Summertime means one thing: heat. This translates into a lot of leg work for your home air conditioning system. If you’re trying to save energy and cut down on your cooling costs, consider the following air conditioning tips to beat the heat.

1. Change Filters Regularly  Your air filters can get grungy and make it more difficult to push air through over time. Make sure that your air filters are changed at least once a year to maximize your airflow and keep your family safe from airborne pollutants that get trapped in old filters.

2. Consider a Smart Thermostat  Changing the indoor temperature helps you to cut down on your overall energy expenses. In fact, for every degree above 78 you set your thermostat, the greater energy savings you’ll recognize.

But sweating it out in the name of saving money is no fun. Instead of suffering                       through sweltering days, consider a smart thermostat that lets you adjust the                         temperature to automatically raise during times when you’re not home or when                     you can duck out back to your pool to cool down.

3. Weatherize Your Home  Make sure you’re not losing you valuable cool air through poorly insulated windows and doors. Take some time to go through and weatherize areas that might be prone to air leakage to ensure maximum energy efficiency.

4. Place Your Air Conditioner in a Shaded Area   Your air conditioning unit takes in outdoor air, cools it and then distributes it to your home. Reduce the amount of work that your system needs to do to cool by placing your unit in a shaded area, where the air is naturally cooler than a place that gets full sun.

5. Make use of Your Ceiling Fans   Ceiling fans let you distribute your cool air throughout the house without making the vents work so hard. Employ your ceiling fans to enjoy swifter cooling and maintain a breeze throughout the home, even when the air is between cycles.

6. Protect Your Thermostat  Don’t put hot items like lamps and heat producing appliances in front of your thermostat. These installations emit radiant heat that raises the temperature around the thermostat, causing it to read higher temperatures and run the air more often, even if the rest of your house is cooler.

7. Call a Professional   Get professional help in cleaning and evaluating your air conditioning system. If you think you may need to replace your unit to a more energy efficient one, get a quote and learn whether you can make the switch to save this summer.

For air conditioner service in the Sonoma County area, contact us at Sonoma County Comfort Heating and Air for a professional evaluation. We can look at your system and determine how best to address any HVAC problems you might be experiencing and help you to cool your house efficiently once again.