What are the benefits of variable speed technology?

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF VARIABLE SPEED TECHNOLOGY?

Now that you know what variable speed technology is, let’s talk about why an air conditioner or heat pump with variable speed technology might be right for your home. As ACHR News goes on to explain, the benefits of variable speed technology are that it increases efficiency, decreases noise, and makes your home more comfortable.

VARIABLE SPEED TECHNOLOGY INCREASES EFFICIENCY

To understand how variable speed technology saves energy, first think about how a standard air conditioner works. When the temperature in your home gets higher than the setting on your thermostat, the standard air conditioner switches on, its compressor running at 100% capacity. This brings down the temperature in your home, and the air conditioner switches off. The temperature goes back up, and the air conditioner switches on again, repeating the cycle. This can occur anywhere from 4-6 times per hour. 

The problem is that every time the air conditioner switches on, it uses a big jolt of energy to get the compressor motor going instantly from 0 to 100%. It’s sort of like how you’d be wasting a lot of gas if you turned your car’s engine off and back on at every stoplight. Here we suggest to use variable speed technology saves energy by:

• Allowing the compressor to gradually ramp up to only the speed needed.
• Instead of running full blast for a short time, turning off, and then repeating the cycle, the AC with variable speed technologyruns at a lower capacity for longer periods, decreasing the number of starts and stops.
• The result is that variable speed technologycan reduce the amount of energy used by an air conditioner or heat pump by 30-50%.
• Considering that heating and cooling costs make up fifty percent of the average household’s energy bills, that can add up to major savings. 

VARIABLE SPEED TECHNOLOGY DECREASES NOISE

Another benefit of variable speed technology is that it decreases the noise produced by air conditioners and heat pumps. First, because the compressor ramps up gradually and only to the minimum necessary speed, it reduces the sudden change in noise levels from the HVAC starting up. Second, the noise during running is reduced whenever the compressor is running at less than 100% capacity. Essentially, you get more consistent, lower noise levels, which are less noticeable and bothersome than the dramatic on-off changes in sound level from a traditional unit.

VARIABLE SPEED TECHNOLOGY IMPROVES COMFORT

• Instead of allowing the temperature of your home to swing up and down, an air conditioner or heat pump with variable speed technologykeeps the temperature steady.
• The inverter calculates exactly what speed is needed to keep your home at the temperature you’ve set and holds it there.
• Variable speed technologyalso improves comfort by better controlling the humidity level of your home.

In hot-humid climates area such as FL, homes often have too-high humidity, which makes them uncomfortable. Air conditioners cool homes and also reduce their humidity, but if the air conditioner only runs for a short time, it can’t reduce the humidity enough. The longer run-times of air conditioners with variable speed technology makes them better at taking humidity out of the air.