With winter drawing near, the majority of individuals would be trying to find out how to keep warm inside their homes.
Although the most obvious option would be to use the traditional room heaters, there is one clever and energy saving trick that most people have never thought of, which is to use the air conditioner to warm the room.
Indeed, your air conditioner does not only refresh the air but also provides your room with a comfortable warmth in cold seasons.
How Can an AC Work as a Heater?
The majority of the air conditioners today, particularly the split and inverter AC models, include a heat mode or reverse cycle mode. This aspect enables the AC to be a heat pump, altered in its conventional functioning.
Simply put, rather than the warm air in the room, the AC removes the warm air outside and pushes the cool air inside.
The system is able to extract heat even in cold weather by the air, and even though it is cold outside, it manages to warm it inside the room, thus making the room warm even without using a separate heating system.
All you need to do to switch to this is to turn on your remote control and find the Heat or H mode.
After you have turned it on, the AC will still turn its mechanism inside and begin to warm up the air. Several minutes later, you will feel the cozy increase in the room temperature.
Advantages of AC over DC as a Heater
It is not only convenient to use your air conditioner to heat the room, but it is also economical and efficient. The following are reasons why such a hack in winter will make sense:
- Even Heating: Unlike the room heaters, which usually warm the small space, the AC has the ability to heat all over the room.
- Energy Efficiency: The use of inverter ACs requires less energy as compared to traditionally powered heaters. Up to 30-40 percent of energy used by electric room heaters can be saved by the heat pump technology.
- Safety: No chance of an open flame or any hot brows, so it can be used even in the homes of children and pets.
- No Additional Appliances Required: There is no need to purchase a stand-alone heater in case you already have an inverter AC that has a heating feature.
This is, however, most effective in areas that have moderate winter temperatures.
The AC will not be able to extract sufficient heat out of the air in very low temperature areas (below 5°C) to have the same performance, so the outdoor unit of that AC will be less effective.
Tips for Efficient Heating
Now, considering that you are using your air conditioner in winter as a heater and that you are about to save a lot of money, there are just a few simple tips that will help you to optimize the working of your heater:
- Do not leave any windows or doors open to allow loss of heat.
- Cleaning of air filters should be done regularly to maintain the good flow of air.
- Adjust the temperature level to 24°C to 26°C to achieve a middle ground with regard to warmth and energy saving.
- The mode should not be changed often, as this may bring a strain on the system.
- Turn on ceiling fans at low speed so as to aid in the distribution of warm air in the room.
These actions will produce a smoothly operating AC that does not consume a lot of electricity to keep the place cool.
One of the best and most convenient hacks that can be done during winter is to turn your air conditioner into a heater.
The combination of your AC and the comfort machine can be reduced to a few button presses to a dual purpose cool summer and warm winter machine.
Therefore, in time before you go out and purchase another room heater, you should check whether your AC has a heat option.
It may simply be the one stop solution you require to keep warm this winter and save on power bills.
