There is a lot of free advice on the Internet about the best thing you can do to prolong your air conditioning unit’s life. However, not all of them are truly helpful or completely factual. In fact, some of them are just perpetuating old myths on how to take good care of your air conditioning unit. Still, reputable air conditioning repair service firms are more than happy to set the record straight and give practical and honest advice on how to maximize both the efficiency and life expectancy of your air conditioning unit.
These are common misconceptions you probably believe and practice that often end up causing your AC unit to need expensive air conditioning repair.
Turning off your air conditioning unit when you’re not home Will save you energy
Turning your AC unit off when you leave and then turning it back on as soon as you get home will not cut down on your utility bills. All it does is increase the humidity inside your home making the air warmer and stickier than it should be. You have to remember, an air conditioning unit’s function is not just to lower the temperature inside your house, but to lower the air humidity as well.
According to various government agencies, the best strategy to employ is to use an adjustable thermostat to keep your AC’s temperature at least 78ºF when you are at home, then set it a little higher as you leave. You can set it back again to the original temperature when you get home, or you have a smart thermostat, you could even lower the temperature before you get home so it will already be comfortable when you walk in.
Turning off your air conditioner will not only be useless in reducing your energy consumption, but it can also lead to the next myth.
Turning the AC temperature way down to cool the house faster
If you turn off your air conditioning unit, by the time you get home, the house will be a lot warmer than desired. Your solution? Set the temperature to the lowest as you try to get all the warm air out. However, as Energy Star points out, all this does is unnecessarily waste electricity – the rate at which your air conditioning unit can cool your house will not be affected by the sudden lowering of the thermostat.
Unless your unit is one of those expensive AC units with adaptive, smart, or intelligent recovery features, the set point of your thermostat should remain the same regardless of the initial temperature you dialed up.
You can cool your house faster if the AC unit is bigger
Bigger is not always better, specifically if you are thinking of installing an air conditioning unit in your home. Unless you want to end up feeling cold or clammy (both of which are extremely uncomfortable) every day, it is still best to get the proper AC unit size for your house.
Furthermore, you have to look for plausible reasons why a reasonably sized AC unit cannot do its work properly. It might be that your insulation is not up to par, you have too many opened windows and doors, the unit filter is not clean or it might be due for replacement, or the AC unit’s refrigerant is leaking. If any of these is the case, then a bigger unit might not be a big help, after all.
Turning on ceiling fans can keep the room cool
This is a half-truth, at best. While keeping ceiling fans on while your air conditioning unit is also on can help circulate the cool air better, it does not contribute or add to the level of coolness of your home.
In short, fans can make you feel cool (by moving the air on your skin), but they cannot cool a room. Furthermore, not all fans are friends of your AC unit. Turning on the wrong fans, such as the exhaust, will defeat the purpose of turning the air conditioner on and will cause your unit to overwork to try to reach the ideal temperature.
Believing any or all of these myths about your air conditioning unit will definitely just wear it out and eventually lead to an early trip to an air conditioner repair shop or calling for AC repair by a professional. By knowing the facts from the above cooling myths, you can reduce your energy bills and prolong the life of your AC unit.
Contact Swift Services Heating, Cooling & Electrical in Myrtle Beach, SC, or A+ Heating & Cooling - Electrical in Ocean Isle Beach, NC today for air conditioning system repair.