Remodeling a Home

Air conditioning is a common system found in many homes, and it is a wonderful thing to have, because it offers an easy way to cool your house. Unfortunately, your AC system might not be efficient, which means you may be spending more money than you should be to cool your house. With the right steps, you might be able to increase the efficiency of your AC system, which will help you save money and stay cool. Here are some tips to help you improve the efficiency of your central AC system.

Keep The Thermostat Up

One of the biggest reasons you may be spending too much on cooling your house might be due to the setting you use on your thermostat. Yes, you will want to stay cool in your house, but you might be able to save a lot of money and feel comfortable in your home if you increase the temperature by just one or two degrees. This could help you save 10% to 15% on your energy bills, and you might not notice a big difference with the way you feel.

Use Fans

Placing some floor fans in your home and using the ceiling fans you have could also make a big difference with your energy bills in the summer. With a central AC system, around 25% of your energy bills will be for the cost of running your AC system. The amount of energy a fan uses compared to the amount of energy a central AC system uses is incredibly different. If you use a fan every day in your home, it will cost around $3.50 per month to use it. If you use your central AC system, the cost may be around $150.

While one fan may not make a difference in the temperature in your home, adding several fans could. You could place a floor fan in the main rooms you spend time in. This would circulate the air in the rooms, and it could help you feel cooler.

You could also use the ceiling fans in the rooms you have them in. When doing this, make sure the fans are set for the summer setting. Most fans have two settings, and the summer setting is designed to blow air down. This setting usually requires the fan blades to move counter clockwise, and you can change the setting by moving the switch on the fan itself.

Make Sure Your AC Condenser Is In The Shade

Your AC condenser is the part of the system you will find outside your home. This part serves an important role, which is to force heat out of the home. If the condenser is located in a sunny area, it may be working harder than it needs to, which could cause some inefficiency with your system. If you can find ways to shade the unit, you might see a small increase in efficiency.

If you do this, you will need to make sure you shade the system without stopping airflow from it. A good way to do this is to plant tall trees close enough to the system to shade it, but far enough away to prevent airflow issues.

Keep Your Filter Clean

Finally, keeping your AC system filter clean is also a vital step in keeping your efficiency up with the system. A dirty filter causes a system to work harder than it should be, and this is a leading cause of higher energy bills. You may want to check your filter each month and replace it whenever it looks dirty.

There are many other steps you can take to increase the efficiency of your system, and you can learn more about this by contacting an air conditioning contractor in your area.