WHILE KEEPING COOL
High efficiency heating and cooling equipmentcan lower utility bills, improve comfort and air quality throughout the home,and help reduce air pollution.
One easy way for consumers to differentiate high efficiency equipment is to lookfor the ENERGY STAR Label. Heating and cooling products with the ENERGY STAR Labelare produced by most major manufacturers and have the same features as standardproducts but also incorporate energy saving technology.
EPA estimates ENERGY STAR-labeled heating and cooling equipment, when properly sized and installed, can save consumers 10-40% on heating and cooling bills.
ENERGY STAR® Room Air Conditioners feature high-efficiency compressors, fan motors,and heat transfer surfaces. In an air conditioner, the air is cooled when it passes over the refrigerant coils which havefins, similar to an automobile radiator. The compressor sends the cooled refrigerant through the coils, and cools the airas it is forced over the coils. By using advanced heat transfer technologies, more of the heat from the air is transferredinto the coils than in conventional models, saving energy required to compress the refrigerant. ENERGY STAR® Room Air Conditionersmust exceed minimum federal standards for energy consumption by at least 15%.
Buy The Right Size
Many people buy an air conditioner that is too large for the space, thinking it will cool better. Anoversized air conditioner will actually be less effective than one that is the correct size, and waste energyat the same time. Air conditioners remove heat and humidity from the air. Humidity is removed when theair in a room passes over the cooling coils of an air conditioner. If the unit is too large, it will coolthe room quickly, but only remove a portion of the humidity. This leaves the room with a damp, clammy feeling to the air, since theair will not have been circulated enough. A properly sized unit will remove humidity effectively as it cools. Running a smaller unit for a longer time willuse less energy to completely condition a room than running a larger unit for a shorter time.
Use the following chart to find the appropriate size air conditioner to use:
| AREA TO BE COOLED2 | CAPACITY (BTU/HR) | |
| 100 to 150 | 5,000 | |
| 150 to 250 | 6,000 | |
| 250 to 300 | 7,000 | |
| 300 to 350 | 8,000 | |
| 350 to 400 | 9,000 | |
| 400 to 450 | 10,000 | |
| 450 to 550 | 12,000 | |
| 550 to 700 | 14,000 | |
| 700 to 1000 | 18,000 |
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Provided by: Energy Star. Email info@energystar.gov
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