AboutHoward Livingston Expertise Can answer questions on electrical control circuits, power supply,airflow & distribution, electrical components,refrigerant problems,gas, electric & propane furnaces.No boiler or refrigerator or oil fired furnaces experience.Just HVAC questions please.
Experience 35 years experience in residential & light commercial repair & installation.
Question I work in a 4 story building, 40,000 sq ft/floor. We are working hard to be green. We are in the SE and AC is a huge cost. We leave it on 24x7, even though there are only people on 1 floor at night and on the weekends. Our facilities person claims that a commercial AC unit consumes the same power when its running, no matter how much it is or isn't cooling. Is this true? I feel like we could turn the controls on 3 floors up 4-5 degrees on the weekends and in the middle of the night, and it seems like the compressor would work far less and save us energy. Thoughts?
Answer Keep the fans running all the time & set the temps up to about 81 - 82. That is comfortable with air circulating but will cool to 76 - 77 or whatecver daytime you use & it will recover pretty fast. Hardly will run the compressors at all with these settings at night & without people heat load.
