During the summer months, you will have an abundant amount of sunshine and warm temperatures. While the summer months are a great time to explore the outdoors, the warm temperatures during this time of year can make your home uncomfortable. Encountering AC repair issues during the summer months can be extremely frustrating.
Without a constant supply of cool air, the inside of your home will start to feel like an oven. Properly caring for your HVAC unit can help you keep this system running efficiently. Here are some residential HVAC blunders you need to avoid this summer.
Avoid Opening Your Doors and Windows When Your Unit Is Running
Learning how your HVAC unit works is the first step in keeping it damage-free. The average residential HVAC unit is designed to pull in hot air from outside during the summer and cool it. This warm air is pushed through a refrigerant that is designed to remove the heat from it. Once the air is properly cooled, it will be dispersed throughout your home via ductwork.
Keeping the inside air and outside air separated is crucial when trying to keep the inside of your home comfortable. This is why you should never open your windows while your HVAC unit is running. Making this mistake will lead to the hot air your unit is attempting to cool entering your home. The last thing you want to do is overwork your HVAC unit, which is why keeping your windows and doors closed while it is operating is vital.
Be Mindful of Your Thermostat Settings
The average home in the United States consumes nearly 11,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity annually. If you want to keep energy consumption rates manageable this summer, then you need to be mindful of how hard you are working your HVAC unit. Many homeowners turn their HVAC units off during the daytime when they are at work. While this can help to conserve energy, it can also make the inside of your home very hot.
If you come home and find that the inside of your home is filled with warm air, you need to be careful about what you do next. Some homeowners think that setting their thermostat at an extremely low temperature is the best way to fix this problem. You need to realize that setting your thermostat at a lower temperature will not make it cool any faster.
The only thing setting the temperature low does is keep your unit running for a longer amount of time. This is why you need to set your thermostat to about 70 degrees Fahrenheit when trying to cool things off inside your home.
Failing to Use Your Ceiling Fans
If your main goal is to reduce the amount of work your HVAC unit does this summer, then you need to realize the importance of ceiling fans. Most inexperienced homeowners fail to realize that HVAC units work much better when they have help from ceiling fans. The cool air produced by your HVAC unit will usually be carried just beyond the vent returns.
Carrying this cool air throughout your home will be much easier when your ceiling fans are turned on. With help from your ceiling fans, your HVAC unit will be able to do less work. This means that your energy bills should be a bit lower. If you don’t currently have ceiling fans in your home, working with an electrician to get a few installed is a wise move.
By avoiding the blunders mentioned here, you can keep your HVAC unit functional and reliable all summer long.