Shades drawn or shades closed??? What is more economical?

Question

Is it better to leave the shades drawn, keeping the house dark and cool, and therefore using less power to run the AC.

Or.......... is it better to leave the shades OPEN, which will let the sunlight in, and therefore use no electricity to operate lamps/lights, etc.

Just wondering......... thanks!

Answer 1

yes its ok.U should use less electricity but when its needed as much as u want

THANKS

Answer 2

You get a star from me!

I've often wondered that myself. I guess the best thing would be to just open the shades in the room you were using.

Answer 3

A typical central AC draws about 3.5 kilowatts, so in an hour it uses 3.5 kilowatt-hours. And a 100-watt light bulb uses 0.1 kW, since 1000 watts = 1 kilowatt

A 100-watt light bulb uses 100 watts.

A typical desktop computer uses about 150 watts.

A central air conditioner uses about 3500 watts

So from this information, I would say that it would be most cost effective to run the light bulbs and keep the curtains closed so you don't have to run the ac all the time.

Answer 4

Summer shades down

Winter shades open

Answer 5

Definately shades closed.

You would need about 4000 100 watt light bulbs to equal the same amount of energy as your air conditioner uses.

Answer 6

What I do so when the sun is not so bright is I leave the shades OPEN.

But when I see the sun is getting brighter I CLOSE the blinds or shades slightly just enough to let in some sunlight in.

Then at night I have the blinds closed for privacy anyways I  have the light from the tv.

Answer 7

i have no idea what the real answer is, but! I see a potential savings of $5 of electricity for the correct answer

Answer 8

It depends. During the summer time if it's really hot where you live, close the blinds during the hottest moments of the day, like dead noon. When the sun starts setting, open them and you can use the moon light for a nice, easy lighting effect. Plus, the dark nights will be a lot cooler. Unless of course you like your privacy and don't want others seeing in your house at night then you can keep them closed.

You use more energy from the a/c than the lights in the summer time. But, if you want to use the sunlight for light, then open your blinds and use fans instead of the a/c. Get fans that are quiet and can fill up a good sized room. Look for ones that are energy savers or energy efficient. This way you don't have to use the a/c except for extreme cases. This will cut the electric bill a lot.