Here’s mundane for you. We’ve had an air conditioner for two years now - a window-mounted model that we have to use in the kitchen as nowhere else has circuits strong enough. (For some bizarre reason the entire rest of the apartment is on one circuit.)
Do you have any advice on improving efficiency and keeping the apartment coolest with the a/c power we have?
[ meant to start another thread ]
My parents have central air in the “main” part of their house and spend all of their time in the extension which is not connected to the “main” HVAC.
They have a oscillating tower fan that sits in front of the vent in the “main” part of the house and blows towards the extension. It seems to work really well.
Fortunately for them, they have an 8-foot opening between the two parts of the house so the fan isn’t in the way. If your only entry from the kitchen to the rest of your house is a doorway, a fan might get in the way (although those tall fans might give you just enough room to scoot around).
Use fans to keep the air circulating around the house and make sure to keep the blinds/curtains closed. If you use fans to get the AC from one end of the house to the other, it’ll be no competition for a sun soaked room.
I have one unit to cool the whole apartment (Ok, it’s a large one-bedroom but the unit does a good job). I keep all windows closed and sometimes use a standing fan to move the cool air into the back room.
How powerful is the AC unit you have?
Close your blinds or drapes on the sunny side of the house. The sunlight can really heat things up.