These 3 Air Conditioning Mistakes Are Raising Your Bills

When you consider just how hot our summers can get here in Phoenix, it makes sense that you want a fully functioning, and efficiently operating the air conditioner. This starts with having your cooling system installed by a professional, and ensuring it is properly matched and sized for your specific home. Without this, there’s no way to be sure that your air conditioner will run as effectively as it should all summer long.

But this is just the beginning. Properly caring for your air conditioner is another important part of efficiency, keeping your bills down at a reasonable level and preventing the biggest and costliest of air conditioning repairs in Phoenix. This means avoiding the following 3 air conditioning mistakes.

1. Skipping Pre-Season Maintenance

Preventive maintenance gives our technicians the chance to thoroughly inspect your air conditioning system. During this inspection, we’ll make any adjustments necessary, clean the system inside and out, and alert you to any repair needs that exist. Maintenance not only helps improve the efficiency of your air conditioner, but it also helps the system last longer.

If you are alerted to repair needs during your system tune-up, do be sure to get them on your schedule right away. You may be surprised by how big a seemingly minor problem can grow if neglected for too long. That being said, another related mistake is suspecting repair needs but ignoring them. For instance, you might hear a clanging noise coming from your AC. This could very well be a loose component and will have a domino effect on your system.

2. Leaving a Dirty Air Filter in

Many homeowners have this mistaken assumption that the air filter that comes standard with their air conditioner and/or heating system is there to protect the indoor air quality of their home. But it’s actually there to protect the inside components of the HVAC system from dirt and debris.

If the air filter gets too dirty/clogged, then it impacts airflow. And when airflow is affected, your air conditioner has to work much harder than it should have to in order to do its job. This causes increased wear and tear on the system and doesn’t allow it to operate efficiently.

3. Setting the Thermostat Too Low

We get it. On a hot day, you’re tempted to blast your air conditioner as low as the thermostat will go. But the fact is, most people are comfortable at 78°F. And if you think that leaving your air conditioner off the majority of the day and just blasting it for an hour or so when you get home is helpful, it isn’t.

Your air conditioner uses the most energy cycling on and off and uses, even more, the lower the temperature is. Try using a programmable thermostat or smart thermostat to have your AC run all day at a reasonable temperature. And keep the temperature up a little higher at night when you’re sleeping as well, so your air conditioner can work more efficiently.

Will my new AC unit from AccuTemp save me money?

Often when we quote a new ac unit for a customer, they want to know if their electricity bill is going to decrease. The energy efficiency of new ac units keeps getting better and better.

It’s most likely that a new piece of equipment installed is going to be more efficient than what you have, particularly if your equipment is 10 years old, the difference is substantial. How much money does that relate to? That is really an individual thing. You can expect some savings in a home in which the majority of their power usage is their air conditioning or heating unit.

They will experience greater savings than in a home that has a lot of other appliances. You will expect a decrease and hopefully, the power company doesn’t offset it by a rate increase.

Call AccuTemp today to schedule an appointment!