Air Conditioning Installation - Saving Your AC, Saving Your Wallet

Air Conditioning Installation in San Diego is mostly a breeze, however, it’s how you take care of your HVAC system that matters most. With improper usage of your air conditioner and its cousins (the fan, air ducts and condenser) around the house, you’re practically blowing money into the air. In this article, we’ll give you some tips on how to stay cool and save money with your newly installed A/C unit.

Saving your AC, saving your wallet

Did you know that in the summer months, 60% of your monthly electricity bill may be from an air conditioner? Especially in areas like East County and North County San Diego, you may find you’re A/C eating upwards of 70%. Just ask a Poway, CA resident. Your pockets and your electricity will be drained for good if you don’t learn ways on saving money and energy.

A window A/C unit is one of the biggest energy hogs and most are not efficient and with improper maintenance, they can suck more energy out without making your home that much cooler. When you don’t change the filter, you restrict airflow, which messes with the A/C’s thermostat. If this happens, you’re A/C goes into over drive, thus making your room hot, you’re A/C vulnerable to breaking down and your wallet with a hole in it.

This type of A/C unit can use as little as 500 watts but can also go as high as 1440 watts. If you have a central a/c unit that is quite heavy, whether it’s commercial or residential, this can use up to 3500 watts. Think of it this way: the fan on your ceiling uses typically under 95 watts on high and as little as 10-15 on low. When you circulate air, you can feel it, now imagine amplifying that times 10. Now you can see how you’re wasting a lot of money.

Make sure your ceiling fan is spinning the proper way – Most people don’t know this is a thing; even I didn’t until I was in my early 20’s. You want your ceiling fan to blow down, which is counter-clockwise. When you have the fan running clockwise, it’s sucking the air up, which is great if you have an A/C that’s really cooling down the house. Depending on your situation, use this to get an idea of how to cool your house down for any given day. A/C = clockwise for sucking up. No A/C that day = counter-clockwise for blowing down. This will save you a lot of money because you are learning to utilize your cooling instruments.

Clean the filter – As mentioned, cleaning the filter helps airflow get back to the air conditioner. When you do this, you’re allowing the A/C to properly function. If it’s on overdrive from a dirty filter, it thinks it’s hotter since the airflow is restricted. This means more money is coming out of your wallet, so don’t be lazy about cleaning the filter next time. It simply rinses off, so it’s not a long and extended process.

Bigger is not always better – If you’re using a contractor to sell you an air conditioning unit, whatever type it may be, do not let them oversell an oversized unit. Not everyone needs on and you’ll be wasting money on the unit itself as well as your utility bills for how much power it needs. When you’re researching for the proper size, make sure to take measurements of the room you’re in and calculate how many people are in that room daily. The BTU count will change per person and per size of each room.

Choose an A/C with a built-in timer – This is extremely important, especially if you’re inside all day or leave it on while you’re not home. If you want to regulate the temperature in your home, make sure you have an air conditioner with a built-in timer. For your central A/C, you most likely will already have a thermostat. When it gets too cold or too warm in your home, your A/C will automatically start cooling off the area, getting it down to the temperature you set it on. This is great if you don’t want to keep getting up or if you’re not home. This also helps with saving bills because you’re A/C will slow down once it’s too cold in the home.

In conclusion

Over all, it’s best to know your home and your A/C when choosing an air conditioner. Don’t let money fly out of your wallet and get sucked up into the ceiling because of improper fan and A/C usage. We hope you found some of these tips helpful for attaining an energy efficient home with Air Conditioning Installation in San Diego!