Tips for Efficient HVAC Operation
We know saving money is important to our customers, so we have compiled a few tips for efficient HVAC operation to help keep your heating and cooling costs down.
Make sure your air conditioner stays on throughout the entire day.
Do you often make the assumption that by turning your AC system off when you leave the house during the day, you are going to ultimately save money? Well, that’s not really the case. In fact, it can be argued that the reverse is true. Everything in your home heats up in situations like this, and that includes your carpet and walls, so when you turn the air conditioner back on, it has to work that much harder to get you back up to that level of comfort you’re used to, because all that heat that has been built up has to be taken out.
How about a better alternative? Just let your home get warmer than it might usually be when you leave the house. Put the thermostat on 85 degrees. But by all means, leave the AC on, so that at least the air is literally being “conditioned.” That’s a very important thing to remember. Want to know something else? Starting and stopping your AC system is not the healthiest thing for your equipment either, in terms of contributing to the efficiency that the system is running at.
Try not to close off vents or doors, thus blocking air flow.
Ideally, your air conditioning system, when properly installed, will distribute air evenly throughout your home. But if you close doors and vents, you stand to lose a lot of efficiency, because the flow of air has been disrupted. You’re also going to allow pressure to build up within the ducts, and that ultimately has the effect of causing the system to run less efficiently. The rule of thumb is not to close your vents to more than 10% of all the space that needs to be cooled in your house.
Closing doors can be a tricky situation. If you have left enough room under the door for air to get out and circulate, that is one thing. But if you don’t, or if you have shaggy carpet that blocks the bottom of the door you are going to cause problems with air flow.
Check those filters and change when necessary.
This one is easy, yet it is an important factor in keeping your HVAC system running right.
Dirty filters disrupt the system, and it can make the inside of the air handler dirty. This has the residual effect of decreasing efficiency a great deal. If you asked around, you’d be surprised that often, it is a clogged filter that causes damage to the HVAC system.
Perform regular maintenance – it’s a must!
By all means, maintain your system the right way. It’s much more than replacing the filters on a regular basis. If you want to execute a pre-emptive move to keep yourself from running into larger problems, get a technician from Bartlett Heating & Cooling to come out in both the Spring and Fall to take a look at your system, and make sure that steps are taken to keep it running right. Check out our Preferred Maintenance Agreement Page to get more information about these tuneups from Bartlett Heating & Cooling!
If you have any questions not answered here, give us a call!!
