The end of the month comes, you open your electricity bill, and your jaw drops. It’s much higher than you expected, and you have a sinking feeling you know exactly which appliance is to blame: your air conditioner.
In Singapore, running an aircon is essential for comfort, but it’s also one of the biggest contributors to a home’s electricity usage. While it’s normal for your bill to go up during hotter months, a surprisingly high bill could mean your aircon is working much harder than it should be.
The good news is that many of the reasons for a high bill can be fixed. Let’s break down why your aircon might be costing you so much money and what you can do about it.
1. Your Aircon is Not Properly Maintained
This is the single biggest reason for high electricity bills that we see every day. An air conditioner is a machine that needs regular care to run efficiently.
- Dirty or Clogged Filters: A dirty filter forces your aircon to work harder to pull in air, which uses more electricity. Think of it like trying to run a marathon while breathing through a straw. Simply cleaning or replacing your filters every 1-3 months can make a noticeable difference.
- Dirty Coils: When dust and grime build up on the indoor and outdoor coils, your system can’t transfer heat effectively. It has to run longer and harder to cool your room, which drives up your bill.
- Lack of Professional Servicing: Without a yearly check-up, small issues can turn into big, energy-wasting problems. Regular aircon servicing ensures all parts are working at peak performance.
2. Your Thermostat Settings Are Working Against You
How you use your aircon plays a huge role in your electricity consumption.
- Setting the Temperature Too Low: It’s a common myth that setting your aircon to 18°C will cool the room faster. It won’t. It just makes the compressor run non-stop to reach an unnecessarily low temperature, burning a lot of power in the process. The Bureau of Energy Efficiency suggests that 24°C is an ideal temperature for both comfort and efficiency.
- Running the Aircon 24/7: While it’s tempting to leave the aircon on all day, this obviously leads to higher bills. Using a timer to turn it off when no one is home or an hour before you wake up can save a significant amount of energy.
3. Your Room is Leaking Cold Air
Your aircon could be perfectly efficient, but if the cool air is escaping, the unit will have to run constantly to keep up.
- Poor Insulation: Cool air can escape through gaps under doors, through windows that aren’t properly sealed, and through poorly insulated walls. The more cold air you lose, the more your aircon has to work to replace it.
- Leaky Ductwork: For homes with central air conditioning, holes or leaks in the ductwork can be a major problem. You could be paying to cool your ceiling or the space between your walls instead of your actual room. Leaky return ducts are even worse, as they can pull hot, humid air from the attic into the system, making it work much harder.
4. Your Aircon Unit Itself Is the Problem
Sometimes, the issue lies with the aircon unit itself.
- It’s Old and Outdated: An aircon that is over 10-15 years old is simply not as energy-efficient as modern units. As technology improves, new models use significantly less electricity to produce the same amount of cooling. Replacing a very old unit can cut your running costs by nearly half.
- It’s the Wrong Size: An aircon that is too big for the room will cool the space too quickly and shut off. This constant on-and-off “short cycling” is very inefficient. An undersized unit will run constantly and never be able to cool the room properly, also leading to high bills.
How Vedha Can Help Lower Your Bill
A high electricity bill is a problem with a solution. At Vedha Aircon, our goal is to ensure your system is running as efficiently as possible to save you money.
- Thorough Servicing and Cleaning: Our chemical overhaul service doesn’t just clean the filters. We deep clean the indoor and outdoor coils, flush the drain lines, and clean the blower fan to restore your unit to peak performance.
- Professional Diagnosis: We can test your unit’s components to see if they are drawing too much power and inspect your system for hidden problems like refrigerant leaks or ductwork issues.
- Honest Advice on Upgrades: If your unit is old and inefficient, we can provide you with honest advice and a fair quote on a new, energy-saving model that will pay for itself over time in lower electricity bills.
You don’t have to choose between being comfortable and having an affordable electricity bill.
If you’re tired of bill shock every month, call Vedha Construction at 96540044 or send us an email. Let us help you find out why your aircon is costing so much and how we can fix it.
Vedha Aircon: Reliable Service, Fair Prices, No Fuss.
We specialize in Aircon installation, repair, and service. We have all type & model of recon compressor, full set & fancoil. Our technicians are highly proficient in their respective field and repairs and fixes aircon of various brands.
