economy mode question

gatorchin

I have a very basic question..i have a window unit a/c, which has Cool, Fan Only, or Economy Mode..can anyone explain to me the basics of how economy mode works and when and why it should be used??..i noticed it cycles on/off and doesn't seem to keep the room as cool. I want to learn how's and why's

biggles

sounds like the fan shuts off when the compressor cycles off so all goes dead.regular cooling the fan stays on when the compressor cycles on stat

vln

Saves energy by shutting off the fan that would normally run after the compressor stops. Yes, it doesn't cool the room as much as normal mode but if you can live with the slight increase in temperature, it does save money.

bill01

I always wondered if this actually does save money. The ones I have seen shut both the compressor down and the fan down when the temperature point hits. I have a trane central AC unit in my rental house that actually runs the fan for a period of time after the compressor shuts down. It says it saves money because the indoor coil still have coolness it can recover. Kinda strange that doing the reverse both claim savings.

I suspect it depends how long the fan is running without the compressor running.

When I used a window unit I ran it in econ mode all the time mostly because the fans in window units are so loud so the more it was off the better.

av-geek

There is probably not much "coolness" remaining in the coil when the compressor shuts down, but when the fan shuts down, you are shutting off a rather large motor (many 240 volt AC units can have 1/2 horsepower or larger motors) that can be pulling a few hundred watts. If there is not a need for much cooling, for example at night, the "economy mode" button may make a big difference because the fan isn't sitting there "coasting in neutral". If the AC unit is running maxed out where the compressor is staying on most of the time (and the fan too), it is not going to make much of a difference.

One problem with running the economy mode however is if you live in a humid climate, you may end up with a "dirty sock smell" on the coil. This is because the coil remains wet with condensate when both the compressor and the fan shut down at the same time. If the fan stays running, the coil gets a chance to dry out between compressor cycles, and thus keeps bacterial and other germs from growing in the dampness.

On a convenience note, if this air conditioner is installed in a bedroom, the starting and stopping of the fan may get annoying and wake you up. I have been in hotels before where the air conditioners are configured to stop the fan like this when the cool or heat need is met, and it drives me crazy. I frequently pull the cover off and re-configure the unit to run the fan continually (this has gone un-discovered too, as I stayed in the same hotel room a year later, and the AC unit was still set this way!).

vln

Haha I do the same in hotel rooms. I hate the ones where it turns off and on again. Very simple fix, just take off the cover and switch the little button. You would think they could have hidden it better.