As we enter the 2 hottest months of the year, August and September, we look at air conditioning in Be Green Two.
The University of Hawai'i to single-family homes, turning up the AC and slashing costs can go hand in hand.

According to the University of Hawai'i's energy czar, UH has one of the highest energy costs of any major research university in the US. So it's in the midst of an aggressive campaign to save...turning off lights and computers, changing lightbulbs to CFL's and upgrading its air conditioning systems.

Vice Chancellor for Campus Services, Dave Hafner says,"We've migrated slowly but surely from individual window units to big central cold water chiller plants which allow us to route the cold water around the campus more efficiently."

"We have remote control systems that allow us to turn buildings on or off or turn them down during off peak times."

When the computerized AC system shows orange, that's a warning and technicians can then address the problem quickly. Upgrading UH's AC system helped contribute to a 12-percent reduction in energy use since 2003..last year alone, UH saved enough energy to power more than one-thousand homes, that's about 1.5 million dollars in a year, and that trickles down to tuition.

"We can reduce the pressure on the tuition dollars cause all the student tuition dollars are used to pay for energy costs here."

The same can be done at home....this is Admor Hvac's second container load in a month of the most energy-efficient air conditioner and the maytag IQ drive with what's called a "seer" rating of 23.

President of Admor of HVAC products Drew Santos says, "The new 23 seer, versus the 13 seer conventional air conditioner will save about 38 percent of your air conditioning cost which equates to about 100 dollars a month."

Key is that the AC adjusts to the need...

"So if you're in your bedroom at night, the compressor ramps down to a very low speed, this equates to energy savings and lower sound levels."

Santos and Hafner say don't forget to change the filters and Santos recommends keeping the thermostat to at least 74 degrees.

UH is turning it up a notch higher.