It’s not your imagination – Australian summers are getting hotter. In the past six years, we’ve experienced three of the hottest summers on record. The only thing rising as dramatically as the temperature, is the cost of living. Air conditioners are becoming a non-negotiable, however they also take up the most energy use over any other appliance in your home. Now more than ever, it pays to understand how it works so you can choose a system that delivers ultimate comfort and energy efficiency.
On this page:
- What is a ducted air conditioner?
- What are zones and why do they matter?
- Why do temperature sensors matter?
- What difference do the air-flow components make?
- What difference does smart technology make?
- How do you pick the right system for your family and home?
- What savings can you expect on your energy bills?
- The advantage of Australian made and supported
What is a ducted air conditioner?
Ducted air-conditioners are a whole of home system that allows you to heat or cool your entire home from a single ducted system. There are three parts to ducted air conditioners: the outdoor unit that does the heating and cooling; and the indoor unit that distributes the conditioned air to each room, and the air management system like MyPlaceIQ. The precision of the air management system can offer precise control, contributing to a more energy efficient home.
What are zones and why do they matter?
A zone is usually a group of rooms, or it can be an individual room, that receives conditioned air. If you want you and your energy bills to stay comfortable year-round, it pays to look for ducted air conditioners that zones each room independently, like MyPlaceIQ. This allows you to slash running costs by only distributing conditioned air to the rooms you are currently using. More zones. More control. More energy savings.
While that seems like an obvious equation, many air conditioners still only have 2 or 4 zones. This means multiple rooms must be grouped into each zone and all will receive conditioned air when that zone is selected. If you think about how families live, you quickly realise how wasteful a limited zone system is. One child might be upstairs, another in the home theatre, one parent could be working in the home office while the other makes dinner. If they’re all in different zones the entire home will receive conditioned air, even though only four rooms are in use.
Why do temperature sensors matter?
A temperature sensor in every room allows everyone to have their room their way – as energy efficient as possible. There’s no wasteful over air-conditioning rooms as the sensors tell the system to deliver the amount of air needed to achieve the selected temperature in each room.
If a system has a single thermostat in the centre of the house (e.g. the hallway), when that part of the house reaches the set temperature, the AC system will cycle down or switch off – irrespective of what temperature is in the rooms you are in. So your hallway is satisfied, while you sweat in the upstairs or west facing rooms, and freeze in the east facing and downstairs rooms. A system with individual temperature control ensures you don’t over-condition the naturally cooler rooms, sending that air to the hotter rooms that need it most, and keep the AC working until you reach your comfort point in those hotter rooms.
Your body might not be able to tell the difference between 22 degrees or 23 degrees, but your electricity meter can. Every degree colder (in summer) or hotter (in winter) than your selected temperature, increases the running costs.
What difference do the air-flow components make?
Our components increase your comfort by delivering a more accurate amount of conditioned air to each of your rooms. At the heart of MyPlaceIQ’s air management system is an Exact Air Regulator (EAR). Using technology that is normally found in high-rise commercial buildings, the EAR has a series of ‘double doors’ which more accurately control how much air is sent to each room.
In standard systems, the damper resembles a tube with a single internal blade. The characteristics of this design mean it is much more difficult to control the amount of air going through – a small adjustment in the position of the single blade can make a large adjustment to the amount of air going through it, thus making it much more difficult to control the temperature in that room.
What difference does super smart air conditioning technology make?
Smart technology enhances comfort and energy efficiency. It allows you to turn on your air-conditioning before you get home, so you walk into comfort the moment you get home. With solar power, you save even more. MyPlaceIQ knows when to use your solar to cool your home while you’re at work. As it hasn’t heated up during the day, you won’t need to blast the air-con when the sun sets and tariffs rise.
There’s smart technology, and there’s super smart technology. MyPlaceIQ goes beyond air-conditioning to expand into a whole of home super smart system, including blinds. By closing your blinds during the day, you’ll help reduce power bills by keeping the sun out and inside temperature down.
How do you pick the right system for your family and home?
You’ve taken the time to learn the fundamentals of air-conditioning. Before you decide on a system, don’t forget to factor in your family and home.
- Consider how many people live at home. The less people that live under your roof, the more important zoning is. Even if you have a full house now, you could be empty nesters in the future.
- Consider your home’s floorplan and orientation to the sun. Every house has hotspots – usually the upstairs or west-facing rooms. A system with individual room climate control will allow you to send the right amount of air to the rooms that need it most.
- Will it future proof your home? The world is getting smarter and more automated, so you want to stay ahead of the curve. Consider whether the system has the flexibility to integrate with other home automation systems like your security, garage, lights and blinds.
- Do you have a rooftop PV system? A super smart air conditioner like MyPlaceIQ will let you draw on the energy you generate during the day, to pre-cool or pre-heat your home before you get home.
What savings can you expect on your energy bills?
Smart air-conditioning that zones each room individually can save you energy – and therefore money – in two ways. Firstly, reducing your energy use by only cooling or heating the rooms that are in use will be significantly cheaper than air-conditioning the entire house. Secondly (and significantly) by opting for a smaller unit, you can save money up front and on running costs. If you’ll only ever air-condition 4 or 5 individual rooms at a time, why pay for a system large enough to air-condition ten rooms at once? The interactive chart below shows you the difference in seasonal running costs, based on your unit size.
To achieve serious savings off your energy bills without breaking a sweat, it’s worth considering a ducted air conditioning system that gives you complete temperature control, making your home as energy efficient as possible.
If you’re like most people, there’s nothing like not being able to get through to a real person in customer support to make you lose your cool. As air-conditioning becomes more high tech, you need a system that is made and supported in Australia. MyPlaceIQ has a dedicated support team based in Australia to support the installation process and it comes with a free 1-hour White Glove Handover service as standard, to ensure you know how the system works and take advantage of enhancing your energy efficiency.
Our friendly team is always here to help answer any of your questions and share their expertise, so get in contact today!
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