Get the best out of your AC
Is buying an AC or refrigerator on your mind, but you’re fretting about its maintenance? Follow these tips and save some on your electricity bills!

The maintenance of an AC is an area that most consumers and commercial clients need to learn about. Most consumers are averse to maintaining their ACs and customarily call up dealers for service when a little bit of care at their end can help them in the long run. Simple things like regular cleaning of the filters, etc., helps increase the life of one’s AC and keeps the dealer away.

Alternatively, it is more prudent for one to enter into an annual maintenance contract with the authorised service centre of your brand of AC, so that the units are maintained at a nominal cost with little hassle. Statistics prove that this cost is negligible when compared with the cost of replacement as also the unavoidable inconvenience resulting from a breakdown. The following few tips will help one maintain an air-conditioner in an easy simple way:

• Understand that an air conditioner, apart from cooling, also conditions the air inside your room like humidity, dust, order, fungus, bacteria, etc.

• All good quality ACs have cooling, humidity control, dust removal, anti fungal and anti-bacterial functions and these need to be used properly.

• Split ACs are now affordable, very quiet and energy saving as compared to window ACs. They are also more hygienic and prevent birds from making their nests in air gaps, rodents creeping in and air from leaking.

• Clean the filter of your AC once a fortnight, or when the indicator lamp on the front panel lights up.

• Keep the doors of your rooms open for a few minutes every day to allow some fresh air to enter.

• Do not spray any type of deodorant or perfume into your split ACs. Doing so will result in foul smell, necessitating a cleaning of the indoor unit.

• Avoid smoking in an AC room as indirect smoke can harm other family members and it is very difficult to remove the odour even by servicing.

• If you smell bad odour, it normally will not be from your AC but from your carpet, curtains, linen, excessive sweat, etc. However, if the filter is not cleaned routinely or the drainage is clogged and water remains in the drain pan for long, it can cause foul smell. Here, it is essential that the drainpipe be connected properly to prevent foul smell from entering through the pipe.

• Keep the exhaust fan of your bathrooms ON when you are at home.

• Keep the split AC ON even when you are out of home at a temperature of 27 degree C. This will keep your home cool and healthy, especially when the outside temperature is above 42 degree C, with high humidity. A good quality AC is meant to be ON 24 hours a day.

• In Oman today, an AC is needed for not more than seven months a year. Using the AC when indoor temperature is less than 25 degree C is waste of energy. Between November and March, do not switch ON the AC in fan mode, instead use a ceiling fan that will give you comfortable and natural sleep.

• When the outside temperature goes above 42 degree C, keep the bedroom and living room ACs ON at a temperature setting of 27 degree C even if you are out of the room. This will prevent the room walls and roof from becoming excessively hot. Hot walls and roof lead to continuous running of the AC’s compressor, resulting in excessive power consumption and inefficient cooling. When you re-enter the room, you can adjust the temperature settings. Your electricity bills will not be high as the compressor will shut down on reaching the set temperature, leaving you with pleasant feeling once you enter your room. In such times, the AC can be turned off after 10 PM as the room temperature will remain at around 25 degree C and a ceiling fan running at slow speed will give you a comfortable sleep.

• If you own a villa, plant trees around the building, as these can help you save on your electricity bills.

• Insulate your rooftop professionally and use good quality insulated bricks for the walls. Use thick curtains so that the heat rays do not enter the house / flat.

• Keep the outdoor unit of your split air conditioner in a shaded area or place it in such a way that afternoon sunlight does not hit it directly.

• Get the AC checked and serviced by your distributor once a year for any gas leak and get the outdoor unit washed using high pressure water. This will help you save on your electricity bills.

• Cleaning the filter every fortnight is very important to save energy. Users themselves can do filter cleaning and use service centres for other routine services;

• Try to select energy-efficient ACs.

• Electricity bill of a three-bedroom villa or apartment with about five occupants under above conditions will not exceed RO 45 per month in peak summer, even as one stays fresh and comfortable all day long.

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