Using Your Central Air Conditioning Correctly
Running your central air conditioner in the summertime can cost you a lot of money on your electric bill if you aren't careful. However, you can save yourself quite a bit of money by putting some effort into helping the air along. The more you do to cut out on leaks, the less expensive your cooling bills will be. You may have some questions regarding how you can achieve this, and reading the information provided here will help you out with the answers you need.
Why does your air conditioner costs so much to run?
Your air conditioner doesn't have to cost you a lot of money to run, but it can if you aren't careful. To cool your home with your central air conditioning system, you will first set the thermostat to the desired temperature. Then, your system will work to get the temperature in your home to that temperature. The more your system needs to work, the more electricity it will use and the more wear and tear that gets put on the system which can lead to premature repairs.
How can you make it easier on your system to cool your home?
Anything you do to keep the cool air from escaping and prevent hot air from coming inside will help your system to work less to maintain the requested temperature. Tint your windows to add another level of insulation and to keep the heat of the sun from warming up the house. In a real pinch, you can add aluminum foil to your windows to do the same thing that window tint would do. However, this doesn't look great from the outside, so you may want to use it as a temporary fix only.
How can you help the cool air spread efficiently through the house?
If the registers for your air conditioner happen to be on the floor, then make sure you don't have furniture or other items set on them or even in front of them. This way, the cool air can go through the room unobstructed. If you have ceiling fans, make sure you use them to help circulate the cool air throughout the house better.
What maintenance needs to be done to a central air conditioning system?
Besides keeping the air filter clean, there are a couple other things to do to make sure your system is being kept in prime condition. You want to have it serviced by an air conditioning repair professional before you start using it each year. You also want to check the compressor and make sure the area around it is kept clean. If you can, you may want to add a source of shade over the compressor as well. These things will help keep the system healthier for longer.