{"id":89537,"date":"2025-02-20T11:45:11","date_gmt":"2025-02-20T02:15:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=89537"},"modified":"2025-12-08T11:32:19","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T02:02:19","slug":"heatwave-fix-air-conditioners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/heatwave-fix-air-conditioners\/","title":{"rendered":"Surviving 43\u00b0C: A Quick Fix for Struggling Air Conditioners"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"heatwave
\nI know it sounds like clickbait, but honestly, there is one simple trick that will help your refrigerative air conditioner cope with very hot days.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

It hit 43 degrees in Adelaide the other day, so I challenged myself to write a quick post about heading out into the heat to do a little bit of DIY in the scorching heat, like any sane and rational person would of course.<\/p>\n

Our house is a lightweight timber cottage, which is probably 80 years old. While it’s not very big, I’m thankful that it has decent eaves and verandahs, so it does cope with just a single split system air conditioner.<\/p>\n

In terms of efficiency and air tightness, it’s about as good as a tent, which is sadly true of most of Australia’s grey roof, low ceiling, veneered McMansion housing stock.<\/p>\n

In terms of energy, we’ve got 15kW of solar panels. They both shade about 76m\u00b2 of roof space and drive 10kW of Fronius inverters, so if the sun is up there’s plenty of capacity to just run the aircon flat out if need be.<\/p>\n

Better still there’s a 4.5kW western facing array, so the solar will provide energy to run the AC right up until sunset. It’s the fundamental reason I always recommend more solar.<\/p>\n

Backup Would Be Nice<\/h2>\n

It makes me a little nervous to know that if this air conditioner fails, it probably won’t be at a good time, and we don’t have any redundancy.<\/p>\n

This is one of the reasons I recommend heating and cooling your house with multiple split systems instead of one large ducted unit (or a multi-head split).<\/p>\n

Aside from being able to heat or cool individual zones more efficiently, you really don’t want a single point of failure that gives up two days before Christmas.<\/p>\n

If Your Air Conditioner Seems Tepid<\/h2>\n

Clean the filters. Seriously.<\/p>\n

You’ll be amazed or disgusted at what you find when you pop the front cover off a window rattler unit or flip up the front of an average high-wall split system.<\/p>\n

For most splits, there’s a plastic screen that slides out, which you can hose off outside or in the laundry sink.<\/p>\n

\"clean

This is only a few months of dirt buildup.<\/p><\/div>\n

Ducted systems normally have a grille in the ceiling. At one end, you’ll find a little thumbnut to screw out. The screen swings down on a hinge and then slides out of the holder for cleaning in the same way.<\/p>\n

Bigger systems have replaceable filter inserts that may be accessed from an external air handler on your roof, but that’s usually a job for an air conditioning contractor.<\/p>\n

\"air

The thumb nut is on the right-hand edge, don’t fall off your ladder getting to it.<\/p><\/div>\n

Check The Outdoor Unit<\/h2>\n

Our resident head of security has set up his food waste interception point at the back door, right next to the air conditioner.<\/p>\n

What does that mean? The fins for the compressor unit are full of dog hair, so the airflow across the condenser isn’t as good as it could be.<\/p>\n

\"hair

This is not satisfactory<\/p><\/div>\n

If your air conditioner is terribly soiled like this one was when we moved in, you may need to get somebody qualified to pull the lid off, hose the coil from the inside out, and then use a chemical cleanser to really get the fins clean.<\/p>\n

In hindsight, I should have covered the outside of this unit with flywire to intercept the next year’s worth of fluff and make it easier to clean.<\/p>\n

\"air

Looking through the fan, the fins are clean. If you turn the power off and direct a decent stream of water (not a pressure washer) through the coil from this side, the dog hair should come away from the other side. Be careful not to douse the electrical components.<\/p><\/div>\n

If Your Air Conditioner Just Isn’t Coping<\/h2>\n

The easy way to drastically improve how your air conditioner performs is simply to put a sprinkler on it.<\/p>\n

These machines are heat pumps. They take heat from the air inside your house and shift it into the airstream created by the condenser fan.<\/p>\n

Dousing the condenser with water helps in two ways. Heat is flushed away in the water as it drips off, while water also makes the coil itself more efficient because it sucks up extra energy as it evaporates into the airstream.<\/p>\n

\"water

Even just one of these spray jets would likely be enough to do the job<\/p><\/div>\n

I’ve seen this trick installed commonly on commercial refrigeration plants for shops, pubs and petrol stations. For a handful of hours on a handful of days each year, pouring water on the problem solves heatwave conditions.<\/p>\n

In fact, I’ve seen an entire 6-metre-long display fridge emptied, and horrifyingly, all the food binned because the refrigeration couldn’t cope when someone mistakenly turned off the tap on the roof.<\/p>\n

Don’t Confuse Evaporative Air Cooling<\/h2>\n

In southern Australia, many houses have ducted evaporative air conditioning, which is suited to a dry climate.<\/p>\n

They work simply by adding water to the air that is blown through your house in large volumes, lowering the temperature by almost 10\u00b0C under ideal conditions.<\/p>\n

This works especially well in a house with lots of thermal mass. For instance, where overnight temperatures fall to 20\u00b0C you can drop the air to around 11\u00b0C. This supercooling means houses can cope with high maximum temperatures simply because they aren’t soaked with heat, they have cool inertia.<\/p>\n

\"air

This unit hides under a shelf but it’s not bolted down. Being able to move it away from the wall gently is priceless when it comes to cleaning time.<\/p><\/div>\n

To Demonstrate<\/h2>\n

I’ve grabbed a handful of parts at the hardware shop and added irrigation to my air conditioner. After a few minutes of fiddling, I soon realised that I really only need one jet instead of four, as this setup uses a lot of water.<\/p>\n

For this domestic-sized unit, a series of adjustable drippers, or perhaps a small section of soaker hose would actually be better. In any case, I would recommend a tap timer just so you don’t forget the water is on.<\/p>\n

\"irrigation

Some of these jets only screw into hard plastic, not soft hose, so drilling an elbow is simple, efficient and more compact.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

26% More Efficient<\/h2>\n

Without going into incredible detail \u2014 and without doing any cleaning on the outdoor unit \u2014 I measured some before-and-after temperatures and electricity drawn by the air conditioner.<\/p>\n

To start with, it was pulling 7.3 amps with hot dry air blown off the condenser a stifling 47.4\u00b0C, as per the cover image.<\/p>\n

\"air

41 degrees nearby and the air con is pulling around 1785watts<\/p><\/div>\n

After just a few minutes of fiddling with two water sprayers, the condenser was working at 38.7\u00b0C and humidity, due to evaporation, had jumped to 27%.<\/p>\n

This caused the compressor to back off, as it no longer had to work as hard to maintain the temperature inside the house, reducing the electrical load to 5.4 amps. So with the supply at 245 volts, the difference in energy consumption was 465 watts saved.<\/p>\n

\"current

Lower temperature after dousing with water means significantly lower current draw, meaning the air con pulls only 1325 watts<\/p><\/div>\n

Wasting Water<\/h2>\n

I won’t hazard a guess as to whether a kilolitre of water will save you a kilowatt hour of electricity, or what each unit is worth.<\/p>\n

Nor do I recommend hosing your air conditioner all the time, as the coil might be clogged up with mineral solids and the outdoor unit as a whole will quickly rust away.<\/p>\n

Flooding the condenser with water is really just an emergency measure to keep things cool.<\/p>\n

It can save the day when the weather is stinking hot and the machinery is running at its limit.<\/p>\n

For more, read our detailed guide on air conditioning.<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I know it sounds like clickbait, but honestly, there is one simple trick that will help your refrigerative air conditioner cope with very hot days.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":89541,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[792],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-89537","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-air-conditioning","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSurviving 43\u00b0C: A Quick Fix for Struggling Air Conditioners - SolarQuotes Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"How a simple sprinkler can help your air conditioner beat extreme heat and keep your home cool even on scorching heatwave days\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/heatwave-fix-air-conditioners\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Surviving 43\u00b0C: A Quick Fix for Struggling Air Conditioners\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"How a simple sprinkler can help your air conditioner beat extreme heat and keep your home cool even on scorching heatwave days\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/heatwave-fix-air-conditioners\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SolarQuotes Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SolarQuotes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-02-20T02:15:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-08T02:02:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/47deg-air-con-header.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Anthony Bennett\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@solar_quotes\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@solar_quotes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/heatwave-fix-air-conditioners\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/heatwave-fix-air-conditioners\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Anthony Bennett\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/eda68c24a3d87f41fa51e57c03d2ac2d\"},\"headline\":\"Surviving 43\u00b0C: A Quick Fix for Struggling Air Conditioners\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-02-20T02:15:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-08T02:02:19+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/heatwave-fix-air-conditioners\/\"},\"wordCount\":1394,\"commentCount\":26,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/heatwave-fix-air-conditioners\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/47deg-air-con-header.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Air Conditioning\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/heatwave-fix-air-conditioners\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/heatwave-fix-air-conditioners\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/heatwave-fix-air-conditioners\/\",\"name\":\"Surviving 43\u00b0C: A Quick Fix for Struggling Air Conditioners - SolarQuotes Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/heatwave-fix-air-conditioners\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/heatwave-fix-air-conditioners\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/47deg-air-con-header.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-02-20T02:15:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-08T02:02:19+00:00\",\"description\":\"How a simple sprinkler can help your air conditioner beat extreme heat and keep your home cool even on scorching heatwave days\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/heatwave-fix-air-conditioners\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/heatwave-fix-air-conditioners\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/heatwave-fix-air-conditioners\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/47deg-air-con-header.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/47deg-air-con-header.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/heatwave-fix-air-conditioners\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Blog\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Air Conditioning\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/air-conditioning\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Surviving 43\u00b0C: A Quick Fix for Struggling Air Conditioners\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"SolarQuotes Blog\",\"description\":\"An independent reckoning of the Aussie solar scene\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"SolarQuotes\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/solarquotes-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/solarquotes-logo.png\",\"width\":592,\"height\":600,\"caption\":\"SolarQuotes\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SolarQuotes\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/solar_quotes\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/solarquotes\/\",\"https:\/\/au.linkedin.com\/company\/solarquotes\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SolarQuotesAustralia\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/eda68c24a3d87f41fa51e57c03d2ac2d\",\"name\":\"Anthony Bennett\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/da02d496ba89ce6576480e42da6ad36ea79ea5c1c51d5f7ce5a07774d06a1fb7?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/da02d496ba89ce6576480e42da6ad36ea79ea5c1c51d5f7ce5a07774d06a1fb7?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/da02d496ba89ce6576480e42da6ad36ea79ea5c1c51d5f7ce5a07774d06a1fb7?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r\",\"caption\":\"Anthony Bennett\"},\"description\":\"Anthony joined the SolarQuotes team in 2022. He\u2019s a licensed electrician, builder, roofer and solar installer who for 14 years did jobs all over SA - residential, commercial, on-grid and off-grid. A true enthusiast with a skillset the typical solar installer might not have, his blogs are typically deep dives that draw on his decades of experience in the industry to educate and entertain. Read Anthony's full bio.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/author\/anthony\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Surviving 43\u00b0C: A Quick Fix for Struggling Air Conditioners - SolarQuotes Blog","description":"How a simple sprinkler can help your air conditioner beat extreme heat and keep your home cool even on scorching heatwave days","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/heatwave-fix-air-conditioners\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Surviving 43\u00b0C: A Quick Fix for Struggling Air Conditioners","og_description":"How a simple sprinkler can help your air conditioner beat extreme heat and keep your home cool even on scorching heatwave days","og_url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/heatwave-fix-air-conditioners\/","og_site_name":"SolarQuotes Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SolarQuotes\/","article_published_time":"2025-02-20T02:15:11+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-12-08T02:02:19+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/47deg-air-con-header.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Anthony Bennett","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@solar_quotes","twitter_site":"@solar_quotes","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/heatwave-fix-air-conditioners\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/heatwave-fix-air-conditioners\/"},"author":{"name":"Anthony Bennett","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/eda68c24a3d87f41fa51e57c03d2ac2d"},"headline":"Surviving 43\u00b0C: A Quick Fix for Struggling Air Conditioners","datePublished":"2025-02-20T02:15:11+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-08T02:02:19+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/heatwave-fix-air-conditioners\/"},"wordCount":1394,"commentCount":26,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/heatwave-fix-air-conditioners\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/47deg-air-con-header.jpg","articleSection":["Air Conditioning"],"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/heatwave-fix-air-conditioners\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/heatwave-fix-air-conditioners\/","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/heatwave-fix-air-conditioners\/","name":"Surviving 43\u00b0C: A Quick Fix for Struggling Air Conditioners - SolarQuotes Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/heatwave-fix-air-conditioners\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/heatwave-fix-air-conditioners\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/47deg-air-con-header.jpg","datePublished":"2025-02-20T02:15:11+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-08T02:02:19+00:00","description":"How a simple sprinkler can help your air conditioner beat extreme heat and keep your home cool even on scorching heatwave days","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/heatwave-fix-air-conditioners\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/heatwave-fix-air-conditioners\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/heatwave-fix-air-conditioners\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/47deg-air-con-header.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/47deg-air-con-header.jpg","width":1200,"height":630},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/heatwave-fix-air-conditioners\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Blog","item":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Air Conditioning","item":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/air-conditioning\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Surviving 43\u00b0C: A Quick Fix for Struggling Air Conditioners"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/","name":"SolarQuotes Blog","description":"An independent reckoning of the Aussie solar scene","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization","name":"SolarQuotes","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/solarquotes-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/solarquotes-logo.png","width":592,"height":600,"caption":"SolarQuotes"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SolarQuotes\/","https:\/\/x.com\/solar_quotes","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/solarquotes\/","https:\/\/au.linkedin.com\/company\/solarquotes","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SolarQuotesAustralia"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/eda68c24a3d87f41fa51e57c03d2ac2d","name":"Anthony Bennett","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/da02d496ba89ce6576480e42da6ad36ea79ea5c1c51d5f7ce5a07774d06a1fb7?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/da02d496ba89ce6576480e42da6ad36ea79ea5c1c51d5f7ce5a07774d06a1fb7?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/da02d496ba89ce6576480e42da6ad36ea79ea5c1c51d5f7ce5a07774d06a1fb7?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r","caption":"Anthony Bennett"},"description":"Anthony joined the SolarQuotes team in 2022. He\u2019s a licensed electrician, builder, roofer and solar installer who for 14 years did jobs all over SA - residential, commercial, on-grid and off-grid. A true enthusiast with a skillset the typical solar installer might not have, his blogs are typically deep dives that draw on his decades of experience in the industry to educate and entertain. Read Anthony's full bio.","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/author\/anthony\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/47deg-air-con-header.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2FF2s-ni9","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":95016,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/air-conditioner-size-to-breeze-through-summer\/","url_meta":{"origin":89537,"position":0},"title":"Don’t Waste Cold Cash On The Wrong Sized Air Conditioner","author":"Max Opray","date":"January 8, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Sweltering through a heatwave and desperate for a new air conditioner? Don't rush into a decision before working out what size of unit you need - otherwise you\u2019ll be blowing all your cold cash on hot air. Does Air Conditioner Size Matter? If a reverse-cycle air conditioner is too small,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Air Conditioning"","block_context":{"text":"Air Conditioning","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/air-conditioning\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"people inspecting an air conditioner","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/air-conditioner-size.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/air-conditioner-size.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/air-conditioner-size.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/air-conditioner-size.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/air-conditioner-size.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":50727,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/air-conditioner-energy-labels\/","url_meta":{"origin":89537,"position":1},"title":"New Energy Rating Labels For Air Conditioners Are Brilliant","author":"Ronald Brakels","date":"July 5, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"The most energy-efficient and cost-effective way to heat your home is to use your reverse-cycle air conditioner.\u00a0 Even the least efficient aircon uses far less energy than electric resistance heating.\u00a0 But buying the least efficient air conditioner is a bad idea.\u00a0 You'll be better off with a highly efficient one\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Air Conditioning"","block_context":{"text":"Air Conditioning","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/air-conditioning\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Air conditioner energy rating labels - Australia","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/aircon-labels.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/aircon-labels.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/aircon-labels.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/aircon-labels.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/aircon-labels.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":52940,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/air-conditioners-vs-gas-heating\/","url_meta":{"origin":89537,"position":2},"title":"Air Conditioners Will Heat Your Home Cheaper Than Gas. Here’s Why.","author":"Ronald Brakels","date":"August 23, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"The best way to heat your home is with a reverse cycle air conditioner.\u00a0 This is true whether your goal is to save money or save the planet.\u00a0 In this article, I'll explain no matter how crap your air conditioner is, you're likely to be financially better off using it\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Air Conditioning"","block_context":{"text":"Air Conditioning","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/air-conditioning\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Reverse cycle air conditioner vs gas heating","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ac-vs-gas.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ac-vs-gas.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ac-vs-gas.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ac-vs-gas.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ac-vs-gas.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":94671,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/air-con-efficiency-rating-should-really-care-about\/","url_meta":{"origin":89537,"position":3},"title":"The Air Con Efficiency Rating You Should Really Care About","author":"Ronald Brakels","date":"February 19, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Pop quiz!\u00a0 What's more important when it comes to buying an air conditioner? (a) Cooling efficiency (b) Heating efficiency (c) Purple monkey dishwasher Is Air Con Heating Or Cooling Efficiency More Important? If you replied \"(a) Cooling efficiency\" and live in the hotter northern parts of Australia, that's correct!\u00a0 But\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Air Conditioning"","block_context":{"text":"Air Conditioning","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/air-conditioning\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Air conditioner energy rating labels - Australia","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/aircon-labels.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/aircon-labels.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/aircon-labels.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/aircon-labels.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/aircon-labels.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":94573,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/portable-air-conditioners-suck\/","url_meta":{"origin":89537,"position":4},"title":"Portable Air Conditioners Suck (Hot Air Into Your House)","author":"Anthony Bennett","date":"January 19, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Are you thinking of a portable air conditioner? Don't. Step back. Put your wallet away. I can't think of a better way to waste time, money and energy than buying a portable air conditioner - although there are a couple of exceptions that have their place. Whether you call it\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Air Conditioning"","block_context":{"text":"Air Conditioning","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/air-conditioning\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A portable air con sucking up money","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/portable-aircon-header.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/portable-aircon-header.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/portable-aircon-header.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/portable-aircon-header.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/portable-aircon-header.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":94798,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/air-conditioning-evaporative-rcac-mb\/","url_meta":{"origin":89537,"position":5},"title":"Evaporative Cooling Vs. Reverse Cycle Air Conditioning","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"December 15, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Like many home improvements, the type of air-conditioning that may be best suited for your house will depend on a number of factors, including if you have solar panels. See the pros and cons of the two main technologies, and other points to consider. There are all sorts of approaches\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Air Conditioning"","block_context":{"text":"Air Conditioning","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/air-conditioning\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"An Australian family in their air-conditioned home.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/rcac-evaporative-aircon.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/rcac-evaporative-aircon.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/rcac-evaporative-aircon.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/rcac-evaporative-aircon.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/rcac-evaporative-aircon.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89537","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89537"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89537\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":96419,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89537\/revisions\/96419"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89541"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}