Make Your Air Conditioning Unit Run Great All Summer
July 17, 2020
Let’s face it: Most homeowners just want good cooling from their air conditioning unit. They’re not always sure of the best HVAC units or even the most common types of HVAC units they could buy. If this sounds like you, you’re not alone. You deserve a comfortable home during a hot summer.
Fortunately, this isn’t too difficult to get. With a few tips and a lot of help from the professionals at newACunit.com, you’ll have a season that makes it so much easier to chill.
Stop Believing Common AC Myths
If you’re not an HVAC technician, you might not have a firm understanding of the way your system works. This is even more of an issue if you’ve got one of the newer or less-common types of HVAC units, like a ductless mini-split AC. The problem is that it can prompt you to accumulate knowledge that is useless at best and harmful at worst. Watch out for these AC myths, because they can lead you to make some really expensive mistakes:
- Air filters don’t need changing until you have AC repair issues.
- If you don’t need cooling, you can turn off the AC unit.
- The best HVAC units are always the biggest.
- If you’re really hot, turning down the thermostat several degrees cools faster.
- Some AC problems go away on their own.
At newACunit.com, we can tell you that an incorrect understanding of the system often costs people hundreds or thousands of dollars in wasted equipment. If you have questions, it’s better to talk to a technician than friends or neighbors.
Buy the Best HVAC Units for Your Home
If a bigger house usually has a lot more of the things you need, you might conclude that your air conditioning unit is the same. It’s not. AC units are sized based on the cooling load. The best HVAC units for your home may require a technician to help you size. This depends on a few different factors, such as:
- Square footage
- Size and number of rooms
- Average humidity
- Regional climate
You need just the right size, a unit that is neither too large nor too small. A unit that’s too small won’t be able to keep up with the cooling load, so you’ll be miserably hot. One that’s too large will cool the home too quickly. That means you’ll get cooling without effective moisture control, which is important in humid areas. The way you choose a product depends on the types of HVAC units that work well in your home. The attentive staff at newACunit.com can help you identify the most appropriate options.
Create Thermostat Settings You Can Live With
Cooling during a hot summer is a marathon, not a sprint. You won’t be able to get through if you keep rushing it or suddenly stopping for hours at a time. The U.S. Department of Energy claims that programmable thermostats can significantly increase energy efficiency and cut unnecessary energy usage. This is only true if you use them as intended. That means creating settings several hours apart that adjust the temperature by a few degrees, and then leaving it to run.
If you are constantly adjusting the thermostat down because you feel hot, you’ll put more pressure on the air conditioning unit. Turning it down by a large margin may seem like it will cool faster, but it just wastes energy. People who regularly get home and think it’s hot inside should try adjusting their settings to adjust a little earlier, to a slightly lower temperature. Small changes often make big improvements.
Keep the Airflow Clear
It’s probably not surprising that a system that conditions your indoor air needs air to function properly. It works without your input, so you might forget that there are a few steps that really do need your regular attention. Your air conditioning unit usually sits outside on your property, whether that’s on the ground or on top of your roof. It needs at least a foot of airflow on each side. This allows the extracted heat to escape, among other aspects of the system. To keep it going, trim back hedges or high grass.
Inside, you need a clear airflow for efficiency, as well. Make sure that the air handler has a clear path. Once a season, replace your air filter or schedule maintenance to have it replaced. This ensures that the system can keep working at peak efficiency.
Trust Your Gut When Something Is Wrong
A system that doesn’t need your constant supervision can still have problems that require repair. You don’t have to be an HVAC expert to know that your thermostat isn’t turning on, or that your home is far too hot for a working system. When you notice something, it’s really easy to forget about it while you still get cooling. The problem is that even a short delay in service for a broken or faulty part can trigger a complete system failure. You can trust your instincts on this one. If you can tell:
- The house is too warm
- Moisture is accumulating on walls and the floor
- The system is making weird sounds
- It smells strange
- There is a puddle of water under the unit
You should call for repairs as soon as possible. Thinking quickly might save you days of a hot house and a lot of money on a larger repair.
Schedule Annual Maintenance
If you have a fairly new AC unit in great shape, you might think you don’t need maintenance for it. This myth can cost you as much as ignoring an obvious problem. Annual upkeep for your HVAC system is designed to keep it at ideal efficiency, as well as spot possible repair issues. It’s a professional look at the inside of your equipment to see if anything is showing a lot of wear. Maintenance also tends to cost a fraction of the price of repairs. A little investment of money and time at the beginning of the season makes all the difference for the rest of the year.
Enjoying a summer full of fantastic, efficient cooling isn’t as hard as it sounds. When you start with the experts at newACunit.com, you get a top-quality system with installation that keeps you in good shape for years to come.