You won’t meet many people in our area who aren’t thankful for the use of central air conditioning during our long, hot summers. It’s a necessity to make your home not only comfortable, but bearable! But if your cooling system doesn’t work the way it is supposed to, then it may be time to call a professional HVAC Contractor in Edmond, OK, particularly if you skipped maintenance before summer began (in the absence of a complete system breakdown, it’s never too late to get this on your schedule!)
Repair needs aren’t the only reason your air conditioner might be operating inefficiently, though. The good news is, there may be steps you can take that you haven’t thought of before to boost system efficiency. Keep reading for some tips on how to do so, and give us a call if you suspect a problem that’s out of your control.
Turn Up the Temperature
“Wait, what?” you may be saying right now. Bear with us though—while we don’t expect you to make your home hotter than comfortable, we do think most homeowners turn their thermostat settings down much lower than they actually need to maintain that level of comfort.
Many homeowners set their thermostat as low as 71°F when in fact, most people are just fine with 78°F throughout the day. Additionally, you can save energy and money by raising the temperature when you aren’t home, or while you are sleeping. Don’t waste unnecessary energy by cooling a home you aren’t using, or by lowering the temperature far more than you actually need.
Use Your Ceiling Fans
A ceiling fan won’t actually lower the temperature of a room on its own, so therefore it can’t keep you cool on its own. What it can do, is make you feel cooler. That’s because it helps sweat evaporate off your body, which is your natural way to keep cool.
When you use your air conditioner, use your ceiling fans in combination and this will help push cool air down while keeping warm air rising. Therefore, pairing your ceiling fans with your central air conditioning system lets you run that air conditioner at a higher temperature, which lowers your monthly energy costs.
Change Your Air Filter As Needed
This is typically every 1-3 months during periods of HVAC system use. This air filter, which comes standard with your HVAC system, is there to protect the inside components of the system. However when it becomes too clogged up with dirt, airflow is restricted and your air conditioner (and forced air heater) has to work harder to do its job, therefore performing inefficiently.
Keep Your Air Conditioner Clean
The outdoor coil of your cooling system is one of the areas were excessive dirt and buildup can cause a number of problems for system functionality. This coil is tasked with allows the exchange of heat from the inside air to the outdoors. But dirt can interfere.
When the coil is too dirty, it will cause your air conditioner’s performance and efficiency to drop. This is part of why it’s so important to schedule AC maintenance each year—as a thorough system cleaning is part of this service.
At Comfort Incorporated, we keep your family safe, healthy and comfortable—call today, service today!
