The seesaw weather has returned. The kind of weather where it might climb to 77 degrees in the late afternoon, but you wake up to temperatures in the low 30s. In fact, on Sunday the temperature reached 87 degrees in the afternoon, just three degrees short of the record high, but on the following Tuesday morning you woke to a very cool 38 degrees. Must be Spring, right?
Home maintenance is constant. The most diligent home owners, in fact, have a monthly maintenance schedule that they have followed for years, and one of the tasks on the early spring list is changing furnace air filters and scheduling an air conditioner maintenance check-up. Just as it is important to work with heating services professionals before the coldest days of winter, it is important to work with air conditioner experts before the hottest days of summer.
Do You Monitor Your Monthly Utility Bills?
In addition to wanting to stay on top of all home maintenance issues, another reason for scheduling regular service on both a furnace and air conditioner is to make sure that you are getting the most for your energy dollar. Did you know, for instance, that air conditioners cost American homeowners as much as $11 billion a year? Luckily, regular maintenance plans will not only can keep your air conditioner running efficiently, they can also help you be in a position of being proactive, instead of reactive.
Most experts recommend a twice a year check up for HVAC systems. The timing, of course, should be scheduled around the beginning of spring and the beginning of fall, both times that lead up to the units most use. Monitoring your utility bills will also gauge how efficient your heating and cooling systems are operating. In fact, many utility companies post this on their monthly bills.
Paying close attention to the “Last Year’s” part of the bill will let home owners compare the average daily temperature for a specific month from this year to the last, and also compare the cost of the heating and cooling. Taking into consideration any increases in usage fees, a home owner can detect if prices have significantly increased. A sharp increase in a June air conditioning bill, when compared to years past, may indicate a unit that is in need of repair or replacement.
Home owners who make the decision to replace an old air conditioner will need to make an investment, but in almost all cases they will begin to see immediate returns. In fact, replacing an old air conditioning unit with the newest, most efficient models can show significant savings. A new unit coupled with taking other actions to keep a home efficient in the summer could reduce energy use for air conditioning by as much as 20% to 50%.
Buyers of new homes should also consider what kinds of insulation, windows, and HVAC systems are being installed in their homes. One of the greatest advantages to building a new home right now, for instance, is the opportunity to include all of the newest energy efficient technologies. General contractors for new home construction sites should be a resource for what the latest available options are.
Americans Are Not the Only Ones Attracted to Air Conditioning
While 66% of all homes in the U.S. have air conditioning, this luxury of staying cool on the hottest days is a trend that is continuing to grow in other parts of the world. Saudi Arabia, for example, continues to show numbers that indicate that air conditioning is becoming more and more common in that country. An increasing amount of disposable income in that country, combined with an increasing number of extreme climate changes, have lead the government to both promote and regulate the air conditioning industry. Requiring builders and home owners to only install the most efficient units, the air conditioning industry in Saudi Arabia is expected to continue to grow significantly from now until the year 2021.
Being comfortable in our homes is something that many americans take for granted. A broken air conditioner on the first hot day of summer, in fact, reminds everyone the need for proper HVAC maintenance. Have you had your system checked?