8 mistakes when using air conditioners that cause electricity bills to skyrocket, affecting health

During hot summer days, many families choose to use air conditioning to bring more comfortable air. However, there are wrong habits when using air conditioning that few people pay attention to, causing your home's electricity bill to increase and also affecting the health of each family member. In this article, we will list 8 common mistakes when using air conditioning.

1. Install the air conditioner in a hot corner of the wall

Many people often choose to install the air conditioner in the hottest area of ​​the room, even in the corner of the wall, because they believe that this will help the room cool down quickly and the air will be cooler. However, this is a misconception because that location will cause the air conditioner to operate overloaded and consume more electricity than usual.

The most suitable and ideal location for installing air conditioners is in cool, airy places and in the center of the room.

2. Do not use fans

Many people think that turning on the air conditioner will cool the room and there is no need to use an electric fan. However, turning on the fan in an air-conditioned room has many benefits, it helps circulate the air around the room, saves electricity and reduces wear and tear on electrical equipment.

3. Choose the wrong mode

On the air conditioner remote control, there are different cooling modes for users to choose from such as Auto, Cool, Dry, Fan mode. However, many people do not pay attention to these modes when using, causing the air conditioner to not work properly, increasing electricity bills.

1. Cool mode: You should choose this mode when you need to cool quickly and keep the room temperature stable at the selected level.
2. Fan Mode: The fan will still run but the air conditioner will turn off. This mode is suitable when you want air circulation in the room but do not need cooling.
3. Dry mode: Helps reduce humidity in the room, suitable for rainy days when the humidity outside is high. However, you should only turn on this mode for about 1 - 2 hours, because if used for a long time, it will make the air in the room dry, which can lead to dry corneas, dry nasal mucosa, dry skin.

4. Turn off the machine when the room is cold enough

Many people think that when the room is cold enough, turning off the air conditioner will save electricity and reduce the load on the air conditioner. Therefore, many people often turn off the air conditioner when it is cool enough and turn it back on when the room temperature increases. Many people even have the habit of turning it on and off continuously with the desire to save electricity.

This is a mistake that wastes more electricity and quickly damages the machine. For Inverter air conditioners, when turned back on, the air conditioner must consume a lot of electricity to start the compressor, fan motor and to cool the air to the required temperature. Continuous On/Off operation also reduces the durability of the air conditioner.

You should maintain a stable room temperature, but do not turn off the air conditioner completely. The ideal temperature difference between the air-conditioned room temperature and the outside temperature is about 5 - 7 degrees Celsius. In addition, always turn the machine on and off about 30 minutes before going out.

After using the remote control to turn off the machine, always turn off the circuit breaker (power switch to the machine) because in fact, when turned off by the remote control, the machine still consumes a certain amount of electricity. In addition, turning off the power to the machine also prevents electrical short circuits, causing damage to the machine.

5. Close the door when using air conditioning

This is a very familiar habit when we use air conditioning. However, the air in a closed room can become much more toxic than the air outside and easily produces many harmful bacteria when not regularly exchanged.

Do not completely close the room door when using air conditioning because the air in the room needs to be conditioned and exchanged to avoid pollution. It is best to open the room door slightly every 30 minutes to 1 hour. Priority should be given to choosing air conditioner products with air filtration function to filter out dust and bacteria.

6. Temperature setting too low

Many air conditioner users think that choosing a lower temperature will increase the capacity of the air conditioner and cool the room faster. However, whether the temperature is 25 degrees Celsius or 16 degrees Celsius, it still cannot change the actual temperature in the room. Moreover, when choosing a temperature that is too low, the machine will have to work continuously, leading to increased power consumption and reduced life of the air conditioner.

Even with Inverter air conditioner models, this method is only correct within a small limit, the machine can only reduce capacity but cannot increase capacity beyond its limit. Not to mention if the temperature is too low compared to the outside, it will cause thermal shock when we step out of the room.

7. Not cleaning the air conditioner

If dust accumulates, the cooling capacity of the air conditioner will decrease and consume more electricity to cool to the required temperature. Therefore, to ensure that the air conditioner can provide enough cold air, it is necessary to regularly clean the condenser and evaporator to prevent dust from accumulating.

Old air conditioners (used for about 2 years) that are not cleaned and maintained carefully will be very dirty. Plaque, dust, and cobwebs will create a sticky layer. If dust is in the filter of the evaporator, the air conditioner will not be able to blow cold air into the room. In the condenser, it can easily lead to blockage, not allowing the condenser to radiate heat when the air conditioner is operating.

8. Let the air conditioner run continuously

On hot days, many households often leave the air conditioner running continuously. However, doing so will cause your electricity bill to skyrocket. If you are going out for a long time, you should turn off the air conditioner to save electricity. In addition, you should also use the timer button on the remote control.

In addition, you should also use the night sleep mode added to some new air conditioner models today. This mode supports gradual temperature increase (usually the machine will increase 0.5 degrees per hour and a maximum of 2 degrees Celsius) to prevent users from waking up at night due to feeling cold. When the machine increases the temperature, it also means that the operating capacity is reduced and saves more electricity.

Kareem Winters

Update 22 April 2025