Hello, my name is Darby Aldrich. I would like to talk to you about the importance of maintaining your air conditioning system. When I moved to a hot climate, I did not realize how vital having a running air conditioner was for living comfortably. When the unit just stopped working one day, the temperature inside the house rivaled the piping hot weather outdoors. We had to go to the community center to keep the kids from feeling sick. While we were gone, we had a local HVAC contractor fix the unit. She let us know that some simple maintenance tasks would prevent that situation in the future. I will use this site to closely explore those tasks in great detail. I hope you can use the information to keep your air conditioner running like new. Thanks.
Homeowners who rely on their home's central air conditioning system each summer expect to pay a bit more for electricity used to cool the home. What most homeowners do not expect, however, is to see continual increases in their electrical consumption with each passing month, especially when outdoor temperatures remain relatively consistent from month to month.
While an aging cooling system can begin to use more energy with each passing season due to wear, newer systems should not. Homeowners who are seeing their cooling costs escalate, even though their HVAC system has not yet reached its average expected lifespan may be witnessing the development of some type of repair issue, such as those mentioned below.
1. Too little refrigerant in the system
An air conditioning system that is operating with too little refrigerant in the system will cycle more frequently and run for longer periods of time as it strives to meet the temperature setting on the thermostat. Since additional energy is used during these efforts, higher electricity bills are sure to accompany this problem.
In addition to higher energy bills, homeowners may also notice longer cooling cycles and warmer than usual air coming from the vents. If the refrigerant levels are extremely low, homeowners may also notice the formation of frost or ice on refrigerant lines and begin to hear unusual noises when the system is operating.
2. Motor wear
Even relatively new air conditioning systems can suffer excessive wear on the motor that powers the fan and related components. While blower motors can suffer wear from a variety of issues, they often experience premature failure when operating in dusty or dirty conditions.
If not removed frequently, household dust can build up on the moving components of the fan and create excessive wear issues for the motor, as well as for fan bearings, belts and pulleys. As the level of wear increases on the motor or related parts, the amount of energy required to function will continue to increase and the homeowner will begin to see the effect in the form of higher monthly electricity bills.
3. Thermostat problems
Another common cause of escalating cooling costs is when the home's thermostat settings are being adjusted too frequently or when they are often set below the range of temperatures known to be most efficient for the system and climate. However, thermostats can also malfunction and result in inefficient energy usage that raises the monthly electricity bill.
Homeowners who are facing escalating electricity costs related to their air conditioning systems can get the answers they need by discussing the situation with air conditioning repair contractors as soon as possible.
Share28 September 2021
