The air conditioning system that cools down your home during the summers consumes a large amount of energy each year. There’s no way around seeing an increase in electric bills during this time—the AC’s compressor places a large demand on power whenever it runs.
However, your electric bills may be higher than necessary. It’s not difficult to accidentally waste power with your air conditioner. But it’s also not difficult to identify power waste and stop it. In this post, we’ll list a few of the ways you might waste energy cooling your house during the summer, as well as what you can do to turn it around.
ONE: Skipping pre-season air conditioning maintenance
This is the major cause of wasteful cooling system performance. Each year, an AC must receive a pre-season check-up from a professional to make sure the system is prepared for another summer. This check-up comprises inspections to locate repair trouble, cleanings and adjustments, and a general tune-up. If an AC doesn’t receive this standard service each year, it will start to waste power because of wear, tear, dirt, and undiscovered malfunctions. In fact, you may end up paying 20% more each year to run your AC after missing only a few pre-season tune-ups.
TWO: Leaving the same air filter in place all summer
The air filter on an HVAC cabinet is frequently ignored during the year, maybe changed once (if that). This is a serious mistake, since a clogged filter chokes off airflow into the HVAC system and places extra strain on the blower motor. We recommend putting in a new filter every one to three months, depending on how powerful the filter is. If you leave the filter in place the whole season, expect to see much steeper electrical bills—as well as poor AC performance.
THREE: Keeping the thermostat set far too low
You can set your thermostat as low as 60°F. That may sound like a great way to beat the heat during the hottest days of summer. But just because you can set the thermostat that low doesn’t mean you should. The trouble is that the lower you set the thermostat, the longer the AC stays on to reach that temperature and the more power it wastes. Additionally, the colder your house (and 60°F is too cold for most people’s comfort), the faster the house gains heat from outside. Raise the thermostat to around 78°F during the day and you’ll see a 5–10% savings on your bills.
FOUR: Ignoring signs of malfunctions
An AC can often continue to produce adequate cooling even if it’s malfunctioning. But an AC should never be allowed to continue running if something is wrong with it. Not only will this raise bills as the system strains harder to do its job, it will rapidly worsen the problem and may shorten the cooling system’s lifespan. Always be prompt with scheduling any air conditioning service in Frederick, MD. You’ll not only keep the system efficient, you’ll avoid an abrupt breakdown at the worst time!
Tuckers Air Conditioning, Heating & Plumbing serves Washington D.C., Montgomery, and Frederick Counties. Schedule AC services today.