You want to stay cool this summer, but you also don’t want to spend a fortune on air conditioning. Use these A/C tips to accomplish both goals.
- Schedule preventative maintenance: Spring is the perfect time for preventative maintenance. Annual inspections help the equipment run more efficiently and allow problems to be caught early when they’re easy to fix.
- Give the A/C room to breathe: This means positioning the outdoor unit away from fences, walls and decks. It also means trimming foliage back at least 18 inches from the unit.
- Replace the air filter: Check it once every 30 to 90 days and change it when it appears dirty. A clean filter supports better indoor air quality, lower energy bills and longer equipment lifespan.
- Run a ceiling fan: The wind chill effect created by a ceiling fan makes the room feel up to four degrees cooler, allowing you to turn your thermostat up without sacrificing comfort.
- Open doors: To help each room maintain an even temperature, keep doors open throughout your home.
- Turn the A/C down, not off, when you leave home: Raising the temperature by 5 to 10 degrees in your absence saves energy, so you may imagine turning it off saves even more. Actually, intense heat and humidity buildup forces your A/C to work overtime cooling your home when you get back, which defeats your efforts to save money. Plus, high humidity and soaring temperatures could lead to mold growth and even damage your home’s structural integrity.
- Reduce heat gain: To save money and increase comfort, keep direct sunlight out. Then, reduce interior heat gain by running the exhaust when showering, using lids on pots and pans when cooking, and turning off computers and other heat-generating appliances when not in use.
- Run the air conditioner wisely: Never turn it off and back on in less than five minutes. This could short circuit the compressor and cause permanent damage. Most digital thermostats have a built-in time delay to prevent this.
For more A/C tips, please contact Aladdin Heating & Cooling, serving Southfield, Grosse Pointe Woods and surrounding areas since 1945.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Warren, Michigan about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about A/C tips and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
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