There is nothing quite like having central air in your home when it comes to staying comfortably cool during the hot summer months. However, if your AC system is not running at maximum efficiency, you could find yourself breaking out into a full-blown sweat the next time you get a utility bill in the mail. Thankfully, many of the most common reasons for increased cooling costs can be corrected rather quickly and at a minimal cost.
Make Sure Your Air Filter Is Clean
In order for your home's AC unit to function at maximum efficiency, it must be able to easily pull in air from around your home. Changing out the air filter in your unit prevents it from becoming clogged with dust and debris, which can restrict this airflow and cause your AC unit to work harder and consume more energy. If it has been more than a month since you last changed the filter, this could be the cause of your rising energy bills.
Use Weather Stripping Around Windows And Doors
Even small air leaks around windows and doors can have a huge impact on your ability to effectively cool your home. This is because while your AC unit is working to pump cool air into your home, these air leaks are allowing that cool air to escape while simultaneously allowing warm air to get in. Using weather-stripping materials to seal these air leaks will help your AC unit to work more efficiently and ultimately result in lower energy bills each month.
If you are struggling to find and seal the air leaks in your home, contacting your local air conditioning contractor could help you get the job done quickly as many of these contractors offer low-cost energy efficiency inspections that will help you to identify not only air leaks but other potential issues that may be affecting the efficiency of your HVAC system as well.
Be Sure To Have Your Unit Professionally Maintained
Central air conditioning units are complex machines that require all aspects of the unit to be working correctly in order to achieve maximum efficiency. The best way to accomplish this is to keep up with the recommended yearly maintenance of your AC unit. If you have not had your AC unit serviced yet this year, now is the perfect time to pick up the phone and call your air conditioning contractor. While the cost of this maintenance is a bit more than the investment required by the other two common issues discussed above, the savings you will see on your utility bills throughout the course of the year will ultimately outweigh the small upfront cost of properly maintaining your AC unit.
Share26 February 2021
After my sister moved into my house with me, she started complaining about the temperature. I had never really thought about it before, or maybe I was just used to it, but my house was pretty cold. She told me that she didn't think the furnace was working properly, so I started checking things out on my own. Sure enough, my furnace seemed to be having some serious problems. I started looking for a replacement, and I was able to find a great furnace for much less than what I initially thought I would need to spend. I wanted to make this blog for anyone out there who might need to shop for a new HVAC system. Check out these great articles for information you might need.
