Consider Passive AC. Open your windows on the shaded sides of your home in
the morning or evening to let cool air in to circulate...
Question
Do you know anything about ductless AC? Does it work? Is it really more energy efficient? -Mollie
Woolly M.
Great question Mollie. Before I write a little about your question regarding ductless AC, I want to mention that there are many passive cooling alternatives out there that you might want to try first in efforts to make your house cooler and more energy efficient, without the use AC equipment. Here are a few general things to start with Ensure that you have proper insulation, energy-efficient windows and doors, are shading, and have proper ventilation. See if any of these or the ideas under section "passive cooling" below work for you before you consider spending money on an AC unit.
Some Energy Efficient AC Equipment
So a rep from a site called Eco Air and Water explained to me that ductless AC can be more energy efficient
than a central air system in that instead of cooling the entire house
it cools just the area that you are actually hanging out in.These systems do
generally get a higher SEER Rating (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Rating),
an important rating system for energy efficiency in air conditioners
and refrigeration. 10 seems to be the norm in a central air system
where there are ductless AC systems that can be rated from 13-16
points. The higher the rating, the more energy efficient and the more
expensive. So one of these units to cool a 400 square foot area could
cost around $1100. The wattage on one of these things is around 3000 as
compared to a HVAC central air system
which normally uses about 5-10,000 watts. Now I don't what type of home
you are living in, but you might consider something more passive like a whole house attic fan
which is a unit that is put into your ceiling in the center of your home with a grill that
literally pulls cooler outside
air through open windows and pushes hot indoor
air out through the grill on the ceiling. It can lower the
temperature in your home by
five degrees in just a few minutes. A site called Whole House Fans said these units can be used on their own or in conjunction with an AC unit. If you use a WHF with and AC unit it would definitely offset energy use and lower your electricity bills, a better choice than using a central air unit on it's own. (We will discuss more alternatives to central air units below.)
A whole house fan for a 1500 square foot home and up, would use about 276 watts of energy,
very little on their own compared to typical central air systems(5-10,000 watts). They cost about $766. for
this size. If your home doesn't have an attic, there is a unit available that works for a 1200 square foot space (mostly used
for mobile homes) that uses up 110 watts of energy. If you live in an
apartment and can't install something like a whole house fan you might consider just a window fan. A window unit can run around $87.
dollars and uses around 87 watts of energy. Are these the best solutions for
AC for your home? You will have to decide what is the most cost
effective and least energy consuming for you. If you really feel like you can't do true passive air circulation in your home without AC equipment, these types of fans might be a great option for you. You might also consider an attic fan which ventilates the attic air which can cool the attic temperature by 30º, cooling the whole house down a good amount. Another suggestion on the equipment front is a Swamp Cooler/ Evaporative Cooler.
They can be pretty energy efficient, they use 75% less
electricity than a central air-conditioning system does. Saving energy and money once again. This is quoted from the Consumer Energy Center about swamp coolers which is interesting:
"Because the technology is simpler, an evaporative cooler costs about half as much as an air conditioner that will cool the same sized area. Some California utilities, such as PG&E, also offer rebates up to $300 to electricity customers who install whole-house evaporative systems. For perspective, a quick check of the internet in July 2001, found units capable of cooling 750 square feet that were priced as low as $275. Installation costs of swamp coolers are comparable to air conditioning units." -Consumer Energy Center
One
drawback with these is that they do use 3-15 gallons of water a day,
depending on how often you are using them. Here is some info about the
newer evaporative coolers that are out.
"Two stage evaporative coolers have been developed that pre-cool air
before it goes through the moistened pad. The new coolers are reported
to be as effective as air conditioning, but their initial cost is high
- around $5,000 for a whole house system, approximately the same as air
conditioning. The price may come down as more such systems are sold,
but for the time being two-stage systems are hard to find.
Evaporative coolers are now on the market that use photovoltaic panels (solar) to create the electricity used to run the blower and the water pump. For hot, desert areas, the combination of evaporative cooling and solar power are a perfect match: the afternoon, when the most solar energy is available, is also the hottest part of the day, when cooling is most needed. And since swamp coolers use a fraction of the energy of air conditioners, PV cells can provide enough electricity to run the system effectively."-Consumer Energy Center
Heat pumps are another energy efficient way to go but cost a lot more money up front.
"Like your refrigerator, heat pumps use electricity to move heat from a cool space into a warm, making the cool space cooler and the warm space warmer. During the heating season, heat pumps move heat from the cool outdoors into your warm house; during the cooling season, heat pumps move heat from your cool house into the warm outdoors. Because they move heat rather than generate heat, heat pumps can provide up to 4 times the amount of energy they consume."- EERE
Here is a great resource for cooling ideas for your home EERE
You can look at the Energy Star Program site for energy saving AC units as well.
Other ways to cool your home or apartment...
There are many other ways to get cool air into your home without buying machines as well...
Here are some concepts and then adapted ideas for particular spaces to follow from M & A, Materials & Applications Architecture and Landscape Research founder Jenna Didier
in Silver Lake. Jenna doesn't use an AC unit to cut down on energy
consumption and creatively applies larger sustainable cooling concepts
to her own apartment.
"Here are links to descriptions of a couple of my favorite concepts. Its not what you buy, its how you build:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki
You can adapt these passive cooling ideas to your own home...
Suck in Afternoon and Evening Breezes. If you are in an apartment, these ideas can be adapted with a little ingenuity - and strategically shading the south & west-facing windows from outside of the glass during the day. Also - keep windows closed during the hottest part of the day & then open them wide to catch afternoon breezes and let in cool air at night. We practice this and its eliminated our need for A/C...
Make Creative Shade & Sometimes Food as Well!
I also have a tomato plant air conditioner: one of my windows lets in too much sunlight and heats up the whole room, so I planted a tomato plant in the window box. It will provide shade during the hot part of the day, and of course, fresh tomatoes.
Also, shading the windows can be done with just about anything, blinds, bamboo, growing vines - all from the outside. You can also use an energy film for blocking out 65% of solar heat on your windows which can help a lot. It can also retain interior heat in in the winter...it is however made from vinyl, I believe, which isn't a non-toxic material..."
-Jenna Didier
M&A
Here are some other ideas from Grist on cheap ways to keep cool. Sorry if they are too obvious. "Switch to fluorescent bulbs, which give off much less heat than incandescents. Don't use any appliances in the house when it's hot. If you must run the dishwasher, do so at night."
"You may further leverage nature if you have a layout (and weather) that permits a cross breeze. Open the incoming breeze window a little, and the outgoing window a lot. On the out window place an out-facing window fan, which will pull the air through the house. Even if you have only two windows, facing the same direction, you may get relief by opening both, placing an inward fan on one and an outward on the other." - Grist
These are just a few AC ideas.I hope some of these ideas have answered your questions and will help a bit Mollie. I don't know of the best place to buy a good priced ductless AC from in L.A. Will let you know if I find one. But you can start with this online shop to give you more info. and guide you to a more local spot. Eco Air & Water
One more site here, Build it Solar, that has a mass of passive cooling ideas...
I hope some of this info. gives you a few ideas on ways alternative ways to cool your home. Let me know what you end up doing. Thanks Woolly M.
