The air conditioner (AC) blower is responsible for circulating air throughout the AC system. There are various types of AC blowers that operate at different speeds.

Types of Blower Speeds

Here are the main types of blower speeds.

Single-speed

For a single-speed blower, the AC is either off or on at full blast; there is no middle ground.

Two-stage

For a two-stage blower, the AC can be off, on at low speed, or on at high speed. You can use the low speed if you want moderate cooling and high speed if you want maximum cooling.

Variable-Speed

A variable-speed blower can also be off or on. However, when it is on, the blower speed is not restricted to specific speeds. Rather, the blower can run at variable speeds to enable more precise cooling.

Differences between Blower Types

All three types of blowers can cool your house, but they will do so in different ways. Below are some of the major differences in the three types of blowers.

Temperature Control

A single-speed blower is not as efficient as the other two types of blowers when it comes to temperature control. This is because a single-speed blower will have more frequent on and off cycles than variable or two-speed blowers. Frequent cycling means the AC might not run long enough to cool every part of the house.

Humidity Control

The AC doesn't just lower your house temperature; it also removes moisture from the air if the humidity is too high. The AC is not extremely efficient at humidity control, and it needs to run for a reasonable amount of time to remove adequate moisture from the air. The variable-speed blower, which runs in long cycles due to its ability to run at different speeds instead of cycling off, is best at humidity control.

Energy Efficiency

Since the single-speed blower cannot reduce its running speed, it will be running at full speed even if you need moderate cooling since its only other option is to cycle off. This means the single-speed AC blower consumes the same energy whenever it is running. The situation is different for a two-speed or variable-speed blower since the two can run at reduced speed and experience reduced energy consumption.

Price

At the installation stage, a variable speed blower costs more than a two-speed blower, which in turn costs more than the single-speed blower. However, the running costs (energy costs) of the variable speed blower are better than those of the other blowers.

To learn more about AC blowers, contact an air conditioning service in your area.