We’re always looking for good ways to save some money, but we rarely stop to consider our air conditioning as a potential money-saver. Quite the contrary, in fact, with most homeowners blaming their A/C (or lack thereof) on huge costs. Well, in this article, you’ll see that’s not exactly the case, as we explore the possibility of actually saving money with your A/C.
Heating as well as Cooling
One of the biggest issues we’ve noticed is that a lot of homeowners don’t even seem aware that their air conditioning can be used to heat up their home, as well as cool it. This means that your A/C might be just as necessary and useful in the cold winter months, as it is in the summer.
How does that happen? Well, the cooling and heating process of an air conditioning system works pretty much in reverse. In summer, the coils inside your air conditioning unit work to take out the heat from the external air, and blow hot air in, while in the winter, they work to take out the cold from your existing indoor air, and heat up external air. This warms up the house, as well as (and sometimes even more than) your central heating system.
Of course, you’d have to consult with the team installing your air conditioning as you put it in, to make sure it’s equipped to handle both heating and cooling necessities.
Multi-room systems
This will, of course, depend on the type of A/C you’ve installed, but did you know that some air conditioning systems can work to heat up several rooms in your house, using a single outside unit?
This is what we call multi-split systems, as they work in tandem to heat up several rooms at once. This is a slightly altered take on a classic split system, which is traditionally used to heat up large rooms and open living spaces.
But why?
For many homeowners reading this, the mere idea of using air conditioning to heat up your property might seem ludicrous. Surely, that’s way more expensive, they’re thinking. Except not really. With gas prices skyrocketing in the UK, homeowners across the country are looking at unprecedented bills for their central heating system.
Since air conditioning uses energy and, obviously, air, it might actually turn out to be a more cost-effective option for your home, as gas prices continue to rise.
Not only that, but another benefit of heating up your home using air conditioning is that it allows you to pick and choose how you distribute the heat. See, with a central heating system, many homes are heated up equally, across rooms, which may not always be necessary. For instance, if you’re spending most of your day inside a single room, or spending large portions of time away from home, heating up the entire house can prove an unnecessary cost.
Perhaps surprisingly, an air conditioning system can prove to be as efficient in heating or cooling your house, but not as costly as central heating – definitely something worth thinking about!