Home heating/cooling
Home heating/cooling
(OP)
I saw this phrase in a suggestion scheme posting here today:
"Tradeoff would have to be made to ensure the amount of energy required to cool down the building in the morning does not outweigh the savings by not running it overnight."
This is equivalent to people who think that they should leave their heating on low during periods of absence to avoid having to "heat their house through" on returning.
Taken to the extreme these arguments are clearly hokey. If you are absent for a year, leaving the heating/cooling on is clearly wrong. But I wonder if there is any point where it does make sense to leave the heating/cooling running.
"Tradeoff would have to be made to ensure the amount of energy required to cool down the building in the morning does not outweigh the savings by not running it overnight."
This is equivalent to people who think that they should leave their heating on low during periods of absence to avoid having to "heat their house through" on returning.
Taken to the extreme these arguments are clearly hokey. If you are absent for a year, leaving the heating/cooling on is clearly wrong. But I wonder if there is any point where it does make sense to leave the heating/cooling running.
- Steve





RE: Home heating/cooling
In reality, Ein = Eout with some efficiency loss. So whether you run it intermitently throughout the day or you let the HVAC system attack the temperature and humidity difference in one shot, you're still using the same juice. Now, different parts of the day have different energy costs (peak hours vs off-hours) and environmental effects on the building (hot day verse cool night, sun, wind, rain). The best energy saving technique is get out of your comfort zone a bit. If all things work out well, turn it off while your not there or at least down or up (depending on if your heating or cooling).
When push comes to shove, I'm cheap. So, I let the environment take me where it takes me unless the building or home in my case is at stake. The other problem is the fact I'm married, so she is dictates the environment we live in, figures...
Kyle Chandler
www.KylesGuide.com
"To the Pessimist, the glass is half-empty. To the Optimist, the glass is half-full. To the Engineer, the glass is twice as large as it needs to be!"
RE: Home heating/cooling
Cheers
Greg Locock
SIG:Please see FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.
RE: Home heating/cooling
- Steve
RE: Home heating/cooling
Anyways, this question has been asked in this forum a while ago, but I can't remember if there was a consensus.
TTFN
FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies
RE: Home heating/cooling
Anyway, the answer is that it is always cheaper to turn heating or cooling equipment off rather than to leave it running.
This thread403-173742: Radiant heat night set back? is somewhat related.