When the heat turns unbearable, the natural reflex is to turn up the AC cooling to 18 degrees and hope that it cools the room faster. While most people assume that the low temperature setting means maximum comfort with no real downside besides a slightly higher bill, that’s actually not correct. If you’re one of those people, then let me tell you that your assumption may be costing you more than necessary. The modern inverter ACs come with a feature called ‘capacity control’, which lets the compressor run at a reduced level instead of full throttle. Limiting the AC’s power does not mean limiting comfort, but in simple words, it means that you’re changing how quickly the room gets cooled while making a noticeable difference to monthly electricity bills. Follow along with the article to learn how running your AC at 60 per cent can maintain cooling while saving you a lot of money.
Capacity control only works on convertible or flexible mode inverter ACs, and regular fixed ACs don’t have them. A regular AC is built to run at just one speed, while a convertible or flexible AC unit can vary its speed.
Even among convertible models, the lowest setting varies, as some allow the AC to run at 60 per cent capacity while others just stop at 75 or 80 per cent. Checking the product manual or the companion mobile app is the easiest way to find out what your specific model supports.
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An AC compressor is the part that uses the most electricity when compared to the others. When a room is hot, it typically races to full speed to cool things down quickly. However, when you enable the capacity control, then it simply caps that speed.
As a result of that, the refrigerant flows at a much steadier pace and allows the AC to cool your room using less power. You must be thinking about the downside of doing so? Let me tell you that the only trade-off running your AC at 60 per cent is time. As such, the room will now take a little longer to reach a comfortable temperature, but the electricity meter moves slower too.
A standard 1.5-tonne inverter AC draws around 1,500 watts at full capacity. When it’s run at 60 per cent, then the consumption also drops to about 900 watts. Whereas at 75 per cent, it uses roughly 1,125 watts and at 80 per cent capacity consumes close to 1,200 watts.
Assuming that you run your AC eight hours on a daily basis and electricity costs Rs 8 per unit, the running cost at 60 per cent capacity could save more than Rs 1,100 over a month. Even at a modest 80 per cent setting, you can save up to Rs 600 from the monthly bill.
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We do understand that the current heat is no joke, and running your AC at 60 per cent capacity each day is not possible. Hence, the experts suggest a simple two-step approach for this. You should only use your AC at full capacity when the room is genuinely hot and then switch to the lowest setting of your AC, 60 per cent, once it feels comfortable. This way, you get fast relief from the heat without paying full price for it every single day.