This simple air-con trick could save you thousands in extreme heatwave
As our nation faces fierce heatwaves, Aussies battle over the thermostat in order to secure the perfect temperature.
Our nation has grown accustomed to setting thermostats at such low temperatures that many people are left wishing they had brought jumpers with them when they go on trips to the cinemas and shopping centres in summer.
However, our excessive use of the air-con is not only wasting us money but is also damaging to the environment.
Tony Crabb, national head of research at real estate services firm Savills Australia, said that if the heat is too unbearable to turn the air-con off, you should at least adjust the settings to one temperature in order to save money,
He suggests setting the thermostat to 25C in summer and 19C in winter.
He explained that thermostats across the world are generally fixed at 22C, which he believes is costing the economy billions of dollars and producing hundreds of thousands of unnecessary carbon.
Mr Crabb believes that if everyone stuck to the 25C and 19C rule, Australian businesses would save $100 million and 300,000 tonnes of carbon every year.
“The built environment is heated and cooled to a fixed 22 degrees regardless of the temperature outside,” he said during a TEDx presentation.
“It turns out, that’s the thermal comfort level of a 44-year-old man. It was decided by the Americans in the 1950s, and it’s been that way ever since.
“While human beings adapt to heat or cold by wearing more or less clothes, we don’t ask our buildings to adapt.
“The [22-degree setting] is so embedded in the psyche of the world that it’s legally written into leases,” he said.
“But why? The thermal comfort level of a human being depends on whether they’re male or female, what age they are, whether they’re tall, short, fat or skinny. There isn’t one-size-fits-all.”
New research by finder.com.au found that Aussies waste an average of 244 minutes or 4.1 hours per day in energy by leaving their air-conditioning running.
“The typical split cycle air-conditioning unit consumes around 5.0 kWh and costs around 2.7 cents to run per minute,” said Angus Kidman, energy expert at finder.com.au
“This might not sound like much but a full night’s sleep with the air-con running can cost close to $13.”
Mr Kidman said that reducing air-conditioning usage by just half an hour a day could end up saving households up to $72 over the three months of summer, while keeping the air conditioning running while not at home adds $578 to each quarterly energy bill.
What temperature do you set your thermostat? Let us know in the comments below.