Many people claim that during hot summers in direct sunlight when outside temperature is too high the AC compressor can trip and switch off due to high heat.
That is why one should shade his AC outdoor unit.
But that is not the case as the aircon outdoor unit is designed to withstand high temperature, heavy rains, hailstorm, etc.
If your AC trips off in the high heat of summers then get it checked by a technician.
Another reason is that AC works harder in high temperatures and in direct sunlight so provide shade.
Ways to Shade outdoor unit from Sunlight
1. Build a roof over AC
If at the time of installation you were unable to place the air conditioner outdoor unit in a shaded place like the balcony.
Then the obvious and common way to shade the ODU is to make a roof over it.
ODU: AC’s Outdoor Unit
There are many benefits of making a roof over an outdoor unit other than providing shade like protection from heavy rain, hailstorms, snow, etc
2. Guru AC Protection Cover
This is a very nice portable product which can be fixed on the top of the ODU.
It helps to shade the AC unit from direct sunlight and reflects the sun rays from it.
The outer covering looks like aluminium, this will reflect most of the sunrays. It may also prevent pigeons from sitting on the AC as pigeons don’t like shiny reflective objects.
This cover is only able to shade the entire ODU by 100% when the sun is completely overhead at noon.
But at other times it shade’s partially due to the fact that sun rays fall at different angles at different points of time.
This product is able to reduce the temperature of ODU by 6 degree celsius.
It’s a bit expensive but still worth it if it can last long.
You can check this product on Amazon.
It’s cheaper Alternative (Jugaad)
You can use a piece of cardboard or thermocol. Cardboard is more sturdy.
Cut the cardboard in the dimension you want. Paste aluminium sheet on one side only. You can buy an aluminium sheet from hardware stores.
Place the cardboard on the top of the AC’s outdoor unit. Put a brick on it or tie it with ODU using a rope so that it does not blow away with wind.
However this will not last for long but is a very cheap jugaad. During heavy rain or storms this will get damaged easily.
Does shading outside AC unit help save electricity?
Yes and No.
We all will agree on the fact that if the outdoor temperature is low the load on AC will too be low and so the power consumption.
The coolant inside the outdoor unit is hot and its heat needs to be expelled. This is done by circulating the nearby air that surrounds the ODU with the coolant coil present inside.
This means the efficiency and load on AC depends on the temperature of the surrounding outdoor air.
And by shading only the outdoor unit the temperature of surrounding air remains unaffected.
But if the shade is big enough and covers a wide area then the surrounding air of ODU will be less hot and so the heat exchange will be efficient.
So if the shade is small and only covers the ODU then it will not help in saving electricity but if the shade is big enough to cover a wide area then it will help in saving electricity upto some extent.
