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Air conditioning tips

Use it as little as possible.  When you fire up your air conditioner, Ontario fires up coal and gas fired generating stations to deal with the spike in electricity demand.  So take steps to keep your home cool without A/C:

  • Use fans, especially ceiling fans (with reversing direction to lift heat in summer and push it down in winter)

  • Keep blinds and windows closed during the heat of the day and open them at night

  • Invest in awnings for south facing windows

  • If you are upgrading your windows, get units with low-e coatings to keep unwanted heat out in summer

When you do use air conditioning:

  • Keep the temperature set to 26 degrees C or higher.  Because the A/C takes a lot of the humidity out of the air, you will find that higher temperatures are tolerable

  • Make sure your furnace filter is clean.  Your furnace fan circulates the cool air from the A/C through your house.  A dirty filter makes it work much harder.

  • Get your A/C serviced annually to ensure is operating at peak efficiency, that coils and filters are clean and refrigerant is not leaking.

  • Use a programmable thermostat so that you can set your A/C for a warmer temperature (or off) while you are out at work.  (You can get a $25 rebate from the Cool Savings program - http://everykilowattcounts.ca/residential/coolsavings/)

  • Enrol in your utility’s peaksaver program to allow it to briefly control your units energy consumption from time to time in periods of peak electricity demand.  You really won’t notice the difference.

If you’re thinking of getting central air conditioning or replacing your current unit

  • Make sure you get a unit with a Seasonal Energy Efficiency Rating (SEER) of at least 14.5 and if you use your unit regularly, opt for a Tier 2 unit with a SEER of at least 15.  Efficient units may cost a bit more upfront, but save you money in the long term with lower electricity bills.

  • If you’re replacing an older unit, make sure your new unit with qualify you for Ontario’s Cool Savings Rebate. http://everykilowattcounts.ca/residential/coolsavings/ which can save you up to $450.