5 mistakes that make your aircond bill super mahal, according to expert

Just like you on date nights, Malaysia is hot as heck! Thankfully, airconds exist so we can get some refuge from the equatorial heat. But no matter how cold your aircond is, you’re still going to sweat when the electric bill comes in.

But chill yo, because our friends from Coway Malaysia asked us to unravel the mystery behind your sky-high aircond bills. Coway also has a new air conditioner that can cut down on your power consumption, but these tips will apply to any aircond.

We spoke to Aji Beng, an air conditioner service expert and Malaysia’s most popular aircond TikTok-er who spent the past 14 years staring into airconds of every shape, form, and horsepower.

So, what common mistakes does a man with 14 years of technical experience under his toolbelt see on a daily basis? Well….

 

1. Choosing an aircond with lower horsepower

We’d think the lower the horsepower, the less electricity it’ll consume. Quite the opposite really. According to Aji Beng, a common mistake is to pick an aircond that’s too weak for the space it’s meant to cool. For example, in large areas, a single 1.0 horsepower (hp) aircond will take longer than a 1.5 hp aircond to cool the whole place, leading to more electric use.

“If you use a 1.0 hp aircond for a large area, the compressor will have to work even harder to cool the space. It’s like a 1-ton lorry carrying a 10-ton load,” – Aji Beng, to Cilisos [Translated from BM].

Conversely, a suitably-powered aircond will cool the room more efficiently, and less electricity will be used. If you haven’t bought an aircond yet, there are plenty of online calculators to help you figure out how much horsepower you need for your space, like here.

Actually, one of our colleagues can back this up. Her 300+ sqft room was too big for her 1.0 hp aircond but, after making a DIY partition with just a thick curtain, her monthly bill went down by around RM15 a month! And this is someone who uses a 13-year-old aircond only a few times a week.

 

2. Using aircond AND fan at the same time to save electricity

You might have heard that it’s cheaper to use both your fan and aircond at the same time, since that cools the room faster and uses less electricity in the process.

While this is true, it’s not as simple as just turning on the fan. And the reason for that is…. physics.

According to Aji Beng, the fan will interfere with your room’s air circulation, blowing warmer air upwards towards your aircond sensor. In turn, your aircond will think it hasn’t reached your desired temperature yet, and will work longer and harder to cool your room. We found this study that pretty much backs it up:

Basically, it’s all about finding the sweet spot between electricity use and coolness through perceived temperature. How cool you feel doesn’t only depend on the room’s temperature but also the air movement, like how a breeze at a sunny field suddenly makes you feel more comfortable.

In other words, you’ll need to set the temperature higher than your desired temperature. For example, if you usually set your aircond at 22°C, you can now set it to 26°C with a fan running at the same time. You’ll feel just as comfortable as it would be at 22°C, but your aircond isn’t working as hard to achieve such a high KPI.

 

3. Using an inverter aircond… in a non-sealed room

Okay, just to put things in context, a sealed room is one without any way to exchange air from inside the room to the outside – like an open window or a ventilator.

And yes, an inverter aircond is more energy efficient compared to a non-inverter one. Unlike its non-inverter counterpart, an inverter aircond is like a car’s gearbox – it starts on gear 1 and, once it picks up speed, it switches to a higher gear to save petrol. This is also how Coway’s new energy-efficient air conditioner reduces your power consumption btw.

But all these savings can literally go out the window if you have some lubangs in your room. A window that can’t be fully closed is an obvious example:

But something less obvious might be ventilation stones (those decorative holes you see in the walls of older houses), or even a ventilation turbine. That was an actual problem faced by one of Aji Beng’s clients. Even with an overpowered aircond in his small room, it never gets cool enough.

When there’s a gap that allows cool air to escape, your inverter aircond doesn’t get a chance to switch to a power-saving mode; hence it uses more electricity as a result. It’s like how driving a fuel-efficient Perodua Bezza from Johor to Perlis on gear 1 will consume a crazy amount of petrol.

So make the inverting count! As a wise man once said:

“Plug the hole in your wallet by plugging the hole in your room. Only then can you enter money-saving mode.” – A wise man

And hey, speaking of entering a mode…

 

4. Using the wrong mode may DRY your wallet or TURBO the money out of your account

We couldn’t decide which pun to use, so we used both.

But unlike those puns, you can only choose ONE mode to use. “Cool” is the default mode, but we’ve seen many TikToks saying that switching to the “Dry” mode can reduce your electricity consumption. According to Aji Beng, it’s not entirely true – in some cases, using “Dry” mode can make your bill higher. The actual truth is that it depends on where you live.

The function of “Dry” mode isn’t to save electricity, but to dehumidify the air. Humid or “wet” air can make you feel warmer and stickier, so during the rainy season or if your house is located on a hill/forested area, using dry mode can make you feel more comfortable.

However, much like the fan + aircond trick, the key to saving money is to use “Dry” mode on a higher temperature setting. In Aji Beng’s experience, using “Dry” mode at 22°C and above does result in some savings, but using it at 16°C doesn’t really make a big difference. On the other hand, you totally should not use “Dry” mode in already dry conditions, such as at a landed house in the middle of the city. This causes your compressor to work harder, increasing your power consumption.

On the other hand, “Turbo” mode should be used sparingly, like when you get home from work and your house feels like an oven. Turn it back to “Cool” after like half an hour (or once it feels cold enough) to save power.

If you have a Coway Air Conditioner however, you can switch to “Eco Mode” which automatically sets the operation to save energy.

 

5. Only servicing airconds once they’re not cold anymore

Have you ever given your dusty fan a good wipe and, suddenly, WHOOOSSHH! – the breeze is so much stronger!

It’s easy with a fan because you can actually see how much dust accumulates on its blades. But with an aircond, the dirt is all hidden. What’s worse is that airconds not only deals with air, but also with moisture. And where there’s moisture, there’s bacteria and mould. So if you haven’t serviced your aircond in years, this is how the inside might look like:

According to Aji Beng, dust and “jelly” buildup can clog up your aircond’s deepest components, which makes it work harder and consume more electricity.

“It also takes a longer time to cool your room when the aircond is clogged. The blower is not efficient… The air circulation is slower…

Your copper sensor will detect that you haven’t reached your desired temperature, so your compressor will run overtime. Same like people lah, if you keep working je without a break, you’ll also give up on life sooner.” – Aji Beng, to CILISOS.

He recommends that you service your aircond once every 6 months, which not only gets it working at peak efficiency, but also increases its lifespan.

Although the Coway Air Conditioner has a “Health mode” which turns on the self-cleaning function that carries bacteria away from your indoor unit, it still requires regular service. But if remembering to service your aircond is too mafan for you…

 

Coway will remember to service your aircond on time!

Not only does the Coway Air Conditioner clean itself to give you fresher and cleaner air, but through the Coway Air Conditioner Care Service, their technicians will come over every 6 months to maintain your aircond (subject to terms and conditions). The result? An aircond that works at peak efficiency over a longer lifespan.

Better yet, Coway offers an exciting way for you to purchase the aircond via an Easy Payment Plan where you can enjoy the coolness without worrying about the upfront payment. Instalments are only RM100 – RM110 per month!

If this sounds good to you now, you should check out its other features below:

For one, its 4-Way Auto Swing feature gives you the freedom to control the direction of the air but, if you’re feeling a bit more sepoi-sepoi, then the Gentle Wind feature shoots gentle, caressing breezes that you can control with your remote. Coway Air Conditioners also have a 5-star rating for energy efficiency by the Energy Commission, which means that they’re super efficient in their electric use.

We’ve mentioned the self-cleaning function which uses heat sterilisation to kill bacteria and mites that gets sucked onto its coils, but what we haven’t mentioned is the 5-Step Filtration System that includes silver ions and a HEPA filter to ensure only the cleanest, freshest air reaches your magnificent nostrils.

So if you’re a fan of cool, clean breezes and not having to worry about service and maintenance, what are you waiting for? Check out Coway Air Conditioner through this link!