Air Conditioners Vrs The Enviroment

     Let's face it. When it comes to air conditioning, most of us are more concerned about how cool we can be during the summer, than we are in it's impact on the environment.
You're probably saying, "impact on the environment?". When it's over 100 degrees outside, we could care less about the environment. And besides, what impact? It's only electricity after all.
     Well, many energy conservationist say that air conditioners result in up to 80% percent of co2 emissions released by power plants who produce the electricity to run the millions of air conditioners in residential and commercial applications.
During the hot summer months here Boise, Idaho our air conditioners are running full blast for a good portion of the day. That means a high consumption of energy during the summer. One of the easiest ways to lower that consumption is to use a programmable thermostat so you can control when it is running, and what temperature you want to maintain when your home and away.
     The next thing, is to consider is changing out your old air conditioner to a super high efficient model. Newer units require less energy to run, and some units offer two stage cooling that requires less energy. Most homes only  need 100% of cooling capacity for about 20% of the time. If you have a unit that is 15 years old, it may have started out as a 10 SEER rated A/C but they lose efficiency over time and so now it would be doing good to be rated at 7-8 SEER. Just moving up from 8 to 14 SEER your annual savings on your energy bill could be as much as 40%. That can help offset the initial cost of purchasing a higher efficient model. The newer units also use R10A refrigerant that has less impact on the ozone layer then the old R22 freon.
     Little things we can do are, keeping blinds and drapes closed during the hot part of the day. Using draperies that are lined with a heavy material to block out the suns heat. Installing ceiling fans to keep air circulating. Setting our thermostats a couple of degrees warmer or planting shade trees around our house, especially on the west side that gets the afternoon sun.
     For more energy saving ideas, read my other blogs at www.hvaccomfortguyjerry@blogspot.com or go to our website at www.greensheating.com.