Ways To Extend The Life Of Your Air Conditioning System And Conserve Energy
Air conditioners are almost as expensive to operate in summer as furnaces are in winter. There is, however, one slight advantage to operating air conditioners. You can make them last longer and run more efficiently than furnaces. Here is how to extend the life of your air conditioner and conserve energy.
Turn the Air Conditioner Off During the Day
This may seem quite mad, but actually, it is quite brilliant. When you keep windows closed and curtains drawn, you are not letting in the hot sun and/or humid air. The cool air you presently have in your home stays cool most of the day. It is only late in the afternoon do you start to feel the heat in the house. Ergo, during the hottest parts of the day, when the A/C has to run the hardest because outdoor temperatures are making it run harder, your system is off and your house is still cool.
Run the A/C All Night
Next, you should have the air conditioning running full blast all night long. The nights are typically cooler than the days, with a few exceptions. When the air conditioning is running full blast at night, it gets quite chilly in your home, and that is totally fine. With it as cold as it is when you wake up in the morning, you will welcome turning things off for a few hours. The house will stay quite comfortable most of the day, with curtains drawn and windows shut, while all of that cold air from overnight slowly dissipates throughout the day. Additionally, because you are running the A/C at a time of day when it does not have to run so hard, you are conserving a lot of electricity and a lot of energy.
Avoid Running the Air Conditioning When You Do Not Have To
A lot of people think that they should keep their air conditioning running nonstop, even when the temperatures and humidity outside are quite comfortable. That is the shortest route to the deadest A/C system! On days when the temperatures are in the low to mid-seventies, and there is almost zero humidity, turn the A/C off. You will save the appliance's life, and you will conserve energy. If the next day or two is going to be really hot, or really humid, turn the A/C back on at night and let it run full blast. Then turn it off in the morning and keep it off until dinner time. Then the only AC services your system will ever need is semi-annual maintenance.