The operation of the thousands of air conditioners that are turned on almost 24 hours a day during the summer is significant, since the average consumer, if he does not take certain parameters into account, then at the end of the month he is faced with inflated electricity bills and to pay them off, he must reach deep into his pocket.
At a time when a prolonged heatwave has been observed in the last twenty-four hours, with the increased temperatures breaking one record after another with unprecedented degrees Celsius, the Assistant Professor at the Electrical Engineering Department of TEPAK, Avraam Georgiou, lists a series of tips, for a better and more efficient use of air conditioners, saving up to 50% on electricity bills.
In an interview he gave to REPORTER, Dr. Georgiou, said that “saving electricity starts with us and starts with the temperatures of the air conditioners, as people have the impression that if they put low temperatures in the air conditioners they use, they will get something more, but on the contrary, they will simply spend more money . There are specific temperatures that we must set the air conditioners to, at 25 to 28 degrees and at night we can raise the temperature up to 29 degrees”.
The fan speed should also be set to low, because according to the Assistant Professor, the air conditioner should be given the opportunity to take the air from the interior, process it and expel it as required and not do it at a fast pace, because it doesn't have time to function properly, so it takes more time and more energy.
It is also understood that in order to turn on the air conditioner, the filters should be cleaned beforehand, because in this way you help the performance of the air conditioner and in this way also, said Dr. Georgiou, “we also have a saving of 20 to 25%, just from the maintenance of our devices. It is mandatory every sixty hours of operation, to open and clean the filters, which translates to once every fortnight”.
Also, once or twice a year, we have to wash the compressor of the air conditioner which is located on the outside of our house, if of course we first cut off the electricity from the inside, even though we are not in danger. “The compressors are specially made to be under adverse conditions, either heat or rain. With water, we actually succeed in cleaning the impurities that the compressor has collected so that it can work to a better and greater extent”.
However, it is noteworthy for the compressors, that those installed in apartment buildings, it has been observed that many have them placed on their balconies and cover them with various objects, as a result of which they are covered and do not work properly, since they must be ventilated. In fact, in this way there are serious risks, such as fire.
Additionally, as mentioned by Dr. Georgiou, “as far as our safety is concerned, we do not place other outlets in the outlet where the air conditioner is located to use other electrical devices. It is very dangerous to install multiple sockets and combine the use of air conditioners. Another important thing that greatly helps the use of air conditioners, are the fans, which when they are in parallel operation with the air conditioners, help the air conditioners to work better and what we want to achieve with the most desirable temperature is accelerated”.
It is also important to clean the pipe that removes moisture from the air conditioner. There are many who, according to the Assistant Professor, “use a bucket to collect the distilled water that the air conditioner emits as it is good for ironing, however, when they forget to empty the bucket, then the moisture returns to the room, resulting in instead of cooling down, warming up. It is also good that the rails of the air conditioners face upwards when they are on, because of the hot and cold air, as the warm air, being light, goes upwards and so we give priority to the cold air which will stay low to cool us down”.
However, in the last fifteen years that he has been studying the month of June, Dr. Georgiou, it is the first time he is facing this kind of prolonged heatwave and high temperatures, which shows, as he mentioned, that it will extend into the summer as well. “Thus, if we pay attention to the above recommendations, then we are going to have a bill of the order of 300 euros, while if we are not careful we will definitely end up with bills over 800 euros, even 1000 euros”, concluded the Assistant Professor.
