Summertime is just around the corner, and with that summer season comes the heat and humidity that we all know very well. So well in fact, that it doesn’t have to be summer to have summertime temperatures. So, you need your air conditioner to be prepared. After all, don’t you want it to operate as efficiently and effectively as possible this year?
Hopefully, you’ve already had or at least scheduled your spring AC maintenance appointment, which allows our technicians to fully service your AC system to ensure good operation. It’s not too late to schedule this if not! In the meantime, there are even more things you can do in addition to maintenance that can help the system work more efficiently. Keep reading as we uncover how to improve efficiency, and therefore pay less for more comfort.
Raise the Temp on the Thermostat
Look, we get it, this sound like odd advice, right? Why would any homeowner want to make their home hotter than it should be? Hear us out!
The truth is, many people are making it way colder than it needs to be in their homes, and wasting energy as a result. To maintain comfort, the average person is perfectly fine with a 78°F setting on their thermostat. Yet we see people setting theirs to 71°F thinking it will cool their home down faster. This doesn’t happen—instead the air conditioner just runs longer.
You will save energy and subsequently save money by raising the temperature to a more reasonable level. It also helps to raise the temperature when you are sleeping or when you are not home and don’t actually need your air conditioner.
Utilize Your Ceiling Fans
So, ceiling fans are not capable of actually lowering the temperature of a space, and therefore would make a terrible replacement for an air conditioner. However, they can certainly help with your air conditioning efforts! The breeze from a ceiling fan helps you feel cooler. When you feel cooler, you’ll be able to adjust the thermostat by a couple of degrees, and your air conditioner won’t have to run as long.
When you use your ceiling fans in combination with an air conditioner, the fans help to better distribute the air coming out of the system, keeping warm air rising and cool air cycling through the home.
Change the AC Air Filter
There aren’t many maintenance tasks we would recommend that an average homeowner does on their own. However, changing the air filter is absolutely something you can and should do yourself—every 1-3 months actually.
The air filter that comes standard with your HVAC systems isn’t in place to protect your indoor air quality like many people believe. It’s actually in place to protect the HVAC system itself from dust, dirt, and other debris that can get inside and harm the interior components.
But when the AC air filter gets too clogged up, it restricts airflow into the system, which also impacts airflow coming out of the system. This is inefficient and can cause a spike in your energy bills.
For professional AC repair in Alpharetta, GA, contact Wall Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc.