As summer temperatures rise, maintaining a cooler home becomes a necessity. Consider some of these summer HVAC tips from the pros at Honest Air Conditioning to help you stay cool and save money.
1. Prioritize an Air Filter Change
For air to flow efficiently throughout your home, it’s important to replace your AC’s air filter regularly. Professionals recommend changing the air filter once every three months, while others recommend changing the air filter as often as once a month. The more often you change the filter, the better the air flows.
When the air filters trap excessive dirt, allergens, and contaminants, it’s harder for the HVAC unit to pump air throughout the home. The filter is meant to collect dirt so that it doesn’t float through the air and compromise the indoor air quality. However, without proper cleaning or replacement, the filter isn’t as efficient. When the HVAC unit works harder to pump clean air through the system, this increases the energy bill at the end of the billing cycle. Keep costs as low as possible as you maintain a better quality of air by changing the air filter on a designated schedule.
2. Get a Professional Inspection
While some home improvement projects warrant a good DIY session, HVAC unit maintenance isn’t included in the list of projects to try yourself. A professional is equipped with the tools and expertise that are needed to ensure your system’s performance is up to par.
Sometimes, the system isn’t working as efficiently because of build-up on the evaporator coil. Without any experience, it’ll be hard for an untrained eye to detect where the evaporator coil is and how to clean it. A trained professional can complete the task of properly cleaning it without damaging other parts of the system.
Sometimes, the HVAC system needs regular maintenance or simply needs new parts. By getting a professional to come to inspect the system on an annual basis, they’ll be able to catch issues before they become more expensive problems in the future. Even in the case of replacing an HVAC system (because they don’t last forever), a professional can tell when a system is on its last leg so that you’ll have time to prepare for its replacement.
3. Keep Blinds and Curtains Closed
Don’t underestimate the impact of solar energy. As the sun shines through windows, it can heat any room over a couple of hours. A tip for keeping your home cool is to block out sunlight, especially during the hottest time of the day. To get the best of both worlds, open the blinds and curtains of the windows that don’t face the sunlight. Especially during the morning and evening hours, keep the blinds and curtains closed for the windows that face the east and the west. This will allow you to still get natural light in your home without generating more heat indoors.
4. Use Fans for Circulation
Even though it’s common for people to think that fans produce cold air, they simply circulate the air that’s already in the room. For example, if you’re running a space heater in the middle of winter, that can generate a lot of energy. It can also increase your energy bill. A great trick involves turning on a portable fan along with the space heater for 15 minutes. Then, turn off the space heater and allow the portable fan to continue running. The portable fan tends to use much less energy. It also circulates more heat throughout the room because that was the air it was first introduced to.
The same concept applies to the air conditioning. If you’ve set your thermostat to run the air conditioning, you can also turn on a ceiling or portable fan at the same time to help circulate the same cold air. Fans don’t necessarily cool down a room. They just help to amplify the temperature that’s already present.
5. Decrease Usage of Heat Generators
Consider items and appliances that generate significant amounts of heat. Examples include clothes dryers and kitchen ovens. While there’s nothing wrong with using these appliances, you need to be more strategic about the times you use them and how often you use them. Even an appliance such as a dishwasher can generate a certain amount of heat.
Knowing this, do your research to learn more about off-peak hours. It’s ideal to use your heat-generating appliances during off-peak hours because they’re less likely to make your bill increase in exorbitant ways. Also, it’s great to find ways to use them less. During the summer months, be more intentional about creating a meal plan that doesn’t involve the daily use of an oven or stove.
6. Open the Windows at Night
Typically, the outside temperatures drop significantly at night. This is an ideal time to open your windows. If you simply crack open the windows, this can help circulate fresh air throughout the home and cool the interior.
It can also be helpful to turn on fans throughout the home in the morning. Once the fans distribute the cold air for two to three hours, close the windows and the blinds to keep the cold air trapped inside the home.
Admittedly, this is an effective strategy for those who don’t want to turn on the air conditioning prematurely. This will help you save money and keep your home cool at the same time.
7. Install a Smart Thermostat
If you’re trying to save energy and money, one of the worst things to do is constantly fidget and switch the dial on your thermostat. As you change the temperatures, your HVAC system adjusts to the thermostat by running more often. Most professionals suggest keeping your home to a specific temperature to maintain a comfortable level climate. It also helps keep your energy bill predictable.
Another way to save on your energy bill involves investing in a programmable thermostat or a smart thermostat. The power of a smart thermostat is that it pays attention to the temperatures and the needs of the home. If you’re not home for eight hours of the day, there’s no reason to blast the air conditioning for eight hours. Instead, by programming your thermostat in advance, it can gradually adjust to the necessary temperatures you need consistently. This can lead to a significant amount of savings each year.
Reach Out to the Professionals
As you learn to keep your home cool, it might not feel like second nature at first. However, when you enlist the assistance of a company like Honest Air Conditioning, it’ll become easier to see the savings increase over the long haul. In addition to providing air conditioning services to keep your Mesa, AZ home cool this summer, Honest Air Conditioning offers heating repair, installation, and maintenance. Of course, when you need HVAC assistance, Honest Air Conditioning also specializes in air conditioning installation, repair, and maintenance. We also work on mini split AC units, too! Contact us today to learn more about the variety of products and services we offer.