On 3 Jul 2006 07:46:54 -0700, "Mark" wrote:


Curly Sue wrote:
On Mon, 3 Jul 2006 09:42:05 -0400, "RichK" wrote:


"Curly Sue" wrote in message

I have a 1 yr old through the wall unit, around 18000 btu with a 220v
plug.

1) Does the energy saver mode make a measurable difference in energy
use? Mine goes on and off in what I think is short cycles, I assume
because the room temp increases rapidly. I keep the temp set at
around 74 deg. The room stays comfortable enough.

snip

Turn the temp up a few degrees or turn off a light or two will save
much more...

It takes about 2 Watts of power to cool the room for every Watt of
heat....so running a 60 Watt bulb costs you 180 Watts, 60 for the bulb
and 120 to get rid of the heat..

Thanks- I didn't know that. It's a good perspective.

In that regard I'm doing OK. In addition to turning off the light
bulbs (in the daytime, anyway) I use compact fluorescent bulbs and I
pull the shades on the sunny side of the house.

I put the AC on 74 because it is a multiroom unit and it's not located
well. Plus, when I'm moving around working, the humidity gets to me.
But when I'm just sitting in the living room I adjust the temperature
higher and turn on the box fan.

Last fall I went through hell putting insulation in the crawl
space/attic. I think it's paying off though; upstairs doesn't seem to
get as hot and the second floor ceiling hasn't yet gotten hotter than
83F according to my surface thermometer (which I wish I'd had last
year before I put in the insulation). I'll see what happens when it
gets really hot here.

Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!