4 Great Pieces of Advice Anyone Who Owns an Air Conditioner Needs
Date - 01/23/2023
Owning an air conditioner is a great luxury that we often take for granted…(that is until it’s not working and you need to call Air Therm to fix it!)
Here in America, over 90% of the homes are air conditioned, and it’s far more common to own an air conditioner than it is to own a dishwasher, a garage, or a dining room.
Why is it then, that most homeowners know so little about taking care of one of the most important systems in their whole house?
Here are Air Therm’s 4 great pieces of advice anyone who owns an air conditioner needs now.
ONE: Change your filter often:
One of the most common questions people ask us is “How often should I change my air filter?”
The answer is “more often than you’re probably doing it.”
Lots of factors influence how often you should change your filters. Do you have pets? Do you or anyone in your family have allergies or respiratory ailments? Is your home large or small?
Pets increase the amount of hair and dander in the air, necessitating more frequent filter changes to keep your air clean. If anyone in the household has allergies or respiratory issues, filters should be changed often because the cleaner the filters, the fewer germs and irritants will get into the air to exacerbate breathing problems. The filters need to be changed more often for large homes because more air is being forced through the filter than in a smaller home where less air is circulated.
What we’ve found is that very few homeowners actually know when their filter was last changed, and even fewer have a system to remind them to replace it regularly.
So how often – and when - should you change them?
Air Therm recommends that you change it every month on the same day of the month so you can remember. “Pick a number. Any number.” Do it on the first, or the date of your birthday, or the day with your favorite number. Just do it.
If you think every thirty days is too often to change your filter, remember this:
The cleaner your filter, the healthier you are, the less hard your air conditioner must work, the more money you save, and the longer your air conditioner will last.
TWO: Listen to your air conditioner
Now, we’re not saying that your air conditioner is going to talk to you, but it can tell you things.
If it’s noisier than it used to be, it’s telling you that there’s a problem.
Sound is measured in decibels, (dB) and the lower the number of decibels, the softer the sound.
Most air conditioners run in the 50-60 dB level, and “mini-split,” ductless systems are quieter, as low as 35 dB.
If your air conditioner kicks on with a rattling, or if you have to start talking louder to be heard when it’s running, then you’re ac unit is “shouting” to get your attention and tell you something is wrong.
Noisy air conditioners are signaling a loose part, a refrigerant leak, or a problem with the compressor.
Listen to its distress signal and call Air Therm to take care of the issue.
THREE: Help your air conditioner out
Air conditioners are important, expensive systems for your home, so it makes sense that you want to extend its lifespan and make it last longer.
Our advice is to think about how you can help your air conditioner.
Think about this:
76% of the sunlight that comes in through windows comes in as heat, making your air conditioner have to work more to keep the temperature cool.
If you are a new homeowner, consider planting a tree or two by windows. Those trees will eventually grow and provide shade.
If mature trees aren’t an option, draw the curtains or shades to keep the heat from coming in.
Think creatively. Shielding your outdoor unit from intense sunlight can help extend the life of your air conditioner, too. You can mount a big patio umbrella nearby, position a large umbrella next to it, or even build a small tarp tent over it to protect it in the hottest part of the year.
FOUR: Join Air Therm’s Comfort Club
Routine tune-ups on your air conditioner have been PROVEN to prevent major breakdowns by 95%.
A little preventative maintenance can provide an enormous peace of mind.
Is your peace of mind for an entire year worth $99?
You bet it is.
Air Therm’s Comfort Club provides you TWO tune-ups per year for each unit you have for an incredible $99 per year! This is an unbeatable deal, especially when you consider that the national average for an ac tune-up is $125 for just one unit!
This is great advice for anyone who has an air conditioner!
Call us at 912.234.7268. We’ll treat you like our grandma.