Preface
With the gradual rise in temperature, air conditioning has become one of the indispensable appliances in many homes. Many people who enjoy the cool air are also beginning to worry that the air conditioner at home will bring a lot of pressure to the electricity bill. In order to save electricity, the Internet is also full of various ways to use air conditioners to save electricity, such as setting the temperature to a higher value, selecting energy-saving mode, adjusting the wind speed and direction, and so on. Are these methods useful? How do they affect the cooling effect and comfort of air conditioners? Recently, a student from the University of Science and Technology, Obuchi, unveiled the answers to these questions for us through a series of experiments.
First, the content of the experiment
Obuchi's experiment mainly included three aspects, namely the temperature setting of the air conditioner, the energy-saving mode, and the influence of wind speed and direction. In the course of the experiment, he chose an air conditioner called "Daikin" for testing, which has a cooling capacity of 1 horse, that is, it can reduce the temperature in a certain space by 1 degree Celsius per hour. In terms of the environmental conditions of the experiment, Obuchi chose a room with an area of 16 square meters, and the ambient temperature in the room was also maintained at about 28°C.
1. Air conditioner temperature setting
In the first experiment, Obuchi set the temperature of the air conditioner at 20°C, 26°C, and 30°C, and recorded the electricity consumption for each hour through an electricity meter. After a period of testing, he came to the conclusion that the power consumption of the air conditioner does not gradually decrease with the increase in temperature during the same period of use, but increases slightly at 26°C and gradually decreases at 30°C.
2. Energy saving mode
Obuchi set the temperature of the air conditioner to 26°C, turned on the energy-saving mode, and recorded the power consumption through the electricity meter. The results of the comparison show that after turning on the energy-saving mode, the power consumption of the air conditioner is significantly reduced, but the indoor temperature is not effectively reduced, which means that the energy-saving mode can reduce the power consumption, but it will also have a certain impact on the cooling effect.
3. Wind speed and direction
Xiao Yuan made some adjustments to the wind speed and direction of the air conditioner, and he found that when the wind speed of the air conditioner is high, the indoor temperature can be quickly reduced, and the wind direction can be set to blow upward, which can also improve the cooling effect of the air conditioner to a certain extent. This does not mean that the "setting the wind speed to 2" circulating on the Internet will necessarily save electricity, in fact, this does not have any effect.
Second, the conclusion of the experiment
After this series of experiments, Obuchi came to some very interesting conclusions, that is, how to reasonably set the temperature, energy-saving mode, wind speed, and wind direction when actually using the air conditioner.
1. Air conditioner temperature setting
For the temperature setting of the air conditioner, many people will think that as long as the temperature is turned higher, they can effectively save electricity, but in fact, not all temperatures can have such an effect. For example, in Obuchi's experiment, when the temperature is set at 26°C, the power consumption of the air conditioner does decrease, but when the temperature continues to rise, the power consumption begins to increase gradually, because the air conditioner needs to continuously absorb indoor heat during the cooling process, and when the temperature difference is large, it needs to spend more power to complete the process.
From the perspective of saving electricity, setting the temperature at a moderate value, such as about 26 °C, can have a better effect, and in terms of comfort, according to the recommendations of the World Health Organization, the most suitable temperature for healthy adults to use air conditioning in summer should be between 26 °C and 27 °C.
2. Energy saving mode
For the energy-saving mode, it can achieve the purpose of saving electricity by reducing the cooling capacity of the air conditioner, so in some not particularly hot weather, you can turn on this function appropriately, and when the temperature is high, or in the case of more people, it is best to turn off the energy-saving mode, so as not to affect the comfort of the room.
3. Wind speed and direction
For the setting of wind speed and wind direction, they can affect the cooling effect of the air conditioner to a certain extent, for example, when the indoor temperature is relatively high, the wind speed can be adjusted to a higher gear, which can allow the air conditioner to quickly reduce the indoor temperature, and when the temperature is more comfortable, the wind speed can be lowered, which can effectively save electricity.
It should be noted that not all air conditioners support such settings, so when adjusting the wind direction, it is best to find out whether your own air conditioner has this function.
3. Extended perspectives
After Obuchi's experiments, we can clearly understand that it is not particularly easy to save electricity through some simple operations, because in the actual use process, we also need to consider the comfort and cooling effect.
1. Balance between comfort and energy saving
For example, when the temperature is set, although the temperature of 30 °C can indeed bring a better energy-saving effect, but such a temperature can no longer provide a comfortable environment for many people, so when it is actually used, it should be adjusted according to its actual situation, and you can choose to increase the temperature in some rooms that are not often used at home, and in the area of frequent activities, you can choose a moderate value.
2. Use air conditioning wisely
In addition to the temperature setting of the air conditioner, some other usage habits can also help us save electricity, for example, at noon, you can close the curtains appropriately to avoid direct sunlight into the room, which can effectively reduce the indoor temperature and reduce the burden of the air conditioner, and at night when the temperature is cooler, you can open the window for ventilation, which can make the indoor air be effectively updated and improve comfort.
3. How to use power saving
For example, the energy-saving mode of air conditioning is not available at any time, and some of the power-saving methods circulating on the Internet are not applicable to all air conditioning products, so in actual operation, you should learn more about relevant knowledge and choose according to your actual situation.
epilogue
After Obuchi's experiments, I believe that everyone has a clearer understanding of how to use air conditioners and how to balance comfort and energy saving. In the future life, I hope that you can use the air conditioner at home reasonably according to the results of these experiments, which can not only enjoy the coolness, but also effectively save electricity.