Air Conditioning Tips

Air Conditioners maintain indoor comfort by removing heat and moisture from the air. As the weather gets warmer, air conditioning equipment has to work harder and will use more energy to maintain comfort conditions in your home. Power consumption can increase significantly from one month to the next, even if the thermostat settings are not changed.

You can also expect operating cost to increase if your air conditioning equipment is not properly serviced and maintained.

Remember these tips when you use your air conditioner:

Dirty filters cause unnecessary strain and can lead to equipment breakdowns. Air Conditioning servicemen say about half of their trouble calls are traced to dirty filters. We suggest changing or cleaning your filters at least once a month. Let your monthly electric bill be your regular remnder to clean or replace your filter.

Keep doors and windows shut whenever cooling. If fresh outdoor air is required, turn off the air conditioner or consider installing a fresh air exchanger.

Turn off kitchen, bath, and other ventilating fans as soon as their job is done. These fans can remove a costly amount of cooled air in a very short time.

Remember to close up your firebox area and fireplace damper during the summer (when not in use).

Set thermostats properly. Consider a programmable thermostat which will automatically raise and lower the home temperature for prescribed periods to save energy. Should you want to achieve rapid temperature change for comfort, don't set the thermostat lower than the desired temperature. The system cools at the same rate regardless of the temperature setting.

Reduce solar heat gain by shading south and west facing windows during the summer months. Shading the glass with awnings, solar screens, shutters, trees/shrubs, venetian blinds, or drapes will help reduce the air conditioning workload.

If your air conditioner is 10 years old or more consider a new, high-efficiency system. Today's high-efficiency systems can save 30%-50% in energy costs.