Improving air conditioner efficiency reduces the amount of energy the unit uses. This lowers your energy bills as well as lessens your carbon footprint. You can take several steps to improve the air conditioner’s efficiency, and we will go over them today.
Don’t Neglect Regular Maintenance
If you fail to perform regular maintenance on your air conditioner, the unit will not work as efficiently. Therefore, it must work harder to cool your home, and when this occurs, it uses more energy. This is what increases your energy bills. If you regularly maintain your air conditioning unit, you can save up to 30% on your energy costs. Regular maintenance also ensures that your air conditioner can work to cool your home for several years. In most cases, air conditioners lose the ability to cool your home like they can when they are new.
Part of regular maintenance includes cleaning the unit. Dust and dirt build up inside the cooling system over time, restricting airflow. This causes the system to work harder to push the air through. This can eventually cause the compressor to overheat. If the compressor overheats, you will likely require expensive repairs. In the worst-case scenario, you will need to replace this vital part of your air conditioning system.
If you fail to maintain your air conditioner, it will only last five to 10 years. On the other hand, a well-maintained air conditioner will last 15 to 20 years. For example, in a 20-year period, you could replace your air conditioner four times without regular maintenance. With regular maintenance, you would only need to replace your air conditioner once or twice.
Regular maintenance also prevents small issues from becoming large problems. An air conditioner has several mechanical and electrical parts that do not last forever. During a maintenance inspection, a technician can identify worn or broken parts. This allows you to have them fixed before it affects more expensive parts or leads to system failure. Regular maintenance is the reason that your air conditioning system can last as long as possible.
Insulate the Ductwork
The ductwork distributes cool air throughout your home. If your ducts allow cool air to escape, they could be the reason that your air conditioner does not work efficiently. Rather than send all of the cool air to your rooms, it escapes into the attic, the crawl space, the garage, or the basement where you do not need it to be. This is highly inefficient, and it needlessly increases your energy bills.
You can save yourself money each month by insulating and sealing your air ducts. If you do not insulate, you could lose between 25% and 40% of the cool air that your air conditioner produces. Insulated air ducts keep this cold air from escaping into the unused portions of your home. Then, the air conditioner can deliver cool air to your rooms, and the air conditioner does not have to increase its workload. This lowers energy consumption and also lowers your energy bills in the process.
Seal the Air Leaks
Air leaks through cracks and other openings while your air conditioner works to cool your home. When this occurs, the air conditioner must work harder to do its job. The most common areas where air leaks occur are the doors and the windows, but your attic also has them. Failing to seal these areas increases your energy bills because the air conditioner must work longer and harder to compensate for the loss of cooled air. Your air conditioning system will run more efficiently after you seal these leaks.
Cover the Windows
Using blinds or curtains on windows that do not have them can make a big impact. Blinds and curtains block some of the heat from the sun. They also prevent heat from moving from the outside to the inside of your home. If your windows face the sun, make sure that the blinds or the curtains are closed at the hottest times of the day. This will help increase the efficiency of your air conditioner.
Keep the Vents Open
You should not close the vents even if you are not using a room. When you close them, air pressure builds up, and this is counterproductive to keeping good air flow throughout the house. Closing these vents causes your air conditioner to be less efficient. The size of your air conditioner is the exact size it must be to cool your entire home. If you were to close vents, the air conditioner could lose its balance, and this would cause your air conditioner to work inefficiently. It will work longer to cool your home and cause the pressure to build inside your air ducts. Closing the vents may also lead to the air conditioning system becoming damaged and working inefficiently. The best thing is to keep the vents and the doors open at all times.
Change the Air Filters
Dirty air filters do not allow air to flow freely through the air ducts, which strains your air conditioner. When the air conditioner has to work harder to push the air through dirty or clogged air filters, it uses more energy. When this occurs, your electric bills increase. In addition to improving your air conditioner’s efficiency, changing your air filters also improves the air quality in your home. That’s because dirty air filters spread dirt and other impurities throughout the home.
Clean the Outdoor Unit
The outside unit is subject to the elements, so it becomes dirty easily, leading it to operate inefficiently. Leaves, branches, and dirt can block the unit and prevent it from doing its job. At the same time, you’ll want to provide shade to the condenser if possible. This keeps your air conditioning unit from working harder and increasing your energy bills.
Don’t Use Heat-Producing Appliances
Appliances that produce heat cause it to travel throughout your home. With heat-producing appliances, your air conditioner must work harder in order to compensate for the heat that the appliances add. Therefore, if it is very hot outside, pledge not to use heat-generating appliances inside. This reduces the amount of energy your air conditioner uses and allows it to work efficiently.
Keep the Thermostat Far from Heat-Producing Appliances
The location of the thermostat affects your air conditioner’s efficiency. For example, if the thermostat is close to a heat-producing appliance, it may read your home’s temperature inaccurately. This occurs when the thermostat is in direct sunlight, near a coffee maker or a lamp for example. The result will be that the thermostat will cool the area more than it needs to do so. This is because heat-generating appliances surround it and cause the air conditioner to think the area needs additional cooling. Because of all this heat, the air conditioner works harder to cool your home. This increases the amount of wear and tear on the system and increases your energy bills. To keep your air conditioner from working harder than it needs to, make sure that your thermostat is not near these producers of heat.
If you need to have service done for your indoor air quality, ductwork, or condensers, A/C Doctors can provide that for you. We also offer heating services in Arizona. Give us a call today for exemplary service.
