The air conditioner is one of those appliances a lot of us take for granted until it stops working right and that can be a problem. This is an inevitable appliance during the scorching summer for those who live in hot areas.
Even if yours is working right now there are simple things that you can do to help keep it running smoothly and lower your electric bills.
Of course, who doesn’t like that? Recently we interviewed Mr P Dutta, director of Concord services, a renowned company that offers AC installation & repair in Kolkata . He discussed and revealed many secret tips to lower your electric bill if you use an air conditioner.
Question: Mr. Dutta, lowering our bills that’s what we definitely want to do. So one of the questions that I and all our readers have when you leave the house, is it better to shut the AC off completely or just turn it off?
Mr. Dutta: So it’s kind of finding a balance. What we like to talk about is programmable thermostats. you know the old saying was you would cut the AC off turn it back on when you get here. Well, the air conditioners have to work hard to come back on. so that’s a little increase in power. go with the programmable thermostat there are all different types available. there’s a basic programmable thermostat, then you have Wi-Fi options, you have kinds of stuff that sends a signal to your smartphone if the temperature is high. you got all different kinds of options. we just say keep it 5 to 8 degrees swing when people aren’t home. you don’t want to really cool it when people aren’t home, so 5 degrees 8 degrees swing will kind of keep your energy costs down.
Question: During the summer months what’s the most common thing that you see when you’re out there making those repairs the most common mistakes I guess?
Mr. Dutta: So a lot of times during the summer you know you get those rains, animals stuff like that, you get a lot of debris around the AC units whether that’s the weeds, leaves stuff like that. On the outside of the unit you really want to keep those things free and clear of any kind of debris, any kind of grass, so that the compressor can breathe. Else it is going to be hot because the airflow is restricted. the harder it’s gonna have to work the quicker it’s gonna fail.
Question: There are also smaller tips that can prevent your electric bill from shooting skyrocketing this summer so talk about some of those.
Mr Dutta: Yes. An air conditioner filter is an integral part of any AC unit. Although Your air conditioner will run without a filter, you shouldn’t try it! Without a filter, you leave your system wide open to all types of dirt and debris that will damage the HVAC system and lead to expensive repairs. You need to take care of this thing. If you use AC continuously, it is recommended to replace the filter after every 90 days. Some say 45 days for better performance.
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Question: Yeah and this is something that will help folks in their homes if they suffer especially from indoor allergies. Maybe they need to check their filter and make sure that it’s clean.
Mr Dutta: Absolutely. Another thing is your house needs to be insulated well to keep the thermal energy loss to a minimum. While turning it on, close all the windows, doors to keep the internal temperature below the outside. Some houses may use an insulation layer between the outer and the inner wall. That should be good enough for this purpose.
Question: Yeah so it actually becomes cost-effective. You’re kind of spending a little bit of money to spray the insulation but it should definitely save you money especially for your heating bill.
Mr. Dutta: Yeah.
Question: Now correct me if I’m wrong, I’ve spoken to people that work at CESC and they’ve said that HVAC and heating and cooling actually comprises about 60 to 70 percent of your energy bills?
Mr. Dutta: That sounds right. About 50-60% of your electricity bill is your HVAC bill. Now if you have ceiling fans run them. You know house ceiling fans don’t cost that much. It costs about a penny or two pennies a day to run a ceiling fan and it disperses the air and really makes the temperature in the room in control and feels like 6 to 8 degrees lower so it’s not really lowering the air temperature but it makes it feel six degrees lower.
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Question: Yes, that’s a good tip this summer. Okay well thank you so much for being here Mr. Pradyut Dutta and sharing some cool information to lower your bill during summer. To remind you all, contact Mr. Dutta at their toll free number 1800 123 8648 or +91 8697371802 if you are looking for Branded, non branded AC service center in Kolkata
To Sum Up
In this interview with Mr. Pradyut Dutta, a veteran HVAC professional, we learned about simple tips to lower AC bills and improve AC performance. Mr. Dutta emphasizes the importance of using a programmable thermostat, cleaning AC filters regularly, insulating homes well, and using ceiling fans to improve air circulation. He estimates that 50-60% of electricity bills come from HVAC, highlighting the need to take steps to reduce energy costs. Contact Mr. Dutta for expert AC repair and maintenance services in Kolkata.
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