Air cons are fast becoming one of our favourite appliances..

So before the next long hot summer hits, its worth taking the time to consider some of the different varieties on the market. There are lots of different options to suit all climates and all budgets, and getting the right model will make a world of difference to your home – and your power bills.

The average household spends 38% of their energy usage on heating and cooling their home –  adding up to thousands of dollars each year. So before you splash out on air conditioning, it’s important to think about energy efficiency. You don’t want the money you spend on cooling your house to – literally – go straight out the window.

While there are loads of air conditioners on the market, there are some basic guidelines to follow:

• Choose the right-sized system for your home, 
• Choose the type of air flow that you want, 
• Consider energy efficient designs, 
• And consider installation and maintenance costs too.

Are you insulated?

Keeping your house cool naturally helps to keep energy costs down after you’ve installed your new air conditioner. And the best way to keep your house cool?  Stop the heat coming in in the first place.

Did you know that up to 35% of a house’s heat enters through an uninsulated ceiling, while up to 25% enters through uninsulated walls? So, before you splash out on an air con system, consider whether or not you need to insulate. If the answer’s yes, you can find an insulation contractor here.

External shading on windows that face east, west and north is vital to help keep the house cool during the day.  You can use external blinds, awnings, trees or shrubs to fix this. Find a local supplier of outdoor blinds and awnings here.

Another trick to help cool your house down after a long hot day is to allow cross breezes to  flow through the house. Of course, you’ll need flyscreens on those windows if they’re open all evening.

How big?

A refrigerated air conditioner system must have the right capacity for your home. Too small and it will be ineffective, so it will have run continously to keep the room at a steady temperature. But if the system is too big for the space it will constantly shut down and turn on again. 

Both these scenarios could send your electricity bill soaring.

As a rough guide, you’ll want about 80 watts of power per square metre to keep your bedroom cool, and you’ll need about 125 watts per square metre for your living room. So for a living room that measures about 30 square metres, you’ll need a unit of approximately 3.75kW. In this scenario, a 5kW unit would be suitable.

What’s the climate like?

If you live in a humid part of Australia, you will want refrigerated air, without a doubt. But if your summer heat tends to be dry, you might consider an Evaporative Air Conditioner which uses a fan to circulate air cooled over water through ducts. These systems use up to 80% less electricity than refrigerated air, but the downside is that they are not effective in humid weather. 

Just cooling?

Do you need heating as well as cooling? If you do, a Reverse Cycle Air Conditioner is a good choice. The benefit of this system is that you get to use it all year round.

How many rooms do you want to cool?

Do you want to cool your whole house, or just a room or two?If the answer is just one room,  a wall hung system is for you. Single Unit Systems are the big boxes hanging out of windows all over Australia.

In recent years their popularity has been overtaken by the wall hung Split System, currently Australia’s biggest selling air conditioner. While more expensive, these systems are quieter and less bulky than the old-style systems. These units are made up of two parts, with one part attached to the internal wall, and the other part sitting outside to exhaust the heat. These systems are available as reverse heating/cooling units as well.

If you need to cool more than one room, there are a couple of options available. If you like split systems, but want more flexibility, consider a Multi Split System, which allows you to connect multiple indoor units to a single outdoor condenser.

But if you want to cool your whole house, you’ll want a Ducted Split System. The cooling system is situated in one location, and then the air is transferred to the rooms via air ducts and wall panels. While these systems let you "set and forget" the temperature so your house is always at the perfect temperature, they are also the most expensive on the market, both to install and run.

What is an inverter?

Most air conditioners stop and start to modulate the air temperature. However, an air conditioner with an inverter is able to vary the temperature of the air it produces. While this makes it quieter, quicker and cheaper to run it’s also more expensive.

Energy efficiency

An air conditioning unit will feature heavily on your power bill. So, the running costs need to be factored into the overall cost, alongside price and installation. You can get some idea of their energy efficiency via the star-rated system, but the best way to reduce energy costs is to find the right-sized model for your needs.

While simple hints like raising the temperature on your thermostat by a couple of degrees can help keep a lid on your power bills, it might also be worth considering getting a more expensive but energy efficient system at the outset, especially considering the rising cost of electricity.

The next step is to talk to an air conditioning expert. It’s worth doing your research, and getting a few quotes, to make sure you choose the right system for your home.  You can find an air conditioning expert here.   

In fact air cons are fast becoming one of our favourite appliances, and demand for the energy to power them is outstripping supply in some parts of the country.

Before the next long hot summer its worth taking the time to consider some of the different varieties on the market – there are lots of different options to suit all climates and all budgets, and getting the right model will make a world of difference to your home next summer.

As well, considering that the average household spends 38% of their energy usage on heating and cooling their home – that can add up to thousands of dollars each year – it is important to think about energy efficiency in your home. You don’t want the money you spend on cooling your home to literally go straight out the window!

While there is a bewildering array of air conditioners on the market, there are some basic guidelines to follow. Choose the right-sized system for your home. Choose the type of air flow that you want. Consider energy efficient designs. And consider installation and maintenance costs too.

Are you insulated?

Think about what is making your house hot – do you need to insulate? Up to 35% of a house’s heat enters through an uninsulated ceiling, while up to 25% enters through uninsulated walls. External shading on windows that face east, west and north is equally vital to keep the house cool during the day – you can use external blinds, awnings, trees or shrubs to fix this – once the heat gets in, it’s really hard to keep cool. One last trick to help cool your house down after a long hot day is to get some cross breezes happening in the evening – consider ways that you could encourage air-flow around the house – small opposing windows do this better than one large window.

How big?

You want a refrigerated air conditioner system with the right capacity for your home. Too small and it will be ineffective, but too big and it’ll cost a fortune to run.

In addition, if the system is too small for the room it will run continuously. And if it’s too big for the room, it will shut down and turn on again frequently. Both these scenarios could send your electricity bill soaring.

As a rough guide, you’ll want about 80 watts of power per square metre to keep your bedroom cool, and you’ll need about 125 watts per square metre for your living room. So for a living room that measures about 30 square metres, you’ll need a unit of approximately 3.75kW. In this scenario, a 5kW unit would be suitable.

What’s the climate like?

If you live in a humid part of Australia, you will want refrigerated air, without a doubt. But if your summer heat tends to be dry, you might consider an Evaporative Air Conditioner which uses a fan to circulate air cooled over water through ducts. These systems use up to 80% less electricity than refrigerated air, but the downside is that they are not effective in humid weather. For these climates you’ll need to look at refrigerated air conditioning.

Just cooling?

Do you need heating as well as cooling? If you do, a Reverse Cycle Air Conditioner is a good choice. The benefit of this system is that you get to use it all year round.

How many rooms do you want to cool?

The next question you should ask yourself is, do you want to cool your whole house, or just a room or two?If the answer is just one room, then a wall hung system is for you. Single Unit Systems are the big boxes that you can see hanging out of windows all over Australia.

However in recent years their popularity has been overtaken by the wall hung Split System, currently Australia’s biggest selling air conditioner. While a little more expensive, these systems are quieter and less bulky than the old-style systems. These units are made up of two parts, with one part attached to the internal wall, and the other part sitting outside to exhaust the heat. These systems are available as reverse heating/cooling units as well.

If you need to cool more than one room, there are a couple of options available. If you like split systems, but want more flexibility, consider a Multi Split System, which allows you to connect multiple indoor units to a single outdoor condenser.

But if you want to cool your whole house, you’ll want a Ducted Split System. The cooling system is situated in one location, and then the air is transferred to the rooms via air ducts and wall panels. While these systems let you "set and forget" the temperature so your house is always at the perfect temperature, they are also the most expensive on the market, both to install and run.

What is an inverter?

Most air conditioners stop and start to modulate the air temperature. However, an air conditioner with an inverter is able to vary the temperature of the air it produces instead. While this makes it quieter, quicker and cheaper to run it’s also more expensive.

Energy efficiency

Finally, any air conditioning unit will feature heavily on your power bill and so the running costs need to be factored into the overall cost, alongside price and installation. You can get some idea of their energy efficiency via the star-rated system, but the most important way to reduce energy costs is to find the right-sized model for your needs. While simple hints like raising the temperature on your thermostat by a couple of degrees can help keep a lid on your power bills, it might also be worth considering getting a more expensive but energy efficient system at the outset, especially considering the rising cost of electricity.

Now that you have the basics, it’s time to take the next step. With over 20,000 Air Conditioning experts, from retailers to installers listed around Australia, Yellow Pages can help you make the right call.