With Summer At Its Peak, Use These Operational Tips To Maximize Your Air-Conditioning System

While San Diego weather is considered ideal by many people (no argument here!), you still need to run your air conditioner a good deal of the time. It’s important to make sure that it’s running at peak efficiency in order to save money. These simple operating tips can help extend the life of your air conditioning unit.

• Set your thermostat at around 78 degrees. Just adjusting your indoor temperature a couple of degrees higher can help you realize significant savings. For even more efficiency, install a programmable thermostat and program it to cool the house when when you’re home and raise the temps when you’re going to be away for several hours.
• Use fans. Ceiling fans move the air around and make us feel cooler, even if the air temperature isn’t cooler. That helps keep it comfortable with a higher setting on your thermostat. Regular box or table fans can also help if you don’t have ceiling fans.
• Change the filters. During high seasonal use, inspect and change the filters on your air conditioning unit monthly. This helps keep your unit clean, and will help with maintenance costs and in extending the life of heating and cooling system.
• Check the outside unit. Your outside unit depends on good airflow to effectively rid your home of the warm air — this is where it dumps it out. Vegetation, weeds and leaves can quickly accumulate and greatly reduce airflow. Checking it at the beginning of the season is necessary, but also be attentive to this area throughout the season to ensure maximum efficiency. You should aim a minimum of two feet of clearance on all sides and approximately five feet above.
• Have a precision tune-up and safety check on your AC annually to keep your system running efficiently and safely all year long. A properly performed precision tuneup will pay for itself through energy savings and at the same time extend the life of your HVAC Equipment.

For more tips and advice on how to beat the California heat and extend the life of your air conditioning unit, contact the professionals at ASI Hastings Heating and Air Conditioning. We’ll help you stay cool