If you have been having problems with your air conditioner, then you might be thinking about getting an upgrade. However, that isn't necessarily the best solution. To help you figure out how to increase your HVAC efficiency, here are some tips on reducing your air conditioning expenditures:
Track Efficiency Over the Years
If you have a very old air conditioner, then you might not have necessarily noticed any changes in efficiency, particularly if the changes have been very gradual. However, you could actually check the data to see how the efficiency has dropped over the years.
In order to do this, you will need to compare your utility bills during hot summer months over the years against the price of electricity at those times. This can be difficult, but it could show a very startling trend of diminished efficiency. You might not have noticed the drop, but you could be spending a lot more money than necessary on cooling.
Older Units Can Cost You in More Ways Than One
Older units can also require a lot more maintenance on your part, which means that you will need to spend valuable time on repairs. When considering the pure dollar cost alone, an upgrade might not seem worth it, but when you factor in the countless hours that you have spent tinkering on your AC, then an upgrade might seem extraordinarily appealing.
A Central Unit Might Not Be Best For You
You might think that a central air conditioner is necessary, but that isn't always true. If you only want to cool a single room and have a window available, then a window-based air conditioner could be perfectly viable. Beyond that, you could think about getting a heat pump to combine your heating and air conditioning into a single unit.
Are You Properly Maintaining Your Air Conditioner?
Your problems might also simply come down to a matter of maintenance. If you are not properly cleaning out your AC every once in a while, then you shouldn't be surprised to notice a dip in efficiency.
For starters, you will want to clean out the filters as frequently as the manufacturer recommends. You also should try to remove any debris inside your air conditioner and clean the area around your AC to prevent a breeze from blowing that debris into your AC. This might seem like a lot of work, but a couple minutes of sweeping every day could save you hours of opening up your AC and cleaning out leaves and dirt every month.
For more information, visit Thurlow's Heating & Air Conditioning Inc.
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