You can avoid contributing to environmental pollution by taking a few steps to maintain your air-conditioner's health. At the same time you will be taking a step towards going 'green' this summer.
A typical maintenance check-up should be done by a professional and include the following: - Checking your programmable thermostat settings to ensure the cooling and heating system keeps you comfortable when you are home and saves energy while you are away. If you don't have a programmable thermostat, look into purchasing one. Keeping the temperature of your home in a consistent range will save you money.
- Tightening all electrical connections and measuring voltage and current on motors. Faulty electrical connections can cause unsafe operation of your system and reduce the life of major components.
- Lubricating all moving parts. Parts that lack lubrication cause friction in motors and increases the amount of electricity you use.
- Inspecting the condensate drain in your central air conditioner or heat pump (when in cooling mode). A plugged drain can cause water damage in the house and affect indoor humidity levels.
- Checking controls of the system to ensure proper and safeoperation.
- Checking the starting cycle of the equipment to assure the system starts, operates, and shuts off properly.
- Cleaning evaporator and condenser air conditioning coils. Dirty coils reduce the system's ability to cool your home and cause the system to run longer, increasing energy costs and reducing the life of the equipment.
- Checking your central air conditioner's refrigerant level and adjust if necessary. Too much or too little refrigerant will make your system less efficient increasing energy costs and reducing the life of the equipment.
- Cleaning and adjusting blower components to provide proper system airflow for greater comfort levels. Airflow problems can reduce your system's efficiency by up to 15 percent.
Actions you can do yourself:
Inspect, clean, or change air filters once a month in your central air conditioner, furnace, and/or heat pump. Your specialist can show you how to do this. A dirty filter can increase energy costs and damage your equipment, leading to early failure.
Do this before summer arrives lest you be among a NUMBER of people in the same situation. Plan AHEAD!
How to keep costs low. - By having proper insulation and closing doors and windows when the air conditioner is in use, then you can put the machine on a much lower power setting and still have the same cooling/heating results while using less energy.
- There are several health advantages when you have a properly maintained air-conditioner
- Having a constant temperature in the home is also good for the health of babies, the elderly and asthma or allergy sufferers.
- An air conditioner will filter the air you are breathing, you your home will be pollutant free, especially if you install high-density filters.
If you are really concerned about the effect of your air conditioning use, then investing in a newer, greener model of air-conditioner will go a long way to cut down it's energy use.
We also carry Energy StarŪ rated heating and cooling systems that can help you save up to 30% on energy costs. Retrofitting your HVAC system with Energy Star equipment may be the right option for you - a good way to reduce pollution, improve reliability, and save money, while benefiting the environment. On the whole, retrofitting an old inefficient HVAC system can more than pay for itself. |
