5 most common questions on aircons

Below we list the 5 most common questions on aircons:

Are aircons expensive to run?

The quick answer: no. But we’ll explain you why! Lets take a scenario where we have a bedroom of 25 square meters where we install a Daikin Perfera 9000 BTU or 2,5kW. To keep it simple, we’ll work this example out in kW. This aircon has a capacity of 2,5kW in cooling with a seasonal efficiency of 8,65 and a capacity of 2,8kW in heating with a seasonal efficiency of 5,1. Seasonal efficiency means that the actual consumption of the unit is lower: in cooling 2,5 / 8.65 (0,3kWh) and in heating  (0,54kWh). You can easily find this data on the website of the manufacturer (SEER/SCOP) or you can download it on ours. If you would like to know more about seasonal efficiency, have a look at our previous blog article.

Please note that we assume an average price of 2,5 ZAR / kWh.

Scenario 1: The unit is only used in cooling during summer (8 hours/day, 40 days)

• Real consumption in cooling: 0,3kW
• Hours of consumption: 8 hours
• Days: 40

Total consumption = 0,3 x 8 x 40 = 96 kWh
Expected price to pay: 96 kWh x 2,5 ZAR = 237, 5 ZAR (or 19,8 ZAR per month)

Scenario 2: The unit is used in cooling during summer and to help heating in winter (8 hours/day, 40 days cooling, 30 days heating)

• Real consumption in cooling: 0,3kW
• Real consumption in heating: 0,54kW
• Hours of consumption: 8 hours
• Days: 40 in cooling, 30 days in heating

Total consumption = 0,3 x 8 x 40 + 0,54 x 8 x 30= 225,6 kWh
Expected price to pay: 225,6 kWh x 2,5 ZAR = 564 ZAR (or 47 ZAR per month)

Scenario 3: the unit is used as main heating & cooling source for the house (8 hours/day, 75 days cooling, 75 days heating)

• Real consumption in cooling: 0,3kW
• Real consumption in heating: 0,54kW
• Hours of consumption: 8 hours
• Days: 74 in cooling, 74 days in heating

Totaal consumption = 0,3 x 8 x 75 + 0,54 x 8 x 75= 504 kWh
Expected price to pay: 504 kWh x 2,5 ZAR = 1260 ZAR (or 105 ZAR per month)

Summary:

To conclude, you can see that the actual consumption of your air conditioner is very low. Ofcourse it’s important to choose a unit with a very low energy consumption. You might find cheaper units with a lower initial price, but you will have to pay higher energy costs in the long term.

What aircon size do I need?

This is depending on alot of factors (the type of room, the size, sunlight). Depending on these your needed capacity will change. Imagine a kitchen with an oven and other electrical equipment that give off heat. This heat has to be removed to get to a comfortable temperature. On the one hand, if you select a unit with a too low capacity wou will not be able to condition your room properly. On the other hand, too high capacity will increase your consumption and reduce the lifetime of your equipment. This is why our algorithm selects for you the best unit. Click here to calculate in an easy way the best unit for you.

In this blogpost we also give 7 tips to select the correct air conditioner.

Will an air conditioner spread COVID? Can an aircon make you sick?

How does an aircon work?

Our aircons work with the heatpump principle. We like to see a heat pump as a train. You have 2 stations (your indoor and outdoor unit) and also the train (which is the refrigerant connecting them). In summer time, the train will extract the heat from your indoor room and transport it through the refrigerant and extract it via the outdoor unit. In winter time, the heat pump is able to extract heat from the air (even if it is -10 degrees Celcius) and will then reject the heat in your house to heat up.

What is an inverter in aircons?

You have 2 types of air condtioners in South Africa: inverters and non-inverters.

An inverter is a piece of technology that regulates the speed of your compressor. So what exactly does that mean? Well inverter units have variable speeds – as opposed to non-inverters. It allows you to cool or heat your home based on your requirement and more efficiently. An inverter is able to control the indoor temperature of your house by adjusting its speed, while a non-inverter has only 2 options: 100% full power or no power at all. This means a non-inverter is constantly switching on and off which causes discomfort, but also increases your energy bill significantly.

You could compare it with driving to a destination. An inverter is able to drive at different speeds to reach it optimally, while a non-inverter is only able to drive 100km/h or 0km/h. That means the latter is not great for your consumption.

So how much can you actually save by choosing for an inverter? Depending on the unit, you can save around 50% of your energy costs.

We took you through the 5 most common questions on aircons, do you have any other questions? Don’t hesitate to contact us here.