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When the sun is beating down on your home during the hot summer months, you need your air conditioning system running at peak efficiency. No one wants to swelter in their own home.
The good news is that there are things you can do to ensure that your systems run perfectly all summer long. By following these simple energy-saving tips, you will put less pressure on your air conditioning system and you won’t have to worry about sweating inside your own home. Not only will you stay cool, you’ll save money, too.
Maintain Your System
Keeping your air conditioning system in good working order is essential to saving energy and money. An unmaintained system will never run at peak efficiency.
There are a few things you should do every couple of months. You should clean and/or replace your air filters regularly. Dust, hair and other small particles get trapped in the filters, eventually blocking the airflow and causing your system to work harder. You should also routinely clean the area around your outside unit, keeping it free of yard debris and growing plants. The outside unit houses the fan and cooling lines which are responsible for cooling the air released in your home. Blockage from debris like grass clippings and leaves can cause the unit to overheat.
Also, have a professional look at your system once a year or so, especially in the springtime right before the weather gets hot. Professionals can look for and correct small problems before they get out of hand and can calibrate your system to run a maximum efficiency.
Look for Energy Leaks
Places in your home where cool air can escape to the outside are a constant problem and should be fixed. As much as 30% of your energy can leak from your home this way, costing you precious cool air and money.
The first places to look for leaks are at windows and outside doors. Make sure that the weather stripping is in good condition, without any cracks. Weather stripping is easy to replace, so if you suspect that it isn’t as good as it should be, you can do it yourself in a few minutes. Doors should fit snugly into the jambs and be flush with the floor. As a general rule, if you can see light coming in, the air is probably going out.
Crawl spaces, attic hatches, fireplace dampers and even electrical outlets are all possible places where leaks can occur. Either check them yourself or have a professional do it to make sure they are sealed properly.
Find Right Temperature
A lot of money and energy is wasted by making your system work harder than it should. An easy fix for this is to find a temperature you are comfortable with and stick to it.
Maintaining a constant temperature takes a lot less energy than forcing it to adjust to three-degree swings all of the time. Air conditioning systems put out a constant amount of air at a constant temperature, so dropping the thermostat a few degrees to bring the temperature down will cause it to run longer. Rather, find a temperature that you and your family can live with and maintain that temperature all summer long. This way, the system will only need to turn on every so often instead of constantly running.
You can, however, set the thermostat a little higher if you are going to be gone for an extended period of time. The energy it takes to get back to the ideal temperature is worth not cooling your home when nobody i there.
Use Your Ceiling Fans
Perhaps the easiest thing you can do to save energy is to use ceiling fans or, if your house doesn’t have any, portable fans. Fans will help circulate the air, which not only move the cool air around but will also give you the impression of being cooler because they whisk away the heat from your body. Make sure that ceiling fans are pushing the air downward.
If you don’t have ceiling fans, it might be worth getting a few. Most homes are built with the electrical and support systems already in place in major living areas like family rooms and bedrooms, so all you need to worry about is installation. If you are uncomfortable doing this yourself, you can hire someone fairly cheaply to do it for you.
Help your air conditioning system out this summer and save energy and money.
Mike King has been involved in the Perth Air Conditioning industry for over 21 years. In 2015 he decided to only supply and install Actron Air Conditioners. These systems are built with the harsh Australian Climate in mind and as a result out perform all foreign designed systems. He has built his business on the motto “If it’s not good enough to be used in our home we won’t use it in yours.”