Washington Post - As heat surges around the country — bringing temperatures well above 100 degrees Fahrenheit, brutal humidity, and crippled emergency responses — workable air conditioning can serve as the line between life and death.But as the mercury rises, so do air conditioning costs. According to a report by the National Energy Assistance Directors Association and the Center for Energy Poverty and Climate, electric bills this summer are expected to increase by 8 percent nationwide — and even higher in the West and the Mid-Atlantic. Nearly a quarter of Americans last year were unable to keep their homes comfortable because of high costs. Part of the problem is that as temperatures climb, the strain on air conditioners increases exponentially. Here are three reasons AC costs are soaring.
Ever notice that when temperatures go up, your air conditioning costs go way, way up? A simple equation explains what it takes to cool an enclosed space. Air conditioners are a form of heat pump — they work by blowing hot indoor air over a refrigerant, which moves that heat outdoors. But the energy use of air conditioners depends on the difference between indoor and outdoor temperature; more specifically, the square of the difference between indoor and outdoor temperature.
Say you set your thermostat to 75 degrees. If the outdoor temperature is 95 degrees F, your air conditioner will have to do four times more work than if the outdoor temperature is 85 degrees F. Even a small increase in heat — like from 96 F to 100 F — can increase the work done by your air conditioner by more than 40 percent.
1 comment:
What a lot of people don't understand is that outdoor air conditioning units give off an enormous of environmental heat that tends to pond up in crowded cities raising their overall heat and to raise the air conditioning load and then raise electrical costs.
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