The British summer this year has been generous with long and warm days. In order to anticipate the next heat wave that’s about to hit us, Electricpoint can give you a few tips about how you can choose the best air conditioning system for your needs.
First of all, you have to think about the size of the room where you want to place your air conditioner, which means completely different options for a large office or a regular bedroom. If you are looking for an option for a house/office with up to 4 people, a unit with 2kW/hr cooling capacity should be enough, however, for larger offices with 10+ people, try to go for a unit with at least 70kW/hr cooling capacity.
It’s also important to check the Energy Efficiency Ratio (EER), which is the ratio of the cooling capacity of a ventilation system (usually in British Thermal Units) to the power input (watts). Basically, the higher the EER, the more efficient is the air conditioning you are looking at. Try to stick with options that have an EER of at least 12 for most efficient use. This might sound very technical, but don’t worry. You can find the EER information on the Energy Guide label of any unit you might be looking at.
Another important point to look at is if the air conditioner you are buying has the Energy Star Label, which is shown in the image below. If yes, this means this product meets very strict energy efficiency guidelines set by the US Environmental Protection Agency. This is definitely important when making a purchase!
These are the most important points to take in consideration, but there are also some other aspects that you might want to consider when shopping for an air conditioning system:
- The volt circuit of the room and the unit should be compatible
- How efficient are the thermostat controls
- Does the unit need to have a timer included
- How easily you can clean the filters – this is an important one!
Now that you have everything that you need, why not taking a look at some of the options offered by Electricpoint:
In your next article, we will be explaining why LED lamps have a better value for money than regular lamps. Stay tuned!