You expect to see your electrical bills rise during the summer because you have to send so much more power to run the air conditioning system. But you’ve probably looked at those bills and wondered if you’re paying more than you should. “Does the air conditioning have to cost this much?” you’ll ask yourself.
Pardon us while we intrude on your inner thoughts, but the answer is, “Probably not.” We can’t say for certain that you are paying more for cooling than you should, but chances are good there are a few steps you can take that will cut down those high bills. We’ll look at a few of them. Some you can do yourself. For others, you may need the assistance of our New Braunfels, TX, air conditioning professionals to help get the most efficient performance from your cooling system.
Raise the thermostat, don’t lower it
No, we’re not telling you to turn on the heat! We’re encouraging you to look at what temperature you set on your thermostat when you need to cool and consider raising it. For example, we don’t recommend you ever set the thermostat lower than 72°F. In some cases, this can lead to coil freeze! The ideal temperature for indoors on hot days is 78°F. This is cool enough for most people, and it slows down the heat gain in the house: the closer the indoor temperature is to the outdoor temperature, the slower outdoor heat enters.
Change the air filter in the HVAC system regularly
We see this all the time: people forget to put in a new air filter every one to three months in their HVAC system. A clogged filter will rapidly cause AC bills to climb, and it can cause many other troubles as well. If you run the AC almost every day, please check the filter once a month to see if it’s ready to be swapped out for a clean one—it may need that monthly change!
Clear and clean off the outdoor condenser cabinet
If the outdoor condenser cabinet is covered with grime or has debris and plants near it, the AC will not be able to work efficiently. (When cleaning the cabinet, please don’t blast a high-pressure hose straight into it, as this may bend the coil.)
Schedule AC maintenance if you haven’t
Spring air conditioning maintenance by professionals is the best way to ensure the system works at peak efficiency. If you didn’t have maintenance done in spring, it’s still not too late to arrange for it with our team. It reduces strain on the system and checks for potential repair issues that may be costing you in AC performance.
Call for repairs if the costs are extremely high and you cannot explain them
If your cooling bills aren’t just “normal” high, they are abnormally high, then this might be warning you the air conditioner has a malfunction. In fact, high cooling costs are one of the many cautionary signs that it’s time to call for HVAC technicians to inspect the AC and see if anything needs to be repaired.
Call Thayer Air Conditioning for AC service—done fast and right. Your comfort is our #1 priority!
