Energy Star Portable Air Conditioner: Save Money and the Environment

When you are shopping for an Energy Star portable air conditioner, look for the Energy Star icon. Energy Star is a symbol that gets awarded to appliances that are more efficient than their counterparts. Generally, they are slightly more expensive, but nonetheless they will save you money in the long run.

Energy Star Saves Money

A product earns the Energy Star label when it meets the energy efficiency requirements as detailed by the product specifications. In the case of your air conditioner, the 10% increased efficiency cannot come at the sacrifice of the unit’s ability to cool your environment. The idea would not work if the product were not just as appealing to the consumer. Though the cost of an Energy Star air conditioner may be slightly higher than a regular air conditioner, the difference in your electric bill will make up for it in a few months. If you want to do some extensive math, you can find out exactly how long it will take for the cost to even out given the BTU value of both units and your electric company’s rates.

Benefits the Environment

Aside from the personal value that owning an Energy Star air conditioner can lead to, also consider the global value. Fortunately, when you save energy, you also reduce the amount of pollution that accompanies the production of said energy. So in this case, it actually saves you money to help the environment. Cooling expends about 17% or a household’s energy usage. Reducing that amount greatly benefits our country’s greenhouse emissions.

Setting up Your Unit

Even with your energy efficient air conditioner, there are still some things that you can do to keep it productive. When you install your air conditioner, go the extra mile with the insulation around it. Cool air is easily wasted if it can escape through the excess space between your window and your air conditioner. Seal these cracks and your unit will need less time to cool the space.

Conserve

On the same note, check out the timer function that most Energy Star units have. Rather than running your unit constantly, you can program it to only work when needed. This way will not compromise the cool temperature of your room if you put some thought into it.  Additionally, if you physically unplug your air conditioner when you leave the house, your electric bill will mysteriously go down even more.

Maintenance

Every air conditioner needs maintenance. Keeping your filter clean will reduce the work load that the machine needs to tackle in order to cool your room. With window units, cleaning a filter is very easy. You simply need to vacuum up the dust that is clinging to it, then rinse it out in the sink. This habit will also help avoid those annoying whistling sounds.

Owning an air conditioner does not have to feel like an environmental detriment. Energy Star units balance both sides of the argument while saving you money. Take care of them, and they will continue to do so.