When the summer heat sets in, many of us rely on our home air conditioning system to provide a comfortable retreat from the outdoors. Unfortunately, with any great air conditioning system comes an increase in your energy bill. Here, we’ll reveal some of our best energy-saving tips that you can implement to reduce your cooling costs. We’ll even provide some guidance on how to deal with some common AC malfunctions.
Upgrade Your AC Unit
One of the most impactful ways to reduce your summertime cooling bills is to invest in an air conditioning system with a high SEER2 rating. These systems are ultra-efficient because of their variable speed compressors and other built-in components. If your existing air conditioning system is over 15 years old, just upgrading to a newer unit is your best bet for keeping your energy bills in check.
Use Ceiling Fans
One of the best hacks for increasing your household comfort while reducing your energy bills is using ceiling fans. These fans spin in a counterclockwise direction to force a gentle breeze down onto you. This breeze will wick away sweat from the surface of your skin and naturally cool you down.
When you’re using a ceiling fan, you can actually increase the temperature on your thermostat while still remaining completely comfortable. This will reduce your energy usage for your air conditioning system. The added energy used for your ceiling fan doesn’t come anywhere close to comparing with the amount of energy that your air conditioner would otherwise use.
Get a Smart Thermostat
Another must-have for any energy-efficient home is a smart thermostat. At the base level, this thermostat allows you to program in different temperature settings based on the time of the day and even the day of the week. This will allow you to increase temperatures when you know you’re not going to be home so that your system doesn’t run and waste energy.
Smart thermostats even come with diagnostic reminders so you never forget to change your air filter, and you can even see the performance of your system in real time. Many smart thermostats offer learning capabilities that allow them to automatically adjust your temperature settings based on your normal routine. Some even offer an eco-friendly mode that will optimize your energy usage for you.
Block Out Sunlight
If you’ve ever stood underneath the direct sun in the middle of the day, you know how it can heat your body up very quickly. The same thing happens to the temperature in your home when direct sunlight pours in through your windows. To prevent your air conditioner from having to constantly combat the rise in temperature because of the sunlight, a simple solution is to block out the sunlight. You can do this with shades, blinds, curtains, or even strategic shading landscaping outside.
Insulate and Seal
It doesn’t matter how efficient your air conditioning system is if your home isn’t properly insulated and sealed up from the outdoors. Without adequate insulation, heat from outside can easily transfer through your home’s structure and increase its internal temperature.
We highly suggest inspecting your insulation and adding to any areas that are missing. Make sure that your insulation meets or exceeds the minimum R-value in the building codes for your area of the country. It’s good practice to inspect your exterior walls at the beginning of every spring to identify any places where air leaks are.
You’ll notice a change in temperature as you run your hand across these areas. You’ll want to use caulking, weatherstripping, or even spray foam to seal up those areas. The idea is to create a nice barrier between the temperature inside your home and the temperature outdoors.
Schedule Routine AC Maintenance
One of the most important things you can do to ensure that your air conditioner is operating as efficiently as possible is to get professional maintenance service. Ideally, you’ll want to schedule this in the early spring so you have adequate time to fix any issues with your system before you need to rely on it to stay comfortable every day.
During our AC maintenance service, we’ll inspect, clean, and test every component to ensure that it’s working properly. We’ll advise you of any worn-out or malfunctioning components so we can repair them swiftly for you. It’s also important to know that routine maintenance is typically necessary to sustain the warranty coverage on your system.
Watch for Leaking Water
As your AC unit runs, it’s constantly pulling moisture out of the air. This moisture shows up on the evaporator coil as water droplets that eventually drop down into the drain pan. The drain pan has drain piping that leads to a drain in your home or directly to the outdoors for disposal. Unfortunately, if the drain pipe for your AC unit gets clogged full of debris, like hair or dust, it can prevent that water from adequately draining.
You may notice water pooling around your indoor air handler unit when this happens. If you have a newer air conditioning system, it may have a built-in sensor that automatically shuts the system off when it senses the drain pan is full. This helps to prevent water from seeping over the edge of the drain pan and damaging your home. To remedy this problem, you’ll want to clean the drain area and remove any debris inside the drain pipe that could be restricting the flow of water.
Address Weak Airflow
Probably one of the most common issues you’re going to experience with your AC unit is weak airflow coming out of your vents. In many cases, this is the result of a clogged air filter that is restricting the flow of air throughout your ducting. This is a very easy fix, as all you need to do is remove the dirty filter and replace it with a fresh one.
We highly suggest checking your AC filter at least once a month. You can do this by holding it up to a light and looking through the filter. If you can’t see through the filter, it’s time to replace it. Most homeowners find they need to replace their AC filter every two to three months.
Fix a Dead Thermostat
Another really frustrating problem you may experience is your thermostat isn’t working. If the screen is completely blank, it means there’s no power going to it. Start by checking the circuit breaker to see if it was tripped. If so, simply reset the circuit breaker, and it should restore power to your thermostat.
If the circuit breaker is in the on position, check the batteries in your thermostat. Sometimes the batteries may go dead and just require a replacement to restore full functionality. If neither of these solutions works, one of our professionals will need to further assess your thermostat to determine if it’s faulty or has a wiring issue.
Trustworthy AC Maintenance Service
All Klear offers trustworthy AC maintenance service for the Springfield, MO area. We can also help with all your AC repair, installation, and replacement needs. Call us today to schedule a service consultation with one of our helpful AC technicians.
