Does shading your AC unit help save money on electricity bill? | FOX 7 Austin
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- Опубліковано 21 лип 2022
- Experts say if you put shade over your AC unit, the hot air coming out won't be able to escape as effectively. READ MORE: bit.ly/3IWI5p7
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I live in AZ it's going to be 117 today. Both of my units are going to get every bit of that. You're saying the heat being removed from my house will be radiated or dispelled faster in this weather with full sun than in the shade. I'm not saying it would be any cooler but maybe more efficient and not having to work as hard to do what it's supposed to. But ok 👍
I call BS ! I've seen 2 videos saying not to shade it by "experts in the industry" :( They aren't going to tell you / confirm something that will make your unit last longer ... they want the repair/installation revenue. From an engineering perspective ... ANY equipment is going to benefit from NOT being in the Texas sun, all equipment/machinery will run more efficiently, last longer if it NOT subjected to extreme heat. Just use common sense, don't restrict air flow ! Hate to sound bitter but it's the greedy world we live in.
100% right sir. Anyone in Texas Can tell you the air coming out of the vents is warmer during the heat of the day, then when the sun goes down it’s cooler.
Exactly. They sound silly to me. Of course you don't want to block the air but other than that how could it not help. 😆
Thank you so much for having the mindset and heart that you do.
It is all true.
Anybody who tells you that "it makes no difference" to have your air conditioning unit operate under the hot direct sunlight vs under shade awning, especially in the southwest, is trying to manipulate you into the babylon system and attempting to use you for profit gains, or is heavily manipulated and conforming to the HVAC industries lie and unaware...
Glad im not alone.
The a/c doesn’t care, it dumps heat through the outside condenser. The coils are typically shaded any ways on a louver, and there is constant air flow when the fan is running. What the hell is an umbrella going to do?
0% bitterness detected. Registering 100% logic. This "news" segment seems to confirm suspicions that the news can't be trusted, and that greed is a dominant force in the world.
Funny how they never talk about the condenser unit that absolutely runs more efficiently when it doesn’t over heat. Shading the unit from the side where it gets the most direct sun light absolutely helps it functions better - but yet all they want to talk about is air flow - while leaving out the importance of the condenser.
I should help to shade it, but that is a poor implementation. of the concept. The thing should be moved about six inches away from the house, up of the ground, the top should be tilted, that outer panel at the top should be open like a hopper window, and the cloth should be darker to stop more light. Yes the darker cloth will heat the air touching it, but that heated air shouldn't get anywhere near the unit if there's enough ventilation. There's a reason Bedouins live in "black" tents.
Shade it yes. But don’t block the airflow. Plant some trees to give shade. If you want put up a pop up canopy but make sure it’s one that vents through the top like a roof ridge vent on a house. This allows the hot air to escape. Best of both worlds. Yes the outside condenser is made to operate outside in extreme temps however that still wears it out faster. The hotter it gets the harder it is on it and the shorter it will last. Think about parking your car out in the Sun in 100 degree heat with the sun bearing down on it. Then park your car under a canopy. Which will destroy the paint and other car parts faster? The more extreme heat will. Same concept. So shade it on extremely hot days with a vented pop up canopy to let the hot air escape if you are so inclined.
I agree with you, even the electrical parts and electronics will last longer, shading is important .
It does help my ac could not keep my house below 80 in this seasons extreme heat, I put a pool umbrella on it today and the house has been at 76 all day
But what about the scientific method
@@dreamleaf6784 I've since replaced my old ac no more problems lol
@@arielista that's good to hear! Stay cool my friend!
It's better to have the unit in shade....not putting an umbrella above it kind of shade lol. But yes having it installed on the shady side of the house or a wall shading it does help a little bit
nah mate shade will make zero difference - the unit inside is already shaded by the covering - gee whiz are these folks that daft? a 3-ton condenser moves 170,000 cubic feet of air per hour. shade isn't going to lower the temp quick enough to make 1 iota of a difference - you want to make a real difference, shade the house
When it gets over 100 degrees, it does make a difference. The compressor is on the outside condenser which sends refrigerant to the inside unit.
It absolutely makes a difference. In 100 degree weather Texas which lasts about 120 days or so in a row, I shade my a/c not a spec of grass grows near it and super insulation. I did those things one at a time. Each one lowered my monthly bills. With solar panels now $68 per month.
@@johnjerman3421 Salesman tactics
@@randysalvaje512agreed. Electric motors also run more efficiently, and suffer less wear when they are properly cooled when they have the Florida sun with a UV intensity of 11++ beating on the unit from 11am until 5 or 6pm I guarantee they are overheating, and therefore suffering premature wear.
Not to mention the large percentage of homes in the south, like mine which have a combo heat pump ac units with the air handlers outside installed and flex ducts under their homes going to said units. Mine used to get so damned hot with the factory paint you could fry your bacon and egg breakfast on it. By around 9am, and by noon you didn't want to stand next to it. I painted it with white UV reflective roof paint and it still struggled from late July to October to maintain 80-82 in the late afternoon sun before I put an enclosure up around it with solar screens so it could breath fine but the sun couldn't get through. It never should have been installed on that side of the home in the first place. If I am still in this house when it needs replacing again I'm putting in a multi zone system and the compressors will be installed on the north northeastern side of the house that gets the least amount of sunlight. I don't care if they can be seen from the road. It's a private road and I have been letting the front fence line grow in with beauty berry trees to block the view from the road for exactly that reason anyway.
The experts in this video look super trustworthy to me and not at all like the typical shady HVAC guys the BBB site is littered with complaints on. The ones who love emergency service call fees for broken down units during heat waves, and then telling customers it's fried I'm gonna have to charge y'all a premium mark up to get one special order to replace short notice.
Shade it but allow airflow. From experience, your capacitor will keep failing if it gets too hot. Get a few extra capacitors before this guy shows up at your house ready to charge you hundreds. Lol. So yes, shade it, and buy extra capacitors just in case. They run about $20.
Best advice on this forum. So easy to replace those capacitors and AC guys charge hundreds for an afterhours service call to spend 15 minutes replacing a $20 part. Just be careful dealing with the electrical connections and always power down circuit breakers before touching anything electrical!
Also, I recommend getting a spare contractor. Mine was stuck once and froze my unit. Another easy $20 fix.
I buy them as needed, but you must sleep with a nitdriver under your pillow.
Yes it makes sense to have enough space and not have an umbrella just a few feet above it for shade... maybe have a small awning at least maybe 10 feet above?
Yes. My capacitor went out and I had to call for a quick service call. This was 2-3 years ago. They charged me $440 for a 5 minute repair!!!
So the experts who you pay to fix your ac say this doesn’t work??? Hmmm
It is so easy to do an experiment with your utility energy meter in 1 hour.
Cover the ac unit for 30 minutes and then uncover it for other 30 minutes. Measure the energy consumed without plugging or unplugging other devices in your house and you will have the answer.
@@ajarivas72it takes more than that. You ever hear of the scientific method.
@@dreamleaf6784
Yes sir.
Have you applied the scientific method?
I have heard of the scientific method and I have apllied it.
I know the energy comsumption of my ACs units. A wattmeter is hooked to each of them and the wattmeter outputs are recorded into a Excel sheet. Also I have records of their power consumption as a function of the time of the day and external temperature.
My photovoltaic solar off-grid system is designed, dimensioned, tuned and calibrated to match the house power demand at maximum efficiency and optimizing the panels orientation to capture the most sun.
In summer the AC's units are painted with aluminum color and during the winter with black paint. Also I installed mini wind generators to recover energy from the cooling fan; additionally a copper heat exchanger is installed to pre--heat watter before it enters the 3 solar boilers.
Any additional doubt?
@@ajarivas72 you apilled it but did you apply it?
@@dreamleaf6784
Do you write in riddles?
Sorry, English is not my second language,
Legs dont simply make you walk, they simply relocate your entire being
I did and it worked
Disagree. The unit will be more efficient if shaded instead of in direct sunlight. It is basic thermodynamics. Just do the shading in a way that does not hinder airflow. I took the vertical approach. I made a portable fence that I set up during the summer and use a couple concrete blocks on the base to keep it from blowing over in the wind. It is similar to a portable room partition. I spent almost nothing on this project. It keeps the AC unit in the shade and allows air to move freely around it.
You can definitely shade it just don’t ENCLOSE it. Don’t listen to these “experts”
Exactly, need to be able to expell the hot air.
Shading WILL help but you have to do it properly. A mesh vinyl shade thats at a bit of an angle will help. Put it about 10ft above the condensor
The A/C expert in the pink shirt is 26 y/o and also doesn't believe that staying in the shade will reduce wrinkles and aging.
This video is correct about the effect on the job your condenser is supposed to do … however they don’t want to tell you that reducing the effect of the Texas sun on the unit and its parts itself is what shading is good for.
They want to tell you oh it’s made for extreme weather - ha! tell that to my bank account when I am replacing parts and entire units years ahead of schedule
I'm gathering from this and other videos it is more important that the ground around the unit is cooled by shade rather than the unit itself. So, yeah, shrubs placed close enough to shade the ground but not too close to impede air flow, maybe? Of course a good old shade tree would be best.
Always install ac outdoor in shade. It's better on all fronts.
Thank you.
The air inside transfers heat in to the refrigerant which the goes outside and the air out side has heat transferred into it as it cools the refrigerant. This why they say they are not making cold air, they are moving the heat outside. It's just explaining what is actually happening, but yes it is making the inside air cooler. I am no expert, but I do not recommend misting water onto the coils. Build up from the evaporating water would seem to be a detriment in the long run. Anything that decreases the work load is going to save either in electrical usage or longevity. Just be careful you are not creating problems when making alterations to equipment or it's environment, Not all AC/Refrigerator technicians are created equal. Education/information is always a good thing.
I'm not an expert, but that's why they sell mesh tarps.
Texas heat is no joke😅
Good advice, as it looks like we are in for Hot summer months here in Australia 😟 Au
Oh yeah i would like to see in Arizona summer
Think for a minute about the electronics inside the units nowadays does it like hot sun all day long shining on it ? I don't think so . I know everything is job related nowadays but on a fixed income money is tight for many people.
I live underground..constant temp.
Shading it does NOT make your air cooler. The air feels colder when its night time bc its cooler outside, and the sun is not beaming down on your house or windows. But it has nothing to do with the fan/condenser outside. I had someone tell me that shading it stop your ac from running too much. This also is not true. Theres a reason the thermostat is in your house and not outside. Best example I can think of; go sit in your car and crank it & turn ac on. If you park ur car in shade, it will help cool you down bc the sun isnt beaming down on your car or your windows. But the compressor is under the hood. Do you know how hot it gets under the hood of your vehicle. Really freaking hot. That heat doesnt affect how cold or how cool it gets in ur car. Bc it was designed this way. If you go park ur car directly in the sun it will feel like the ac is not working as good. But only bc the sun is shining directly on ur cars roof and windows so its causing more heat to get inside. Therefore it makes ur think ur ac isng working properly. But it is, but it will take longer to cool u down. So u want ur house to be cooler? Then shade the entire house, tint your windows, keep doors shut, keep vents clean, keep filter clean, have an ac repair guy service your ac unit regulary. By portable ac units. But shading the unit outside just isnt gonna work. I think I read that it will help by 1%. So that's not really helping at all.
I meant buy portable ac units not by. My bad.
Shading a unit will help keep the head pressure down and taking some stress off the compressor. Having even a slightly cooler environment the condenser coil can reject the heat into the atmosphere easier.
By your logic 1% energy saving 7400w being used per hour of usage that's 74w savedlets say it's running 12hrs out of the day 74x12=888w a day x 30 = 26.5kw saved per month just by properly shading your condenser.
Shading the house probably works better
Shading doesn’t do a thing. The a/c is typically louvered, it dumps out heat, and there is a fan constantly pulling air through it.
Lol 😂 shading with proper ventilation absolutely helps.
So when I shade my unit, my house is able to cool down to 65 degrees on 95-degree days. When it isn't shaded, I can only cool down my house to 74 on a 95-degree day. Next I will check electric usage between the two, and to be fair I will set my shaded AC unit to whatever temp I can cool to when it is unshaded.
You would think the experts want your unit to not last as long as it should and also you would think that the “experts would be in cahoots with the electric company if shading, it doesn’t allow the air to move, then put your shade higher, so the airflow moves if it’s shady or anywhere else it’s cooler why wouldn’t work on my air conditioner?
Turning your temp up during the day more than a degree or 2 will not save anything, it'll just run more often to cool it back down and use more energy than just maintaining a constant temp.
This is stupid! Air comes in from the side, and blows out the top under fan pressure. So how do you think the air will just sit up there? Hot air rises all by itself.
I shaded mine with a tarp and my house got 3 degrees cooler.
Technically it’s shaded 12 hours per day,
Coils queen! 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Sorry, but these guys have no idea how heat exchangers work. And you can create shade without blocking airflow.
No disrespect but this gentleman in the orange shirt who specializes in AC repair isn't an engineer. And thermodynamics is definitely not in his vocabulary.
So, if he owns an AC repair company he doesn't know about thermodynamics? That is quite literally his entire business. You don't need to be an engineer to understand that heat moves from warm to cold naturally.
They lost the plot. Getting a unit out of direct sun, while maintaining ventilation. Does it have any effect.
no
Yes it does, when it gets over 100 degrees. I don’t need a rocket scientist to tell me that. During the heart of the day the air isn’t as cold as when the sun goes down.
Keep it in the shade and it won't break down, no money in that no business. Make shade for it but keep it at a good distance so the machine can breathe.
You seem very sensible. I like it.
‘Air conditioners don’t make the house cold.’ 😂😂
"It takes the heat out of the air."
Like no shit, Sherlock. That's like saying my stove doesn't heat my casseroles up - it "transfers energy to coils, which vibrate molecules in the oven to increase the temperature of food items". Give me a fuckin' break.
I’m not really sure on this, but I don’t trust anything. The guy in the orange shirt says I wouldn’t trust him if he said daytime was light at night time was dark.
That last argument is so stupid. One of the basic needs of the human body is shelter from the elements...
I disagree. I have been tracking data on my air conditioner for weeks, and it is absolutely not effective when the sun moves from behind the house to the side where the air conditioner is, until the sun is again behind my neighbors house putting it in the shade again. The setting is on 75 and the temperature stays at 75 all day except for those 3 hours from 2 to 5, when it is exposed to the sun and the temperature shoots up to 80+. On cloudy days, the temperature never varies. Yes, there could be other factors causing the temperature variations, however the entire system including the entire duct work was just replaced 2 years ago, so I think it's worth a try to see if a shade will make a difference. Then there is the insanely idiotic comment "The hot air coming out wont be able to escape effectively" ROFLMAO. Nobody is suggesting that you smother the unit. These people makes no sense at all. Anyways, thanks for the hardy laugh.
The machine would run cooler , so it would do better at removing the heat from the house smh .
Good advice. Condensers deal with air temperature. Not sun load.
Shade anywhere near the unit would impede air movement.
What is not important is “regular service”.
They leak or they don’t.
Somebody “servicing” the AC could do more harm than good.
Change the filter. Leave it alone. Unless you have cottonwoods or something that clogs the condenser. Or a cat cloging the evaporator coils.
Then have them cleaned yearly.
Wouldn’t reducing sun exposure to the ac unit lower temperatures of the unit thereby increasing efficiency? Something in the shade will be cooler than something in the sun.
@@gunner1484 no, it sounds logical. But the amount of sun load on the condensing unit is insignificant.
But the sun load on the house is everything. Pull the blinds. Insulate the attic. Plant a tree.
That and moisture. Use the exhaust fan when showering. Wipe up liquid moisture in the kitchen. Wring out the cloth or hang it outside to dry. Keep the toilet lid down.
If you live in a high humidity region.
An a/c unit will drop the humidity level first to a certain level then drop the temperature.
If your house feels cold and clammy it is not dehumidifying properly. It can make you sick. Get it checked.
West of the Mississippi the rules on humidity are reversed.
In the west the a/c can remove too much humidity and must be set up accordingly with higher fan speeds.
Buy a laser thermometer. Check your house for heat gain. If your ceiling is 10 degrees warmer than your walls check your attic ventilation.
@@davehaggerty3405 okay I’m in California. My ac units are on the west side of my house so they get exposed more to sunlight in the afternoon and they’re located in an area that gets pretty hot. You’re telling me that shading the ac units would have zero effect in helping the ac unit’s performance? What could I do to help the ac unit instead? Also, what is the optimal percentage for the humidity in my house to be? Additionally, am i better off leaving all the interior doors in the house open or closed to help the ac work better? Thanks in advance for any response.
@@gunner1484 the condensing unit deals exclusively with air temperature. Not sun exposure.
Any heat gained by the cabinet is gone in a poof as soon as the unit cycles on.
That’s not to say the air temperature on one side of the house can’t be cooler than the other side. Because of trees, wind direction and the like.
Attempts to shade a condensing unit with umbrellas, fence panels etc. usually block any breeze for no gain in efficiency.
When shading the house makes all the difference.
But I’m 1500 miles away in a different environment.
There are experts in your area who could look at your set-up and make recommendations.
Like a good HVAC company or your utility company.
They would be the ones to make recommendations on the air circulation in your home. Because that would depend on how it was installed. And which solutions are most practical.
Only the most basic info is universal. And one of those it that a breeze, no matter how slight, is much more important than keeping the sun off of the unit.
A 1 mph breeze may lower the ambient temperature around the unit by only a single degree. But that’s important.
@@davehaggerty3405 could I install a separate cooling fan aimed at the ac units to make them cooler? Also, is it worth installing awnings around the areas of the house that are exposed to the sun?
Sooo yeah everything he said is incorrect. Besides that it does take the heat out but it does send cooler refrigerant back into the inside coils to bring you cold air. He tried to say the “hot” air is pushed out through the outside coils 🤣🤣. Just goes to show you how dumb the people they picked are.. those coils are like filters that the fan pulls fresh air to cool your condenser. Your a/c will run more efficiently with the “right” temperatures. This means not too cold and not too hot. Higher head pressure
Means more power and possible damage which is mostly caused by high heat (aka the sun). As long as you have enough clearance and/or don’t create a heat capture canopy, then this will be very effective on both the cooling and electric usage
Dumb? Maybe. Greedy? Highly likely.
Well said sir
Since you used the human body as an example: the body is cooler in shade than in full sun, yes? Then why not shade the UNIT?
And don't drink the contents of your radiator....oh..how should I dress my child if rain is expected?
So for some strange scientific reason, shade does not produce lower ambient temperature on an air conditioner unit?
Everyone knows that the hotter it gets outside, the more difficult it is to make the inside cooler. This is because your outside unit can only shed off so much heat when it's already boiling hot. It doesn't take a genius to know that going from the sunshine to the shade of a tree drops the temperature by several degrees. I went to the Walmart parking lot today and every shade spot was taken (and for a good damn reason). SO, it should be too much of a stretch of the imagination to extrapolate that shading an outside AC unit would lower its temperature. As long as you do it in a way that it's not impeding the air flow, you should be fine. Just put your shade contraption higher. Problem solved.
@@Rexvideowow yeah, I already said that and it didn’t take me three fucking paragraphs
@@laksivrak2203 I can write more if you'd like.
@@Rexvideowow write anything you please just don’t expect anyone to take the time to read it
@@Rexvideowow Well said
Ummm terrible advice! Lowering the “condensing temperature”aka shading the outdoor unit increases the capacity of the air conditioner! Look at any manufacturers data. Allow at least 5’ above top of unit from any shade and avoid recirculating the air coming out top
If the shade is not too low, I can’t see how it wouldn’t be of some benefit. Common sense.
no it isn't, a 3 ton unit moves 1700,00 cubic feet of air per hour - so explain how fast shade is going to cool the surrounding air faster than the unit is moving the air?
Lol keep it in complete shade and keep it clean af, no buildup. Just don’t block the airflow going in or going out, and if its 120 degrees, put a mister on by it.
Get a mesh shade thing that goes around the unit and leave 4 inch gap between mesh and the unit.
You can build a canopy type thing or almost and enclosure for it, you cannot let any air be restricted. This is not going to make ahuge difference.
if you keep all light out of your house and have shade from plants in front of every window, on a 110 degree day, you can have your ac get your house at least 73, instead of 76 and the units are running constantly, you can get the house very nice.
But after 120 degrees it doesnt matter what you do your only getting that house to 78-79, unless your run your dual AC system on full power.
A window A/c along with double units, you can get the house to 68 on a hot ass day.
I call bull shit
Mine works more efficient
Dose not work as hard as one that's on the foof in sun and elements
Mine is on a slab of concrete
Under a 12 foot awning
And is open all around it
With no dirt only rock round it
Less cleaning
hello?
Howdy.
Shade is not bad they all benefit from your ac not lasting as long but the umbrella is not a good idea you want that hot air to be able to fet away not recycle it back to the condenser coil
Shit no!
B.s.
ALL I CAN SAY IS "TRY IT" THEN CHECK THE TEMP COMING OUT OF THE REGISTERS, IT WILL NOT MAKE A DIFFERENCE, BUT THE UNIT MAY LAST LONGER IN THE LONG RUN