Five Tips to Reduce the Stress on Your A/C This Summer
Save Money, Sit Back & Relax While Your A/C Runs Smoothly All Summer
The summer season is underway, and so are warmer daytime temperatures. With the summer heat comes potential challenges for your HVAC system. As your A/C works hard to keep your home cool, the strain on it can increase exponentially leading to a host of other issues like wasted energy, wasted money, and an uncomfortable house.
However, with these 5 quick tips you can minimize the stress on your A/C system and maximize its ability to provide you and your family with cool, comfortable air all summer long.
TIP 1 – Don’t Turn Your AC OFF When You Leave Your House
To prevent your A/C from having to work overtime, it’s best to keep it running at a consistent temperature rather than turning it off and on repeatedly. If you are going to be gone for an extended period of time, you can always increase the temperature slightly to save on energy while you’re away, then when you return your A/C can easily cool your home a few degrees rather than having to run for an extended period of time to cool it entirely. This will not only help keep your energy bills down but also can help prevent excessive strain on your system that could lead to premature wear.
To make this easier, we recommend investing in a smart thermostat so you can control and regulate your home’s temperature remotely. Smart thermostats can automatically adjust your home’s temperature when you’re away, analyze cooling habits to suggest energy-saving opportunities, and let you maximize your homes efficiency and ensure that it stays cool through any summer weather.
TIP 2 – Keep Windows and Doors Shut
One of the easiest ways to keep your HVAC system from working harder than it has to is to keep your windows and doors shut at all times. This will prevent hot, humid, summer air from entering your home and then causing your HVAC system to work harder to counter act the warm, outdoor air coming in. Keeping your windows and doors shut during the heat of the day especially, will help reduce excessive strain on your air conditioner.
This will also prevent any dust, allergens, and dirt from entering your home and affecting your air quality, particularly during the spring and summer when everything is blooming. Keep your windows closed to prevent your A/C from being in a constant state of stress and to keep your family breathing easier!
TIP 3 – Maintain and Replace Your Air Filters Regularly
The last thing you want is a dirty air filter. Not only is it terrible for the air quality of the air you breathe, but an unclean filter makes cooling your home harder, which can lead to higher energy bills in the long run.
Dirty air filters are filled with trapped dirt and debris, restricting airflow, which means less cool air can get into your home vs. free flowing air through a clean filter. So even though your air conditioner may be working hard to try to cool the inside of your house, most of those efforts are being wasted since the cool air can’t get where it needs to be!
It only takes a minute – make sure to replace your air filters regularly to ensure you’re getting the most out of your A/C and to help prevent unnecessary strain on the system.
TIP 4 – Cut Down on Heat Use Inside Your Home
When it’s hot outside, there’s even more reason to be aware of the devices and equipment inside your home that produce excess heat.
For example, quality windows and blinds can help to keep excess heat from circulating into your house. You’ll notice if you sit by a window on a sunny day, you start to get hot even if you’re in an air-conditioned home. Quality blinds or shades can help reduce this indoor greenhouse effect. When you keep them closed the sun can’t as easily heat up your home, causing additional work for your A/C.
The oven is another example! Using the oven during the summer creates excess heat in your home that your A/C must work hard to overcome. Instead, try taking dinner outside occasionally, Summer is a great time to grill! This way your home stays cool, and you have an excuse to eat al fresco.
TIP 5 – Don’t Skip Your Annual A/C Maintenance!
This may seem like an obvious one but having your HVAC system checked yearly is an essential key to ensuring your Air Conditioning is running at peak efficiency! Just because it’s running, doesn’t mean it’s running well. Your inspection could reveal issues with your system that are causing your A/C to run excessively, and can help ensure you get the maximum lifespan out of your unit.
In addition to checking for obvious problems with the condition of your units parts, our expert HVAC technicians will also examine your system’s performance to help identify potential issues before they become major problems that require extensive repairs down the road, leaving you stuck in the heat during the hot summer weather.
Annual routine maintenance can help you avoid premature wear on your system or worse, premature replacement. In order to ensure that your summer runs smoothly, we recommend scheduling your annual maintenance checkup ASAP!
Have any questions? Want to learn more ways to ensure your home stays efficient and cool all summer long? Contact our team, we’d be thrilled to answer any questions!
