5 Air Conditioning Unit Mistakes to Avoid This Summer

And after spending a long day out in the sun, you want to return to a crisp, cool and refreshing oasis that you call home—not a hot, sticky and uncomfortable house. Few things are more frustrating than when it feels like your air conditioning unit is failing to cool off your home or does indeed fail, and you’re suddenly in need of emergency repairs. A broken air conditioning unit doesn’t just impact your personal comfort; it can also become a huge cost to repair and replace.

To avoid AC emergencies this summer, Bradley Mechanical is sharing some of the biggest mistakes to avoid when it comes to air conditioning maintenance.

5 Mistakes to Avoid

In the summer, your air conditioning unit gets put to the test. Whether you keep the AC on blast or only use it as needed, it requires a lot of energy and maintenance to function well. The good news: making some simple changes can save you a lot of sweat (and money!) this summer.

Here are the top AC mistakes we see during the summer months:

1. Forgetting to Change Out the Air Filter: This is one of the top mistakes we see because many homeowners do not realize that their air conditioning unit has an air filter. These filters need to be changed or cleaned monthly, especially during the summer. When the AC is in constant use, the filter will clog up quickly with dust and debris. When this happens, airflow into the AC will become restricted, causing your system to work overtime and inflate your energy bills. It also results in poor airflow, making your house warmer than it should be. If you don’t know how to change or clean your AC filter, you can always give Bradley Mechanical a call, and we’ll walk you through the process step-by-step.
2. Keeping the AC on All Day: Many people are under the impression that running the AC all day is more energy efficient than turning it off when they leave and back on when they return. This isn’t true. When you leave the house for a long period of time and don’t have pets, you should either turn it completely off or set it to a higher temperature. If you have pets at home, you can always adjust the thermostat to a slightly higher temp so they remain comfortable, but it isn’t costing you extra every month. If you have a smart or programmable thermostat, you can set the AC to turn on 30 minutes before you come back home.
3. Setting the Thermostat Too Low: It can be frustrating when it feels like it’s taking your AC forever to cool off your home. It may be tempting to keep lowering the thermostat, but in doing so, there isn’t a guarantee that your home will cool off faster. The amount of cool air getting pumped out doesn’t change. The thermostat just tells your system when to stop cooling off the air. So, if your ideal indoor temperature is 70F and you set it to 60F, your AC will keep pumping out air until your home is too cold, wasting energy and money. If your air conditioning unit seems to be struggling to reach certain areas of your home, it may be a sign to check your vents and air conditioning unit to ensure there aren’t any blockages.
4. Leaving AC Vents Open: It sounds counter-intuitive, but closing off some of your AC vents will actually make your unit more productive. If there are some rooms you hardly use during the day, consider closing up the vents. That will make cool air flow faster to the rooms you regularly use, such as the kitchen or living room. It’s also important to keep the doors to these rooms closed so your cold air doesn’t leak out. This rule also applies to window units. These systems are made with a certain amount of square footage in mind. If the door to the room you are cooling off is open, that essentially maxes out your AC and allows all the cool air to leave the room.
5. Turning off the Ceiling Fans: Some homeowners figure that once the central AC unit is on, they can switch their fans off. However, fans and AC units work best in conjunction with each other. It can take the cool air from the central unit a long time to circulate throughout the house, but by using a fan, the cold air is essentially “stirred” into the rest of the house.

Bradley Mechanical provides top-quality air conditioning services to our community. If you have a broken air conditioning unit, you won’t want to wait several days until a technician can come to your house. Call Bradley Mechanical for fast, effective service and long-lasting air conditioning service and repairs.