Choice of wording...

[back2space]

Ello everyone! A bit of help please if you dont mind. my reply is underneath.

How would you explain to this person that setting the unit at 18C will not cool the conservatory any quicker than if it was set at 22/23C?

Thank you.



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Quote:
Originally Posted by Johnhowell http://images.moneysavingexpert.com/images/forum_images/buttons/viewpost.gif (http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=23975553#post23975553)
Got home yesterday and the conservatory was hot. The windows has not been open, as usual. It would have been uncomfortable to sit in for any amount of time.

I switched the unit on - 18degC, high fan speed, random vane directions. Within seconds you could sense the temperature drop, and very soon it would have been comfortable to sit in.

We are not using the conservatory in ernest yet, still awaiting for the flooring to go down. Once it is a living space, I will record my findings then, in the other post.

Thanks
John

Can I ask why you are setting the unit to 18C? THis is not efficient to use the air conditioner.

If it is 28C in your conservatory for example setting the air conditioner at 18C will not cool the conservatory any quicker than if it was set at 22/23C. The system is already working at 100% output when there is a 3C difference between the set point and the actual room temperature.

All your doing is asking it to cool the room to 18C which would be a very unconfortable temperature... too cold. You have got to cool it to a sensible temperature first.

Set the remote control at a reasonable temperature perhaps 22/23C and leave it.

The only thing that will influence how cool the room cools down is the fan speed, the higher the airflow the cooler it will cool down.

Its the same as setting your central heating at 30C when your house is cold. It doesnt warm the house up any quicker its just a "Set point" the target temperature you want to achieve.

Does this make sense?

Also if your outdoor temperature is cooler than the interior of your conservatory it is more efficient to open the windows and doors of conservatory. Usually in a conservatory this is the case as it is always hotter than outside air.

This means the air con will not have to work as hard as cooler outdoor air will get into the conservatory from the outside and cool it as well as the air con.

It only makes sense to close the doors and windows when your indoor temperature is cooler than the outdoor temperature.

Eg if it is 25C outside yet your inside temp is 22C then you need to keep the cool air inside by closing doors etc.

But if its 25C inside and 22C outside it makes sense to use that cooler air outside also to cool the inside. Doing it this way will save energy and the system wont have to work as hard.

Its the same as if you was too warm in winter you would open the window to let the cold winter air in.

[lowcool]

I switched the unit on - 18degC, high fan speed, random vane directions. Within seconds you could sense the temperature drop, and very soon it would have been comfortable to sit in.

one could also interpret this as a compliment,sounds like he was happy with pull down time and didnt have enough time to enjoy it.
maybe he just wanted it cold and would adjust comfort level from there?

your reasoning is reasonable. ;)

[Magoo]

a conservitory is principly designed to heat the place, glass for and heat gain. Now you want to cool the friggen thing, heat loss heat gain, waste of energy, open the door open windows is my best advise.

[lowcool]

followed the link but couldnt find out were mr howell lives.maybe its his acclimatised temperature

[back2space]

followed the link but couldnt find out were mr howell lives.maybe its his acclimatised temperature

Essex according to his profile

[Brendon86]

I would just explain that (except in the case of an inverter) a thermostat setting is the setting at which the unit will cut out. Not how hard it will work. If you want to explain it to a customer you could say something like "it is like setting your vcr to record a show. you put in a start time and a finish time of recording. now imagine that time is temperature and the finish time is the set point of the air conditioner. Your vcr will not work harder to record a show if you set the finish time later it will just record for longer.. or in an air conditioners case, run for longer".

I think that the main reasons people set their air conditioners so low is because of 1) they dont understand how they work. 2) when you walk inside from a scorcher of a day 18 degrees sounds very inviting. 3) if the system is designed wrong areas of the building may be warmer than others requiring the whole building to be cooled even more to cool that certain hot spot.

Hope this helps :D

[El Padre]

Hi Back2space,

I always use a central heating system thermostat as an example when explaining to clients how to use the controllers as most people are familiar with them.

Cheers

[Brian_UK]

If I remember rightly the Japanese "User Instructions" always recommended setting the room temperature to around 3-5°C below ambient as anything more was wasteful and uneccessary.

[Karl Hofmann]

You can't explain it to them, I have been trying for years... The words come out of my mouth in the right order but you can tell by their glazed expression that although the light is on, there is no one at home.

90% of the time that I visit customers homes to work on their heating or aircon, the stat is at one extreme of the scale... Try to explain to a customer how a predictive themostatic programmer with weather compensation works (They spec this stuff after the do an internet search) and you may as well be discussing quantum phisics with them.

Just show them how to turn it on and off safely, fit them the dumbed down controls and let them get on with it...