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From the minute the first warm front rolls in through the intense heat in the heart of summer, staying cool and comfortable in your home is a priority.
Picture this.
After a long, hot day at your child’s summer league sports tournament or soaking up the sun on the lake with friends, you’re ready to come home and bask in the cool, blasting air conditioning.
But once you get home, you find that something has gone wrong. Your HVAC system isn’t cooling your home the way it used to. This is the last thing you want to deal with on any hot summer day.
You, of course, wonder what’s causing this issue, but you also wonder…could this have been prevented?
As a San Antonio HVAC specialist since 1979, Wright AC Services understands the struggle of dealing with Texas heat and the importance your AC plays in keeping you comfortable and healthy during the summer.
To avoid problems with the functionality of your HVAC system and maintain a comfortable home, preventative maintenance and care are crucial (especially in the summer).
You want to know some of the best tips and tricks from a trusted expert on maintaining your HVAC system and avoiding potential issues, and we’re here to help.
This article will outline seven tips to improve the efficiency of your HVAC system, prevent burnout from your air conditioning, and maintain the longevity of your system.
After reading, you’ll have the right knowledge in place to care for your HVAC unit and keep you and your family cool and comfy all summer long.
7 Tips To Keep Your AC Running This Summer
Taking care of and maintaining your HVAC system is like maintaining your health. We take vitamins, eat our vegetables, and exercise to maintain and improve our health and longevity.
Why don’t we treat our home appliances the same? Well, we should be.
Let’s look at the seven best ways to maintain your HVAC system from our expert licensed technicians from Wright AC Services.
1. Replace Air Vent Filters
Inspecting and replacing air vent filters about every two to three months is one of the easiest ways to improve the efficiency of your air conditioning this summer.
Air filters in receiver vents function to filter out dust, dirt, or other particles floating in the air and prevent them from recirculating throughout your home when your system is running.
If these filters are covered in excess dust and debris, your system has to work much harder to circulate, filter, and cool your air. The harder your system has to work, the more your system is prone to damage.
Replacing air filters regularly will also improve your home’s indoor air quality (IAQ) by reducing the amount of dust and allergens in your home.
2. Don’t Overwork Your AC
One of the best HVAC tips we want to educate homeowners on is the importance of not overworking your AC, especially during the summer.
Even if it is over 100 degrees outside, the general rule is that your HVAC system typically cannot cool your home more than 20-30 degrees lower than the outside temperature.
This means if it is 95 degrees outside, your system probably will never cool your home to 63 degrees. (However, every system is different, so yours may or may not have the capacity for intense cooling.)
If you try to cool your home to excess when it is extremely hot outside, you can damage your system and cause it to fail, leaving you with no cool air at all. Try to keep your home only 20 degrees cooler than the outside temperature to avoid failure and stay comfortable.
3. Wash Outdoor AC Unit And Coils
An easy maintenance task to keep your HVAC system in tip-top shape is to wash the exterior unit, coils, and fins.
You can simply wash the exterior unit by just using a water hose and rinsing both the outside and inside of the unit. Remove any large pieces of debris, such as leaves or sticks, as well.
If you have excess buildup on your fins and coils, you can purchase a fin cleaning brush, similar to a bristle brush used to clean dishes. Although, an old dishwashing brush can do the trick.
Washing your exterior unit will remove dirt, pollen, leaves, and other material that has accumulated on your unit and will help the unit breathe better and cool your home faster.
4. Perform A Drain Cleanout If Needed
The drain lines on your HVAC unit function to remove any excess condensation that accumulates in your unit. When these lines are clogged, this causes water to build up and can damage your unit and surrounding areas.
A drain line cleanout is simple. You can either purchase a drain line and pan cleaner or create your own with water and vinegar. Running this solution through the drain line will loosen and help disintegrate anything that may be clogging your drain lines.
When drain lines are clogged and excess water forms in and around your unit, it can cause your unit to slowly fail or short circuit if not addressed.
5. Check Ducts For Damage
While inspecting your drain lines, checking your ducts and vents for potential damage is also a preventative tactic to ensure your system is working as efficiently as possible.
The ducts of your unit function to transfer the air back and forth from your home to your unit and back. If leaks are present in your ducts, then cool air escapes before reaching areas of your home, meaning it will take longer to cool your home and force your unit to work harder.
The U.S. Department of Energy states that the typical home loses anywhere from 25% to 40% of the energy from your HVAC unit.
Sealing your ducts with either an exterior sealant or an interior sealant, like Aeroseal, helps to seal any leaks and prevent more leaks from appearing.
Want to learn more about Aeroseal and how much it can save you on your energy bills? Check out this article!
6. Opt For Other Cooling Options When Possible
One tip that isn’t really an HVAC maintenance tip but more an energy-saving tip is trying to use cooling options other than your AC if and when possible.
Now, what do we mean by this? We get it. Sometimes running your AC is the only way to cool your home effectively and feel comfortable.
Turning on ceiling fans, oscillating fans, or even using a hand fan to better cool yourself during extremely hot periods of the day helps reduce the burden on your HVAC unit and helps it not to be overworked and potentially shut off.
The less you can use your AC during the summer, the better it will function and the longer it will last.
7. Schedule A Tune-Up With A Reputable Company
Our final tip for ensuring your HVAC unit lasts through the summer is to schedule a tune-up with a professional HVAC company to ensure there are no hidden problems with your unit that will cause costly damage during the summer.
A routine tune-up will allow a professional, licensed technician to inspect your interior and exterior HVAC units, identify any potential problems, and provide you with a clean bill of health for the summer.
Along with a tune-up, you can also have your exterior unit cleaned and drain lines flushed, taking a few maintenance tasks off your plate.
Ensuring Your AC Is Ready For Summer With These 7 Tips
Now that you know seven easy and effective tips to keep your HVAC system running this summer, you’re equipped to take care of your home and prevent potential problems this season.
With any home appliance, regular monitoring and maintenance is the best way to keep your systems running efficiently and allows you to catch any problem areas before it’s too late.
Because summer can be a busy and stressful time of year, the last thing you want to worry about is not feeling comfortable in your home. Remember these seven tips to keep your HVAC system up-to-date:
- Replace air vent filters every two to three months
- Don’t overwork your AC
- Wash outdoor coils and fins
- Perform a drain cleanout if needed
- Check your ducts for leak-inducing damage
- Opt for other cooling options, like fans
- Schedule a tune-up with a professional for the best preventative maintenance
Regularly checking in on your HVAC system, identifying things that don’t sound or look right, and making the necessary repairs before they get worse will ensure your unit will last and keep you comfortable all year long.
If you notice something strange with your unit or want a tune-up before it gets too hot, finding a professional and trustworthy HVAC company can be difficult.
Since Wright AC Services has been around since 1979, we’ve seen all types of HVAC companies, from faulty, unlicensed technicians to fake companies that only come around during the summer.
We want you to be equipped with the knowledge to identify a high-quality HVAC company, no matter the services you need.
Check out this article that outlines 12 qualities to look for in a trustworthy HVAC company, including the business’s longevity, credibility and licenses, and warranty. Then, you’ll know not only what qualifies a trusting business but also some red flags to look out for.
