10 Air Conditioning Mistakes You Can’t Afford to Make
The two primary costs of owning a home in Arizona are the roof and the HVAC. Ignoring proper air conditioning management raises your energy bills, decreases the efficiency of your system, and ultimately requires repairs. Avoid these 10 common mistakes and reap the cool rewards!
1. Ignoring Sizing Requirements
HVAC pros carefully size air conditioning units to match the number of cubic feet in a new building. When purchasing a new AC unit or renovating your house, the homeowner must make sure the unit fits the space properly.
Installing a kind of AC unit rated for a smaller space than your home causes it to work overtime cooling the air. Overworked air conditioners wear out more quickly and struggle to meet the demands of the thermostat. An air conditioning unit rated for a larger space than you have constantly turns on and off, wearing itself out and growing undependable over time.
Pay attention to capacity and pick the right unit for the space you have.
2. Never Cleaning Fins and Coils
Air conditioner coils and fins on the condenser (the outside part of the HVAC unit) help the evaporators inside the house absorb and release heat. This process of moving heat is vital, but layers of dust and grime impede it. Use a hose or leaf blower to clean your condenser at both the beginning and end of summer, as well as check it from time to time, particularly after storms or high winds.
3.Ignoring Your Air Filter
Your home’s air filter removes dust, allergens and more from the air passing through the system. You must replace these lightweight cardboard-and-wire constructs regularly. After three months, the filter becomes so choked with dirt that air has a tough time getting through, and the unit can’t really do its job anymore. This not only increases the dust in your home, it greatly decreases airflow for your air conditioning unit.
You can improve energy use for your air conditioner by 5-15% just by replacing a dirty filter. So make sure you install a new filter at least 4-6 times per year, and every 30-45 days in the summer.
4.Not Updating (or Setting) Your Thermostat
In today’s technology climate, you may regard programmable thermostats with a yawn, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have one. Programmable thermostats let you set temperatures for various times throughout the day, saving you money and managing your cooling without constant attention. Many advanced thermostats can learn your home’s rhythms, so the thermostat can shift to accommodate repeated schedules. It also allows you to change the temperature remotely from an app.
If you lack one of these programmable or smart wi-fi enabled thermostats, the time to upgrade is now. Save money and enjoy more accurate cooling with a thermostat replacement, particularly if your current thermostat lags behind the times.
5.Not Checking Your Drain
Many air conditioning systems use drains under the air handler in the attic that collect condensation and prevent moisture issues by channeling water outside of the house. These drains can be easy to miss, but they have an important job. A clogged and overflowing drain creates bad news for your air conditioning system and even worse news for surrounding floors and walls, which can sustain permanent damage. Understand where your primary and secondary drain lines are outside the home. You should see water dripping out of the primary (lower, near the ground) drain line. If you see water dripping from the upper (near the roof line) drain, it’s time to call an HVAC for maintenance.
6.Setting the Temperature Too Low
This common mistake goes back decades, when many homeowners didn’t understand how air conditioning systems worked. People frequently turned their thermostats way down, thinking it would cool the space faster. It doesn’t.
Air conditioners run at full power or turn off. Thus they work just as hard to lower the temperature one degree as they do to lower it by 20 degrees. Larger changes just cause it to run longer. So program your thermostat to exactly where you want it, not lower than you need.
7.Avoiding Replacement
The cost of replacing an air conditioning unit is high, but that doesn’t mean you should avoid a new purchase. Don’t make the mistake of keeping an old air conditioner long after it’s usefulness is gone.
Older air conditioners that perform poorly cost you more in repairs and electricity bills, because run less efficiently than newer models. By replacing air conditioning unit, you could start saving money on monthly electric bills by investing in a newer, more efficient model.
8. Never Arranging a Check-Up
Most air conditioning systems use refrigerant that absorbs heat from the house and disperses it outdoors. This refrigerant compound is important to air conditioner operation, but small amounts can escape over time, making the system less efficient. How do you know if you need to add refrigerant? Arrange for an experienced technician to test your air conditioning system and top off your refrigerant, if needed.
9. Using the AC When No One is Home
Are you running the AC at a lower temperature when no one is home? While it’s not efficient to turn it off while you’re away, turning it up a few degrees will save money. And if you follow suggestion #4 and have a programmable thermostat, you can turn the temperature down shortly before getting home so the temperature is comfortable when you’re home.
10. Forgetting About Your Windows
If you really want to control heat in your house, pay attention to your windows. A lot of heat enters the home through windows, especially older windows. Keep them closed and locked with blinds or drapes drawn during the hottest parts of the day, particularly windows facing the sun. In the evening if the outside temperature drops enough, open upstairs and downstairs windows to encourage the natural flow of cooler air. The less work an air conditioner has to do, the better!
Thanks to Family Handyman for the inspiration for this article.