Lately, it feels like Australia is just one big sauna of constant and dry heat. It’s almost as if we need to accept our power bills going up just so we can cool down, but do we we really need to run an air-conditioner? Is it cheaper to run a good condition, modern air-con than it is to pull out the old pedestal fans?
Fan v Air-conditioner
A general pedestal fan will cost around 2c per hour to run, totalling in annually at around $29-$30. You will usually need more than one in a house to keep the airflow running so you would need to times that cost by the number of fans you are needing to run.
On the other hand, an average sized air-conditioner will cost anywhere from 25c to 95c an hour to run (depending on your unit size and the size of the area to cool).
This means that the real cost winners here are the pedestal fans, but don’t let these numbers fool you; there are even cheaper ways keep the house cool in summer. So take a look below to find out some more efficient cooling options.
Low to no cost cooling options
Below is a list of alternatives to using air-conditioners.
- Ceiling fans
- Open the house up at night to let in the fresh cool breeze
- Shut the house up during the day
- If you must have the house open during the day then at least close curtains and blinds to block the sun
- A wet towel hanging over an open window will act as a natural air cooler
- BBQ as much as possible in summer for dinners to avoid heating the house up with the oven
- Incandescent light bulbs let off a lot of heat so changing them will help
- Close doors to rooms you aren’t using
An Australian summer can be quite unforgiving and sometimes, the only option for our families health is to turn the air-con on. Here are some simple tips to keep your air-con running efficiently and keep your power costs as low as possible while enjoying relief from the heat.
- Only cool the rooms that are being used
- Block the gaps under doors to outside and the rooms you aren’t cooling
- Keep curtains and blinds shut to keep the heat out
- Clean the filters on your air-con once a week in summer to keep the unit running at it’s best
- Set your temperature just 1 degree warmer and it will reduce your running cost by at least 10%
Not only will all of these tips save the burning hole in your wallet, they will help you be more kind to the environment too. Let us know below if you have any helpful tips to stay cool in this Australian heat without spending an arm and a leg.
Check out our blog for more tips and tricks.
