Updated September 18, 2023
As AC units become more advanced yearly, homeowners look for ways to take advantage of these products. One practice that has become commonplace is supercooling. Supercooling is a variation of regular cooling that seems powerful beyond belief. However, there are questions about whether it can have adverse effects on the system at its core. So, is supercooling bad for your cooling system?
What Is Supercooling?
Supercooling is the act of turning your AC down during off-peak hours, typically at night and in the early morning. Then, you turn your AC back to an average temperature during peak hours. Because many electric companies offer varying rates depending on the time of day, you will be saving money in the process. It is no secret that AC units consume a great deal of energy, and operating them during peak hours hurts your energy bill.
Cool air becomes trapped in the confined space of your home, and your home remains cool throughout the day. As the name suggests, supercooling requires you to turn the thermostat almost as low as possible. If you simply turn it to your preferred climate, things will warm up during the day, and the effect will be lost. When you supercool, you have to go all in on the commitment.
Dangers of Supercooling
What could be bad about supercooling? Not much. The biggest danger is that you will overwork your unit at its maximum setting. It is true that you unit cannot handle a full day of working at maximum capacity. This is why you only use this setting for a couple of hours on end. As long as your AC can handle ultra-cooling at night, you should be good to go.
Supercooling can also have negative effects when done at the wrong time of year. In the summer, go ahead with supercooling for the comfort of you and your family. However, in the winter, there is really no need to supercool. If you proceed with supercooling for whatever reason, you are simply taxing the system for no reason at all.
Benefits of Supercooling
On the other hand, there are many benefits of supercooling. You can save so much money in the process. During the day, electric companies charge their clients much higher rates for using electricity. This makes sense as so many residential and commercial properties are running at full power. This puts additional stress on power plants, and the company needs compensation for all of these demands. However, when you consume electricity at off-hours, rates tend to be much lower. In essence, think of it like putting in a retirement fund or bank account. You bank energy and coolness in the early morning so that you can enjoy it throughout the day.
If you have never done this sort of practice before, you might be surprised just how well your home retains coolness. Make sure to close all windows and doors in the process. While your home certainly is not airtight like a refrigerator or freezer, it does a solid job of creating a barrier between you and the outside world. In particular, air does not seep out as much as you might think.
Caring for Your Cooling System
Overall, supercooling does not harm your cooling system. What are some related ways you can take care of your cooling system? One important approach is to run the AC in cycles. If you put your AC on full blast all the time, it has to work overtime to meet these high demands. If you can alternate your settings and at least provide your unit with some time to recover, you will extend its lifespan by many years. Supercooling helps this approach. You work the AC to an extreme in the early morning and let it recover in the afternoon, perhaps on a fan mode.
Other methods of cooling are also good for the system. Anything besides running the unit all day to exhaustion is essentially a good thing. This can range from supercooling to periodic cooling to lukewarm temperatures that can be complemented by a fan. As a homeowner, there is more to cooling nowadays than just turning the unit on. With so much smart technology at your fingertips, you will want to take advantage of all this with intelligent cooling strategies.
Supercooling in the Evening
One interesting idea is to supercool in the evening. Depending on your county, electricity rates could be low at this time, and you can get in many hours of supercooling before you head to sleep. This could lead to a solid night of rest. It is a slightly unorthodox approach, but it can definitely work if you do not mind staying up late. In general, it results in the same effect on your cooling system. You have simply shifted the cycle to the opposite part of the day. Homeowners who are out at work or in the community all the time can look into this method. After a couple of weeks of supercooling in the evening, you will condition your AC to operate at these hours. It is a net benefit for everyone and all appliances involved.
Supercooling Properly
There are right and wrong ways to supercool. If you supercool improperly, it is possible that you incur damage on your cooling system. However, supercooling the right way is fundamentally harmless. One of the best practices when supercooling is to monitor the system as much as possible. There is no doubt that you do not want to have to keep your eyes on the interface at all times, but you should still oversee your AC as it does its job. You will be able to turn off the unit immediately once your home reaches the correct temperature.
Another good way to supercool is to close as many doors as possible in your home. It is clear that you need to shut all the windows, but doors often get overlooked in the grand scheme of things. If you can create confined spaces, cool air will get trapped in these spaces for the rest of the day. It is well known that cool air settles and warm air rises. This means that the basement or ground floor of your home is an excellent target for supercooling.
Contact Us for Supercooling
The bottom line is supercooling is not bad for your cooling system. In fact, it is one of the most efficient ways to cool your home when done correctly. A professional service like Beltway Air Conditioning & Heating in Columbia, MD, and the surrounding areas, can get you started on the basics of supercooling. We will set up your AC unit and prepare it for a season of supercooling. Moreover, we can handle AC maintenance, furnace repair, and heat pump installation. Get in touch with us right away so you can reap all the benefits of supercooling.