel more comfortable, but how much more efficient is it, and is it made to run constantly at such high temperatures? There are several variables that affect the answer in this case.
How Long Should I Have my Air Conditioner On Every Day:
These days, air conditioners may be left on all day long. Keeping it on all day to keep your house cool is not improper, but it does have drawbacks. You could leave your air conditioner on nonstop if you wanted to.
If you have your thermostat set to “auto,” the AC compressor will not operate nonstop. Most conventional air conditioners shut off automatically after the room reaches the set temperature. When the compressor is operating, only then is your house cooled. Up to 95% of the energy used by your air conditioner goes towards running the compressor.
Your air conditioner’s compressor may only need to work around 70% of the time if it is suitably suited for the space it is cooling and summer temperatures are mild. In other words, around 16 hours out of every 24 are spent with the compressor engaged. Whatever kind of air conditioning system you have—central, window, or mini—this is true. Your compressor might be operating at 100% daily duty during the months of the year when temperatures rise.
Reasons Why Constant Air Conditioning Use Is Bad:
For the sake of convenience and comfort, we often keep the air conditioner on even when we aren’t there. The effects of this reckless action on you will be significant. To see why it’s not a good idea to leave your air conditioner on all the time, let’s break it down.
1. Lack of Efficiency:
In most nations, air conditioners account for 6% of all energy used. At its normal setting, your air conditioner is one of the largest consumers of electricity in your house.
If you leave your air conditioner on all the time without turning it off, you’ll waste electricity for no good reason. After the room has attained the ideal temperature, continuing to run the air conditioner is a waste of electricity.
2. Might be Hazardous to Your Health:
Another potential downside is how it may influence the health of the user. Constant use of air conditioners will quickly clog their filters. However, it may endanger your health long before it causes damage to the condenser coils. Tiny particles of dust carried by air with a partially blocked filter might produce moderate fever and cold.
Those who have allergies to these particles should be extremely cautious. They may cause an allergic response suddenly or contribute to a situation that will eventually cause an allergic reaction. Those who are particularly sensitive to airborne particles should take extra care to turn off their air conditioners throughout the day.
3. Constant Use Causes Dirt Build-up in the Unit:
It’s not only harmful to the appliance, but common sense tells us that it’s unhealthy for us. If you leave your air conditioner on all the time, dust and other debris will accumulate in its filters. If this happened, the air conditioner would start releasing hot air instead of cold. Air filters are the least of your worries since they are so simple and inexpensive to change.
Filters begin to clog, allowing hardened debris to repeatedly build on the condenser coils. Constant use without breaks may cause them to get severely clogged very quickly, which will have an adverse effect on the compressor.
The worst thing that could happen to an air conditioner would be for both the compressor and the condenser to break at the same time, rendering the whole machine useless. Repairing and continuing would be very expensive, even if it were possible.
4. Keeping Your Air Conditioner On All Day, Every Day, is not Eco-friendly:
The next consequence is likewise immediate and individual, but we tend to overlook it. The vast negative effect that air conditioning has on the natural world is often forgotten or overlooked. The annual greenhouse gas output of a country is 39% due to air conditioners in homes.
Even while most modern air conditioners are good for the environment, they are still unable to reduce emissions to 0%. Even if they produce less, they are forced to generate more the more you run. Simply stated, when the temperature drops inside, the temperature rises outside.
Things that Happens to You and the Planet When the Air Conditioner is On All the Time:
The first negative consequence is of a more individual and materialistic kind. According to a global study conducted in 2009, cooling and heating systems account for an average of 40% of a home’s total annual energy usage.
It is simple to comprehend the high expenditures associated with such extensive energy use. A household’s energy consumption might be significantly increased if an air conditioner operates continuously, increasing costs by two to three times if this happens.
· Eco-friendly Air Conditioners Have their Limits:
This should be enough to persuade most people, but there are instances when you have to keep them running for close to, if not the whole, 24 hours. If there aren’t enough windows in a residence, the only way to ensure enough ventilation is to turn on the air conditioner.
If you don’t have any option, at least turn off the air conditioning before you leave the house and turn it back down when you get home. Turning it up before bed is also a good suggestion since our bodies are better able to deal with heat when we are asleep.
If anything, this would make the drawbacks more manageable. Keep in mind that you should never choose to run them continuously.