As individual incomes increase, more and more Australian homeowners are installing air conditioning systems so as to make their indoor living spaces more comfortable. But air conditioning service does not come by free of charge because air conditioners rely on electricity to operate — and electricity consumption does cost money. Despite the fact that most modern air conditioner models are designed to function as energy-efficiently as possible, many homeowners keep complaining about paying high electricity bills each month, and they think that their air conditioners are to blame for this. There are so many potential reasons as to why most homeowners do not get energy-efficient service from their air conditioning units.
Here is a sneak peek at a few typical reasons why your air conditioning equipment may cause your monthly domestic electricity bills to go up unnecessarily.
Not optimising your aircon temperature settings
During the hot months of the year, most people set their air conditioner thermostat to a colder-than-required setting. What they may be oblivious to is that the amount of electricity used with each one-degree Celsius cooler setting may be significant enough to increase monthly electricity bills considerably. For that reason, it is advisable to adjust the AC thermostat at the exact indoor temperatures desired.
The most effective way to ensure this is by installing a programmable thermostat. With a programmable thermostat, homeowners can not only optimise their temperature settings, but also turn their AC equipment ON and OFF as required, resulting in further savings on electricity costs.
Not replacing dirty filters as required
The air in homes contain various types of contaminants that may not be easily visible the naked eye. If these air-borne contaminants are not removed, they will compromise indoor air quality. Air conditioner filters are meant to catch dust and other types of airborne pollutants that may be present within your house. As time passes by, these filters become dirty and they'll have to be changed so as to maintain proper air flow within the system.
Failure to remove and replace dirty filters as frequently as required leads to obstructed air flow, making an air conditioning system run harder and use up more electricity than it should in order to provide the desired indoor comfort levels. Therefore, make sure to change dirty air conditioner filters to avoid air flow issues that may result in energy inefficiencies.
Most importantly, make sure your residential air conditioning unit is inspected regularly and maintained well to ensure it keeps operating at peak efficiency and thus not waste electricity.