Reducing Marine Air Conditioning Energy Consumption
The short answer
Reduce avoidable heat gain and keep the installed system operating as specified. Shade exposed glazing, close openings while cooling occupied spaces and maintain clear airflow. Compare measured kWh under similar conditions before claiming savings from a setting or upgrade.
Reducing Boat AC Energy Consumption — Requirements and Limitations
Use an appropriate comfort setting and the controller modes provided for the equipment. A lower setpoint does not make a fixed-speed compressor more powerful, and variable-speed systems have their own control behaviour.
Running air conditioning continuously while the boat is empty is not automatically more economical than switching it off. Consider occupancy, humidity needs, restart behaviour and actual consumption. Avoid attributing a cheaper day to a change when the weather or number of cooled cabins also changed.
Related Sizing, Installation and Service Guides
Each of these answers a different part of the same problem.
- the running cost modelwith the duty cycle shown
- your state's electricity ratea 61 per cent spread across Australia
- shade and coverscheaper than any efficiency gain
- descalingefficiency as much as reliability