Every year I install this sunsail to shade my ac unit.
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Shading the condenser unit keeps it cooler and increases it's efficiency and helps keeps my electricity costs down. The sail is high enough and mesh like so that it doesn't trap the hot air. In fact it creates a slight wind tunnel effect. The shade it provides lasts during the hottest part of the day and a tree helpfully blocks the sun for the remainder. The unit is never in full sun this way. Keeping the weeds and other debris away from the unit so that it gets good airflow and cleaning the condenser every year also help with the units efficiency.
This is clever, but I don't think my HOA would allow. On the other hand, today was my once-per-three-year day to clean the coils, and boy do I hope that made a difference.
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Shading the condenser unit keeps it cooler and increases it's efficiency and helps keeps my electricity costs down. The sail is high enough and mesh like so that it doesn't trap the hot air. In fact it creates a slight wind tunnel effect. The shade it provides lasts during the hottest part of the day and a tree helpfully blocks the sun for the remainder. The unit is never in full sun this way. Keeping the weeds and other debris away from the unit so that it gets good airflow and cleaning the condenser every year also help with the units efficiency.
Same goes for heat pumps, a little shade can prolong their life and increase effectiveness.
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Shading the condenser unit keeps it cooler and increases it's efficiency and helps keeps my electricity costs down. The sail is high enough and mesh like so that it doesn't trap the hot air. In fact it creates a slight wind tunnel effect. The shade it provides lasts during the hottest part of the day and a tree helpfully blocks the sun for the remainder. The unit is never in full sun this way. Keeping the weeds and other debris away from the unit so that it gets good airflow and cleaning the condenser every year also help with the units efficiency.
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Not all HOAs are bad... mine pretty much only exists to take care of our neighborhood pool, they've even loosened some of the few restrictions that had been in place since the 70s (restrictions on the type of fencing or sheds has been lifted). And it tends to run with a flat budget so our rates are very low for the area.
For now.
The fun thing about HOA’s is that they can change and are absolutely dynamic. You never know when Karen’s crew is going to come into power.
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I'm curious why you rehang it every year and don't just install a retractable awning. Hell, putting some smaller retractable shades over the windows, especially the sunnier ones, would probably also save you a chunk of change on those bills.
Snow weighs quite a lot! So it must come down after a/c season is over. This was $20 4-5 years ago. I wish retractable shades were in the budget, that would be awesome.
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Have you been able to quantify how much more efficient your unit is because of the shade?
Sadly there are just too many variables in play. Many other changes have been made to help keep costs down such as different thermostat settings, extra insulation, and duct sealing. It does all add up to quite a bit of savings.
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And your HOA just lets you?
My neighborhood is just too dull to have one I guess. Although once per month the city workers come and pick up leaves and sticks if you place them by the curb, which is pretty exciting.
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Nice!
Do you have to purchase a new sunshade Everytime? Or reinstall the same one? I wonder if a more fabric tarp would last longer.It's lasted 4 years so far and was only $20! It's a nylon mesh material that let's water flow right through without absorbing it so it doesn't get too heavy.
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Shading the condenser unit keeps it cooler and increases it's efficiency and helps keeps my electricity costs down. The sail is high enough and mesh like so that it doesn't trap the hot air. In fact it creates a slight wind tunnel effect. The shade it provides lasts during the hottest part of the day and a tree helpfully blocks the sun for the remainder. The unit is never in full sun this way. Keeping the weeds and other debris away from the unit so that it gets good airflow and cleaning the condenser every year also help with the units efficiency.
This is interesting. Gut says that it does increase efficiency. Thing I'm questioning is by how much?
Anybody got numbers or a good educated guesstimate?
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Shading the condenser unit keeps it cooler and increases it's efficiency and helps keeps my electricity costs down. The sail is high enough and mesh like so that it doesn't trap the hot air. In fact it creates a slight wind tunnel effect. The shade it provides lasts during the hottest part of the day and a tree helpfully blocks the sun for the remainder. The unit is never in full sun this way. Keeping the weeds and other debris away from the unit so that it gets good airflow and cleaning the condenser every year also help with the units efficiency.
Shit, my AC unit is on the south side of my house. Should've built the house with the furnace on the north side.
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I'm curious why you rehang it every year and don't just install a retractable awning. Hell, putting some smaller retractable shades over the windows, especially the sunnier ones, would probably also save you a chunk of change on those bills.
Makes me think of this gem
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This is interesting. Gut says that it does increase efficiency. Thing I'm questioning is by how much?
Anybody got numbers or a good educated guesstimate?
wrote last edited by [email protected]Not going to give an educated guesstimate, but I do know our ac unit is in full shade of trees, with not much greenery around. It is probably 20 years old. We were told, ten years ago by a repair man, it was close to kicking the bucket, yet it's still going.
My neighbor, has the same unit, newer, leas than ten years old unit, in full sun with bittersweet growing all around it. Last summer they spent half the time trying to fix it, and this year I saw them install window units..
I'm guess, it helps to have it shadded with no plant debris.
Purely anecdotal.Knock on wood oh boy..
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Shading the condenser unit keeps it cooler and increases it's efficiency and helps keeps my electricity costs down. The sail is high enough and mesh like so that it doesn't trap the hot air. In fact it creates a slight wind tunnel effect. The shade it provides lasts during the hottest part of the day and a tree helpfully blocks the sun for the remainder. The unit is never in full sun this way. Keeping the weeds and other debris away from the unit so that it gets good airflow and cleaning the condenser every year also help with the units efficiency.
wrote last edited by [email protected]I doubt it will make it more efficient. The air it sucks in is still the same temperature.
It might help with longevity of the device itself though, as it doesn’t stand in direct sunlight.
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I doubt it will make it more efficient. The air it sucks in is still the same temperature.
It might help with longevity of the device itself though, as it doesn’t stand in direct sunlight.
By keeping the sun off it, that helps with keeping the equipment cool which the radiator is part of so there's less heat the fins have to dissipate no?
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By keeping the sun off it, that helps with keeping the equipment cool which the radiator is part of so there's less heat the fins have to dissipate no?
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By keeping the sun off it, that helps with keeping the equipment cool which the radiator is part of so there's less heat the fins have to dissipate no?
wrote last edited by [email protected]There's no radiator, it's a heat exchanger.
You have two sections in your heat exchanger. One part wants the cooling agent cold so it can effectively imterchange heat from your room into the cooling liquid. The other part wants the cooling agent hotter than the air outside so it can effectively dissipate the heat to the outside. To achieve that the liquid gets compressed. On the cold side it gets cooled with airflow.
I don't think sunlight will change anything significant in that mechanism.
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If I thought I'd get a 10% efficiency bump on my AC by doing this, I would do it in a heartbeat.
Looks like a yearly 20 minute jobs (10 up, 10 down), would save 40$ a year. Few of my yearly tasks pay 120$/hr.
Yes I said max, unfortunately the research about real world saving was much less effective.
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There's no radiator, it's a heat exchanger.
You have two sections in your heat exchanger. One part wants the cooling agent cold so it can effectively imterchange heat from your room into the cooling liquid. The other part wants the cooling agent hotter than the air outside so it can effectively dissipate the heat to the outside. To achieve that the liquid gets compressed. On the cold side it gets cooled with airflow.
I don't think sunlight will change anything significant in that mechanism.
...I hate the be the one to tell you this but there are two radiators in a heat pump. The condenser and the evaporator are both evaporators.
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Not all HOAs are bad... mine pretty much only exists to take care of our neighborhood pool, they've even loosened some of the few restrictions that had been in place since the 70s (restrictions on the type of fencing or sheds has been lifted). And it tends to run with a flat budget so our rates are very low for the area.
I'm glad it's working out for you, but fuck if I'm about to pay some self appointment group to tell me what kind of fence or shed is unacceptable for me to own on my own property.
If I want to plop down a shopping container on my own front lawn, anyone who doesn't like it can kick rocks.
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...I hate the be the one to tell you this but there are two radiators in a heat pump. The condenser and the evaporator are both evaporators.
wrote last edited by [email protected]While they both interchange heat, the principle of evaporators and radiators is different.
The condenser and the evaporator are both evaporators
Did you add that to prove yourself wrong?
