Electricity is #1, but also consider its putting more hours on the compressor and other moving parts of the systems, inevitably will fail at same point, and the more you run it, the sooner. Hard to put a number on that though.
In humid areas, heavy AC will cause condensation on your windows, especially in the early morning hours when relative humidity climbs.
If it makes your AC run continuously (basically your AC can’t keep up) without stopping it can cause the compressor to overheat and fail. Also can cause the evaporator coil to freeze up causing other problems.
Modern air conditioners are designed to keep running. The biggest wear and tear is on the start up. It is much less stress on the system to have it run for 2 hours straight than it would be to start and stop every 20 minutes. It’s better to let your house get warm during the day and not run the AC, and then run it for an extended period to cool it back down. In fact, there is two phase AC units that have a low power mode that maintains temperature and basically runs constantly.
AC units works by compressing a gas into a liquid. This gas has special properties where it “boils” (turns from liquid to gas) at a low temperature. This boiling process takes heat.
So the liquid sucks up heat, then gets moved outside where the compressor will “squeeze” the gas back into a liquid. This will make it release all that heat and cool down. Then it goes back inside to suck up more heat.
If the temperature inside is warmer, the liquid boils easier. And thus it will suck up more heat. If the temperature outside is cooler, it is easier to dump the heat outside.
Now on a hot day, the outside is going to be very hot. Which means compressing the gas to liquid won’t be able to cool as fast or as much. The same if the inside is cold, it won’t be able to suck up as much heat. This means it takes more trips the colder you want your house.
It depends! I’m assuming “cold” = ~62-64°F, the lowest most systems really go before it’s “refrigeration equipment”.
Small, window-mounted AC units may not take being ran hard 24/7 for months on end. Things can get hot, moisture can build up and freeze things around the cooling parts, and compressors could get worn out and fail. Stuff freezing is a big issue, as it’ll make water not drain, and also make the AC warmer. Moisture can also build up in your house, and cause mold problems due to the extreme temperature difference.
However, larger units are specifically designed to maintain a constant temperature. These units typically turn on and off as they run, and it’s more efficient to leave them going to maintain a constant, consistent temperature vs having to cool down the whole place again.
If you have whole-house AC, it’s a bad idea to change the temperature constantly or have it too cold. Changing the temperature often will test the HVAC stuff quite hard as it runs, and runs, and runs to try and keep up with the changes. Having it too cold turns your entire house into a cooler, and coolers love to have water condense wherever the cold leaks out, which makes em gross as stuff grows and collects on the water (and the equipment has to run really hard to keep everything cold).
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Electricity is #1, but also consider its putting more hours on the compressor and other moving parts of the systems, inevitably will fail at same point, and the more you run it, the sooner. Hard to put a number on that though.
In humid areas, heavy AC will cause condensation on your windows, especially in the early morning hours when relative humidity climbs.
If it makes your AC run continuously (basically your AC can’t keep up) without stopping it can cause the compressor to overheat and fail. Also can cause the evaporator coil to freeze up causing other problems.
Extreme temperature difference isn’t good for your body.
Going from a very cold environment to a very hot environment puts strain on your organs such as the heart.
Modern air conditioners are designed to keep running. The biggest wear and tear is on the start up. It is much less stress on the system to have it run for 2 hours straight than it would be to start and stop every 20 minutes. It’s better to let your house get warm during the day and not run the AC, and then run it for an extended period to cool it back down. In fact, there is two phase AC units that have a low power mode that maintains temperature and basically runs constantly.
AC units works by compressing a gas into a liquid. This gas has special properties where it “boils” (turns from liquid to gas) at a low temperature. This boiling process takes heat.
So the liquid sucks up heat, then gets moved outside where the compressor will “squeeze” the gas back into a liquid. This will make it release all that heat and cool down. Then it goes back inside to suck up more heat.
If the temperature inside is warmer, the liquid boils easier. And thus it will suck up more heat. If the temperature outside is cooler, it is easier to dump the heat outside.
Now on a hot day, the outside is going to be very hot. Which means compressing the gas to liquid won’t be able to cool as fast or as much. The same if the inside is cold, it won’t be able to suck up as much heat. This means it takes more trips the colder you want your house.
It depends! I’m assuming “cold” = ~62-64°F, the lowest most systems really go before it’s “refrigeration equipment”.
Small, window-mounted AC units may not take being ran hard 24/7 for months on end. Things can get hot, moisture can build up and freeze things around the cooling parts, and compressors could get worn out and fail. Stuff freezing is a big issue, as it’ll make water not drain, and also make the AC warmer. Moisture can also build up in your house, and cause mold problems due to the extreme temperature difference.
However, larger units are specifically designed to maintain a constant temperature. These units typically turn on and off as they run, and it’s more efficient to leave them going to maintain a constant, consistent temperature vs having to cool down the whole place again.
If you have whole-house AC, it’s a bad idea to change the temperature constantly or have it too cold. Changing the temperature often will test the HVAC stuff quite hard as it runs, and runs, and runs to try and keep up with the changes. Having it too cold turns your entire house into a cooler, and coolers love to have water condense wherever the cold leaks out, which makes em gross as stuff grows and collects on the water (and the equipment has to run really hard to keep everything cold).