{"id":912,"date":"2020-06-22T11:00:21","date_gmt":"2020-06-22T15:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.covenantheatingandcooling.com\/blog\/?p=912"},"modified":"2020-06-18T16:38:26","modified_gmt":"2020-06-18T20:38:26","slug":"how-use-ac-efficiently-prevent-repair-needs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.covenantheatingandcooling.com\/blog\/air-conditioning-service\/how-use-ac-efficiently-prevent-repair-needs\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Use Your AC Efficiently and Prevent Repair Needs!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-914\" src=\"https:\/\/www.covenantheatingandcooling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/How-to-Use-Your-AC-Efficiently-and-Prevent-Repair-Needs-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"vent-low-on-wall\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.covenantheatingandcooling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/How-to-Use-Your-AC-Efficiently-and-Prevent-Repair-Needs-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.covenantheatingandcooling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/How-to-Use-Your-AC-Efficiently-and-Prevent-Repair-Needs-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.covenantheatingandcooling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/How-to-Use-Your-AC-Efficiently-and-Prevent-Repair-Needs.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>If you\u2019ve lived in our area through even just one summer, then you know the heavy workout that your air conditioning system gets, particularly in the height of summer. Fortunately, AC systems today are extremely durable, and designed to handle the heat, when they are cared for as they should be.<\/p>\n<p>When you don\u2019t properly care for your cooling system, you\u2019ll probably find yourself paying a lot more for cooling than you need to. You may also find yourself calling for repairs a lot more than you should have to. There\u2019s good news here though! There are methods out there to not only boost efficiency and therefore lower your energy costs, but also prevent repairs. Read on!<!--more--><\/p>\n<h2>Stay on Top of Maintenance<\/h2>\n<p>If you haven\u2019t scheduled a professional AC tune-up yet this summer, it\u2019s not too late. Unless your air conditioner completely breaks down, there\u2019s never a wrong time to have maintenance done\u2014though it is of course a lot more convenient for you to have it in the spring, before you need the system the most. But having maintenance done consistently matters more than how <em>often <\/em>you have it done, and by consistently we mean once annually.<\/p>\n<p>This advice is for central air conditioners. Keep in mind that if you have a year-round ductless system or heat pump system, your system needs maintenance once every 6 months.<\/p>\n<h2>Raise the Temperature<\/h2>\n<p>We get it\u2014this sounds like counterintuitive advice, right? Well, bear with us\u2026<\/p>\n<p>We don\u2019t advise that you turn on the heat\u2014this wouldn\u2019t make any sense! But, you might be keeping your thermostat a lot lower than you actually need to. A lower thermostat setting doesn\u2019t provide your home with cooling any <em>faster. <\/em>It just keeps your compressor running <em>longer. <\/em>This wears down on the system faster. We recommend that you set your temperature on your thermostat at 78\u00b0 during the day, since this is the temperature that most individuals are comfortable at.<\/p>\n<p>This means that your compressor won\u2019t need to run as long to reach the desired thermostat setting. Therefore, you\u2019ll be using less energy!<\/p>\n<h2>Keep Your System Clear of Obstructions<\/h2>\n<p>The outdoor unit of your air conditioner is where the system exhausts the heat that it removes from your living space. It cannot effectively do this if the cabinet grill is dirty, or if trees and brush are obstructing it. You want to clear out the area by about a foot on all sides. This will allow for proper airflow.<\/p>\n<p>We recommend cleaning off any dirt or grime with a low-pressured hose, too. A high-pressured hose may damage the equipment.<\/p>\n<p>When you\u2019re clearing obstructions, consider the inside, as well! Your indoor vents and registers can get dusty, or become blocked by things like furniture, backpacks, toys, etc. This affects the airflow coming into your living space, leading to less comfort and an air conditioner that has to run too long and work too hard to do its job.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>For expert <a href=\"\/service-areas\/franklin-tn\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">AC repair in Franklin, TN<\/a>, contact <a href=\"\/contact\/send-message#breadcrumbs-container\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Covenant Heating and Cooling<\/a>\u2014\u201cDedicated to the Promise of Serving You!\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When you don\u2019t properly care for your cooling system, you\u2019ll probably find yourself paying a lot more for cooling than you need to.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[70],"tags":[39,103],"class_list":["post-912","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-air-conditioning-service","tag-ac-repair","tag-franklin"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.covenantheatingandcooling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/912","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.covenantheatingandcooling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.covenantheatingandcooling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.covenantheatingandcooling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.covenantheatingandcooling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=912"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.covenantheatingandcooling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/912\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":915,"href":"https:\/\/www.covenantheatingandcooling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/912\/revisions\/915"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.covenantheatingandcooling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=912"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.covenantheatingandcooling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=912"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.covenantheatingandcooling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=912"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}