When looking for ways to help improve your home’s cooling efficiency, you may hear some HVAC technicians suggest shading your outdoor unit. However, many homeowners doubt that shading your air conditioner is an effective way of reducing your cooling costs. To better understand why the outdoor unit should be shaded, Hal Mechanical will share how shading your outdoor cooling unit can help reduce you cooling.
Shade Condenser to Cool Air
The outdoor air conditioning unit is actually called the condenser. The condenser is located outside, because this unit takes the air from outside and cools it down, then sends it throughout the home. So why do you need to shade your condenser? A condenser is designed to be outside either in the sun or shade. Regardless, it will still create cool air for your home. However, when shading your condenser unit, you are helping keep the unit and the surrounding air stay cooler as well. The temperature around the condenser unit is cooler which means the condenser doesn’t have to work as hard to cool the air. While the condenser is running it creates heat, which slows down the cooling process. By helping keep the condenser cooler you are aiding in the cooling process.
How Does Shading an AC Unit Help?
Shading your condenser unit does help reduce your cooling cost as you air aid the cooling system. The next question is, how much are you saving when you shade the condenser? According to the U.S. Department of Energy, shading the condenser unit can increase its efficiency by 10%. This number may not sound very high, but you can be saving between $100 to $250 each year imply by shading your condenser. This saving is only the cost of cooling your home each year, but there are even more benefits and savings to consider. By keeping your condenser cooler, it will need less repairs. A number of repairs are related to overheating of the condenser. The heat can add stress which leads to repair. You can reduce the need for repairs by shading the condenser.
How Do I Protect My Outdoor Air Conditioner from Sunlight?
Seeing the benefits of shading the condenser the next question is “which is the best way to shade the condenser?” You can shade the condenser in a number of different ways. One of the first and highly encouraged method is with a tree. A tree can provide shade and naturally lower the temperature around the condenser. Large trees can even help shade the entire home which improves your cooling efficiency even more. However, trees need maintenance and you must remove leaves and branches that fall near the condenser. A condenser must have plenty of open space to allow proper air flow. If you choose to plant a tree make sure to be prepared to keep leaves and other debris away from the condenser. When planting a tree make sure it is in the right position to provide shade over the condenser. If you do not want to care for a tree, another option is to build an awning. An awning will provide shade and protection from rain and other elements. Make sure to use the right materials to build the awning, as some materials will absorb heat which doesn’t help.
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Hopefully you are convinced to shade your condenser. For quality HVAC services, contact Hal Mechanical today.
