Having an air conditioning maintenance checklist is an important task that many homeowners face. Since nearly half of your home’s energy bills go towards home heating and cooling, it is very important know tips on A/C maintence to ensure that it runs at its peak performance and saves you money.
Air Conditioning Maintenance Checklist
1. Check Your Air Filters
One of the easiest ways to save hundreds of dollars is with regular checks and cleaning of your home air conditioning system’s filters. Even more so during heavy use periods like winter and summer. At the very least you should check your filters every 3 to 4 months. Dirty filters will clog air flow in turn making your system work harder to circulate the air around your home. A clean filter will remove more dust and dirt particles that can lead to system break downs and expensive repairs. How to maintain your air conditioning system can be as easy as changing the filters every so often.
2. Give It A Tune Up
Just like your car, your air conditioning system can benefit from yearly tune-ups. Doing this simple procedure yearly can extend the life of you heating and cooling system by years. This should be done by a skilled professional that know what they are doing to avoid damage to your system.
3. Install A New Thermostat
One of the tougher questions is how to maintain your air conditioning system if you are always away from home. Installing a new thermostat can help you save on your home cooling bills. Different thermostats are suited for different types of home and living situations.
A programmable thermostat is perfect for homeowners that are always on the go. Setting the thermostat to predetermined temperature could save you on average $180 per year. Since your cooling system will not drop below a certain point, there is extra energy saved by not wasting it on cooling an empty house.
4. Seal Your Cooling Ducts
Ducts that leak air can cause you cooling system to run harder than it should. This will cost you a lot of money in the long run. Sealing you cooling ducts will reduce the amount of air the escapes through the small holes between the joints in your duct system.
Sealants To Seal Your Ducts
There are several different types of sealants that can be used to seal your ducts. There is duct sealant, which is a special type of paste that can be used to fill the small holes around the joints. Another type is metal-backed foil tape; just like it sounds it is tape with a special metal backing that can be used to seal joints together. After you seal your duct work it is a good idea to place insulation around the ducts to further reduce the amount of cooling lost. It is smart to start with the ducts in large open spaces like attics, crawlspaces, or in garages and basements. These place are where you are most likely to have air escape from your system.
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4. Energy Star Systems
If your current system is totally ineffective it may be time to buy a new system. If you find yourself in this position it is best to go with Energy Star qualified equipment. Energy Star products have been tested and proven to save you large amounts of money on home heating bills. Some systems can even save you nearly $200 per month. Before you go out and buy a new system, have the old one checked by a professional HVAC repairman. Also check and make sure that there are not leaking air ducts or vents in your system.
5. The Right Size For Your Home
One of the best ways to save on your cooling bill is to make sure you have the right size cooling system installed in your home. If the system is too small it will have to work extra just to keep your home and a normal temperature. If your system is too large, extra energy will be spent that is not necessary to cool your home. It is very important to read the area that a certain system is designed to cool; this will give you insight into how large a system you may need. The cooling area of you system should never be larger than the area of your home.
Related Topics
Air Conditioning Contractors
Home Air Conditioning Systems
Air Conditioning Maintenance Checklist
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