Does setting my central air conditioner fan to "on" rather than "auto" save energy in the long run?

Question

I was reading this blog posting:

http://www.dumblittleman.com/2007/08/101-ways-to-save-money-on-home-energy.html

It says "Set the fan on your central air conditioner to "on" rather than "auto." This will circulate air continuously, keeping the temperature more even throughout the house and aiding in dehumidification. Will it really save energy? What about the energy used to run the fan continuously?

Answer 1

Leaving it on ,on is best because it keeps your house at a constant temp ,but if you put it on auto the A/C must work harder to get it back to your desired temp.

Answer 2

the ease of retaining the fan interior the on place is that the air will proceed to flow throughout the time of the abode in spite of if the thermostat has happy (reached its set-factor). because maximum residential installations have the return air grille in an important region (usually the hallway) and the thermostat close to the return, except the fan is interior the on place the thermostat won't experience the warmth it is amassing interior the outlying rooms. by potential of working the fan continuously, you're giving the thermostat a feeling of the conventional temperature interior the abode because all the air mixes because it is going returned to the return. as a result the cooling can tend to cycle on greater in many circumstances because of the fact it greater useful senses the warmth. so some distance as what's greater useful, it relies upon on your priorities. in case you like to maintain the abode at a extremely consistent temperature throughout the time of the abode and throughout the time of the day, then the on place will grant the terrific result. The commerce off is which you will develop your capability intake the two from the consistent fan operation besides because of the fact the greater universal cycling of the compressor. there will be minimum blower motor injury from consistent operation as initiate-up is harder on a motor than non-stop use, although you ought to pay greater interest to the filters as they are going to plug up speedier.

Answer 3

generally it WILL SAVE money.

how?

just like ceiling fans, air in motion cools the body.

with the fan on "on" you circlate air thru the whole house.

depending on the unit type, it can run approx. 3-7 100 watt light bulbs (equivalent) to run the fan.

the refrigeration runs approx. 25-50 100 watt bulbs.

if you run the fan you might be able to set the t-stat up 1 or 2 degrees higher and still be comfortable.

another added benefit is your constantly filtering the air in your home 24/7.

also it helps to balance out hot and cold rooms.

the refrigeration still cycles on and off. so sometimes it will blow cold and hot (actually room temp).

contrary to what others are saying:

NO DEHUMIDIFICATION TAKES PLACE WHEN THE REFRIGERATION IS OFF!

it requires cold to dehumidify, whether it's a glass of ice water or refrigeration, to condense water vapor.

i just had to set my t-stat down from a normal of 78*f to 75*f to allow the unit to run and dehumidify my home. about an hour later, it goes up to 78*f again.

for the record my fan is on 100% of the time in the summer.



in reference to the blog:


fwiw, generally he's right, not 100% though.
the terminology is definitely wrong in a couple of areas.

Answer 4

If you are in the direct path of the airflow, there might be some evaporative cooling gained.

In general, unless the air is very stratified in your house, little will be gained from running the fan all the time.

If you have areas that heat up and will only cool down with the fan on, you might want to look at ceiling fans.

You should be able to tell the difference on a single bill.

Answer 5

I doubt it and at the cost of replacing the fan motor a lot sooner.
If you have ceiling fans, one of the other suggestions, this would take care of the circulating/dehumidifying part. Even a box floor fan would do this and be cheaper to run.

The fan would run twenty four hours a day iregardless if the actual A/C was working or not.

Answer 6

Put the fan to auto and keep all your interior doors open.

Answer 7

At least in hot Arizona this will increase your cooling bill 15% according to Clay Thompson who writes an answer collumn for the Arizona Republic Newspaper--he's rarely wrong & when he is the readers correct him en masse.

Answer 8

You already know the answer. It costs more money to run the fan all the time (ON) than part of the time (AUTO).