Your HVAC unit could be considered the heart and soul of your home. As the furnace or air conditioner pump out comfortable air, the ducts carry it to where you are living in the home. To ensure that it works for you as you wish it to, check out the tips below.
If your HVAC system is acting up, take a tour of the house prior to calling a professional. Make a list of the temperatures in each room and whether they are hot or cold. This will help your contractor quickly determine where the issue lies and how to get it fixed quickly and easily.
Keeping the outside condenser clean of debris and leaves will improve the system’s efficiency. Except when cleaning the outside, turn the unit off when performing any type of maintenance. Keep the exterior of the condenser unit free of debris on using dimplex electric fireplace facility.
In order to avoid having any problems with your air conditioning unit, keep all vegetation at least two feet away from the outdoor unit. The unit should be clear of any vegetation on all sides and above. When you mow the lawn, aim the grass clippings away from the a/c unit. This will prevent grass getting inside the a/c and making it malfunction.
When you are cutting the grass, be sure not to cover your outdoor units with clippings. Shoot the grass away from the unit. This also applies to blowing leaves or moving debris. Just be careful with that exterior HVAC unit.
If you want to seriously extend the life of your HVAC system, as well as cut down your overall power bill, install ceiling fans in commonly used warm season rooms. Energy-star certified ceiling fans can sometimes cut your HVAC use in half. However, you won’t physically notice a difference in temperature.
If at all possible, install double-paned windows in your home instead of those with a single pane. To keep your home cool, investing in double pane windows is a must. Your home will also stay warmer in the winter.
Don’t let your home get way too hot to where it’s dangerous. Even the best air conditioners can only realistically cool your home approximately 20 degrees Farenheit. If your home gets above 100 degrees Fahrenheit, you’ll only cool down to still above 80. This won’t be a healthy environment to live in.
Before you invest in any HVAC contractor, make sure you spend a good deal of time researching their reputations and credentials. It can be helpful to check out the online reviews of previous customers and it is always wise to check their reputation as listed on a Better Business Bureau website. This can help you make the right choice.
If you have a window air conditioner, be sure to check and see if it has an Energy Saver button. If so, use it! This turns off the fan when the unit isn’t actually cooling the air, which can save you as much as 30 kwh over the period of a month!
Keep your condensers free of nearby obstructions. Keep plants, fencing, even bushes back and away from the unit. Two feet is a good minimum distance it should have from anything, including walls, but the more space you give it to breathe, the better it will work and the less likely it will be to fail.
Consider an annual service agreement for technicians to regularly inspect your AC unit. Schedule brief inspections for the winter to make sure nothing is obviously wrong. The most important time for an inspection and service is just before it starts getting warm. You don’t want to discover an AC breakdown when you need it working most.
Try to stay away from HVAC contractors that ask for upfront payments before they are willing to get started on the work they were hired to do. In many cases, this means that they are more concerned about getting paid than they are about making sure the job is done well.
Before having someone install a new HVAC system or maintain or repair yours, make sure they are insured. Having someone who is insured work on your system will assure that if anything happens while they are working at your home, they are financially covered and you will not be responsible.
To reduce the air conditioning’s energy cost, close drapes, blinds and shades that cover windows which face the sun. Also, white shades will reflect the heat away from the house, keeping it cooler and saving you money. It is also recommended that you close the vents in rooms that are not used often. This will ensure that you are not spending money cooling less-used rooms.
Every month clean out the leaves and debris that may have settled into your outdoor HVAC unit. You’ll be surprised at how much gets caught in your unit. Over time these leaves can build up and create issues for your system. Just this little clean up can save you a lot of money in maintenance bills.
To block out the sun on hot summer days, allowing your air conditioner to run less frequently, invest in heat blocking drapes. These textiles come in beautiful patterns and colors today, looking just like their designer counterparts. They will keep the heat out so that your home stays cooler without costing you an arm and a leg on utility bills.
If your HVAC unit is not operating as efficiently as it once was, check the evaporator coil in it? There may be some debris blocking it which is causing the issue. You can use a soft brush to clean it – like the one you find as an attachment for handheld vacuum cleaners.
These tips will help you to keep your HVAC system in great shape for the whole time you live in your home. Print this off and revisit it once a year so that you know what you need to do. The more effort you put into your home, the more benefit you will gain from it.