Home Air Conditioner Tips
If you are looking for home air conditioner tips or summer heat management, you have come to the right place. We just compiled all the knowledge to keep your cool and save money for this summer. We are explaining everything in detail. If you'd like just a quick brows, look for the colored subtitles and tips. Tip: Your working a little more on the AC will make the AC work a lot less in providing you the cool. Remember the AC charges the electrical bill by the minutes it works.
How AC Works:
An air conditioner has an indoor coil to cool the air and an outdoor coil to dump the heat. Freon circulates between the two coils. The driving pressure of the Freon come from the compressor. Freon evaporates inside the indoor coil and condenses inside the outdoor coil. Tip: Freon can escape because it is vapor under pressure. Leaking of Freon will reduce the cool and cost more money to run the AC.
Heat Transfer:
Freon bring heat from inside to outside in the form of latent heat. The coils need to pass the heat from and to air. Air is thousands times lower in heat transfer capacity than the evaporating or condensing Freon. Manufacturers put fins on the coils to increase contact with air and use fans to drive more air through the coils. Still, the air side is the bottle neck. Any dirt on the coil surfaces or blockage of air flow will make it worse. Tip: Think of heat. The easier we let the AC to pass it, the less we need to subject to it.
Taking Precautions for Safety:
Avoid damaging any tubing or wiring. Using goggles and gloves. Keep parts and screws in orderly places. Make sure you can put the pieces back as they were. If you do not feel comfortable or not sure about a process, do not attempt it. Annual AC tune-ups are recommended by the U.S. Department of Energy. Many local companies offer such services. Check to see if it is better for them to do it. Tip: Check your air conditioner manual to see what maintenance is needed and how to do it.
Clean the Airways:
The coils need good air flow to pass heat. If plants and shrubs have grown around your outdoor unit. Cut them down. If leaves and debris have gotten in the unit clean them out. If you have things placed near the AC, move them away.
Clean the AC off Dust:
Dust on the coil surfaces will reduce heat transfer. Dust on the fan blades will slow down the fan. Open the lid or the cover to check inside the AC. Vacuum or blow any dust off the coil surfaces. Clean dust of fan blades will save money as well. Check to see if any activities of spiders or ants near the bottom of the outdoor unit.
Clean Or Replace the Filter:
Look the front of the coils for the filter(s). Take the air filter out and clean it. If the filter looks dirty and clogged after shaking of the dust, it is a good idea to replace it. Dirty air filter can actually suffocate your air conditioner. Your AC has to run longer time to make up the cooling. Tip: Clogged filter may cost more on electrical bill than a filter each year.
Common Sense Checking:
Always pay attention to unusual noise. Are the fans and the compressor humming like they used to? Do you feel the cool air coming too late and too little? Follow all metal surfaces and pipelines to see if any insulation is broken. If there is any rust. Some rust outside a thick part may not be a big problem. You may slow down the rust with rust-inhabit paint if necessary. Reducing moisture around the parts will slow down rust. Tip: You'll find more rust on the shadow side than the sunny side of a pipe.
Freon Leakage and Recharge:
Freon will manage to diffuse over time or rush out if it finds a leak. You may check if there is a problem with Freon like shown in this video. You need the AC to run more than 10 min to do this. A hot and humid day is a better time to check. Basically you find a metal surface of the insulated line and feel if it is cold. If you do not get cooling and the line is not cold, the AC is out of Freon. Before refill, make sure if there is a leak you need to fix. Tip: A sudden loss of cooling will not be fixed by just filling the Freon.
Replacement Cost:
Here is a Federal Tax Credits for Consumer Energy Efficiency. Here is a good calculator to give you a ballpark comparison to a newer system. There would be more costs than this simple calculation. Tip: If you can keep your family cool this summer and replacement is beneficial, do it later in a cooler season may cost less.
Help Your AC to Help You:
If you have a door or window open, the AC has to cool down all the hot air that come to the house. Try to minimize air leak into or out of the house. If you installed the AC on a window, make sure it is sealed off air in the window opening. Is your outdoor unit on a hot spot? Tip: Creating some shade but not block air flow for the outdoor unit will lower the air temperature and save money.
How AC Works:
An air conditioner has an indoor coil to cool the air and an outdoor coil to dump the heat. Freon circulates between the two coils. The driving pressure of the Freon come from the compressor. Freon evaporates inside the indoor coil and condenses inside the outdoor coil. Tip: Freon can escape because it is vapor under pressure. Leaking of Freon will reduce the cool and cost more money to run the AC.
Heat Transfer:
Freon bring heat from inside to outside in the form of latent heat. The coils need to pass the heat from and to air. Air is thousands times lower in heat transfer capacity than the evaporating or condensing Freon. Manufacturers put fins on the coils to increase contact with air and use fans to drive more air through the coils. Still, the air side is the bottle neck. Any dirt on the coil surfaces or blockage of air flow will make it worse. Tip: Think of heat. The easier we let the AC to pass it, the less we need to subject to it.
Taking Precautions for Safety:
Avoid damaging any tubing or wiring. Using goggles and gloves. Keep parts and screws in orderly places. Make sure you can put the pieces back as they were. If you do not feel comfortable or not sure about a process, do not attempt it. Annual AC tune-ups are recommended by the U.S. Department of Energy. Many local companies offer such services. Check to see if it is better for them to do it. Tip: Check your air conditioner manual to see what maintenance is needed and how to do it.
Clean the Airways:
The coils need good air flow to pass heat. If plants and shrubs have grown around your outdoor unit. Cut them down. If leaves and debris have gotten in the unit clean them out. If you have things placed near the AC, move them away.
Clean the AC off Dust:
Dust on the coil surfaces will reduce heat transfer. Dust on the fan blades will slow down the fan. Open the lid or the cover to check inside the AC. Vacuum or blow any dust off the coil surfaces. Clean dust of fan blades will save money as well. Check to see if any activities of spiders or ants near the bottom of the outdoor unit.
Clean Or Replace the Filter:
Look the front of the coils for the filter(s). Take the air filter out and clean it. If the filter looks dirty and clogged after shaking of the dust, it is a good idea to replace it. Dirty air filter can actually suffocate your air conditioner. Your AC has to run longer time to make up the cooling. Tip: Clogged filter may cost more on electrical bill than a filter each year.
Common Sense Checking:
Always pay attention to unusual noise. Are the fans and the compressor humming like they used to? Do you feel the cool air coming too late and too little? Follow all metal surfaces and pipelines to see if any insulation is broken. If there is any rust. Some rust outside a thick part may not be a big problem. You may slow down the rust with rust-inhabit paint if necessary. Reducing moisture around the parts will slow down rust. Tip: You'll find more rust on the shadow side than the sunny side of a pipe.
Freon Leakage and Recharge:
Freon will manage to diffuse over time or rush out if it finds a leak. You may check if there is a problem with Freon like shown in this video. You need the AC to run more than 10 min to do this. A hot and humid day is a better time to check. Basically you find a metal surface of the insulated line and feel if it is cold. If you do not get cooling and the line is not cold, the AC is out of Freon. Before refill, make sure if there is a leak you need to fix. Tip: A sudden loss of cooling will not be fixed by just filling the Freon.
Replacement Cost:
Here is a Federal Tax Credits for Consumer Energy Efficiency. Here is a good calculator to give you a ballpark comparison to a newer system. There would be more costs than this simple calculation. Tip: If you can keep your family cool this summer and replacement is beneficial, do it later in a cooler season may cost less.
Help Your AC to Help You:
If you have a door or window open, the AC has to cool down all the hot air that come to the house. Try to minimize air leak into or out of the house. If you installed the AC on a window, make sure it is sealed off air in the window opening. Is your outdoor unit on a hot spot? Tip: Creating some shade but not block air flow for the outdoor unit will lower the air temperature and save money.
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