Tips to Help Your HVAC Unit Run More Efficiently
HVAC & A/C Maintenance in Bucks County, Montgomery County, & Philadelphia
Through the seasons in the greater Philadelphia area, your HVAC unit is an important component in the ecosystem of your home, allowing you to stay cool in the summer months and warm in the middle of winter. It also filters the air that you breathe in your home, protecting you from outdoor allergens in the spring and fall. It’s an essential element when it comes to maintaining a comfortable home environment for yourself and your family.
However, this comfort comes at a cost. Running heat during the coldest months and cool air during the warmer months requires a fair amount of energy, dramatically increasing your electricity bill. During the summer, running air conditioning in the greater Philadelphia area can lead to monthly bills exceeding $200! And while the companies that produce HVAC systems work hard to ensure that their units are energy efficient, it ultimately falls to the homeowner to use their HVAC systems strategically in order to maximize their comfort while reducing these costly bills. To help you make the most out of your heating and air conditioning unit, here are 5 tips to help you increase the efficiency of your HVAC system this season.
Factors to Consider
Before we jump into our five tips to increase HVAC efficiency, we first want to talk about the many factors that contribute to your HVAC electrical bill every month. These variables can greatly influence your overall spend.
How old is your HVAC system?
Older systems typically run less efficiently than newer ones, and lack the ability to set automatic schedules for heating and cooling. This leads to overall higher energy consumption, yielding higher electricity bills during peak temperatures. If you’re not sure how old your unit is, there are a few easy ways to check. First, you could look at the nameplate for the unit, typically located inside the access panel of your outdoor unit and along the exterior of your indoor unit. The serial number of an HVAC unit typically contains the date that it was manufactured, and the installation date will indicate when it was installed in your property. Most HVAC systems will last between 15 and 25 years depending on the system, so if your unit is anywhere in that range then you may want to start considering a replacement. Routine maintenance of your system can extend its lifespan, but only by a few years.
How large is your home?
Generally, having a larger home requires more work for your HVAC unit to influence the indoor temperature, causing higher electricity bills during peak seasons. A standard HVAC unit can comfortably provide climate controlled air for a home ranging between 1,000 to 2,000 square feet depending on the size of the unit. As a broad rule of thumb, a 1,500 square foot home needs a 2-ton unit to cover the entire home.
#1: Keep your vents clean and unobstructed
If your home has central air conditioning, then you likely have floor vents that circulate cool and warm air throughout your home. While these vents can take up some real estate, it’s essential that you leave them open, clean, and uncovered so that they can more effectively distribute air. Covered or closed air vents disrupt your HVAC system’s supply and return air balance, decreasing the overall efficiency of the system which increases your monthly bill. Ensure that the vent is not only uncovered, but also that the general area around it is free of obstructions.
#2: Change your air filter regularly
Your air filter is a crucial component of the HVAC system that collects dust, pollen, and other particulate matter and collects them so that your air conditioning doesn’t disperse them through your home. This keeps your air clean while also affecting the climate of your home. Over time, your air filter becomes clogged with these dust particles and needs to be changed for a fresh one. Otherwise, your system will have to work much harder to push air through a dirty filter. This piece of preventative maintenance is so simple that every homeowner is capable of doing it a few times each year. And best of all, it won’t cost you an arm and a leg.
Open your panel and remove your air filter, taking note of the dimensions that are typically printed along the filter’s border. If you’re not sure what size filter is correct for your HVAC unit, just use a tape measure to determine the length, width, and depth of the filter port inside the unit, and take those measurements to a hardware store near you to find a filter that matches. Then, just install the filter in the unit using the simple directions on the filter and replace the access panel.
#3: Schedule HVAC maintenance
Like any component of your home, your HVAC system requires routine maintenance to run at maximum efficiency. At McClain Bros., we highly recommend scheduling an HVAC maintenance appointment with one of our licensed and insured technicians, especially at the change of the seasons. Spring is a perfect time to schedule your maintenance appointment to ensure that your system is running smoothly before the heat of summer arrives in the greater Philadelphia area. Here are a few things that might take place during your HVAC maintenance with McClain Bros.
HVAC System Inspections
First, our technicians will review your entire HVAC system to investigate any issues that might be affecting its performance. Taking care of any small issues upfront can prevent larger – and more expensive – issues down the road. Our HVAC techs can talk you through their inspection process so that you are aware of their findings and how they could be impacting your home.
Seal & Insulate Ductwork
During the inspection, the tech may find that some of your air ducts – which distribute airflow throughout your home – may have cracks or holes that are decreasing their efficiency. The tech can work to seal these faults in the ductwork using mastics, sheet metal screws and metal or plastic bands to contain the airflow. While it can be tempting to seal ducts yourself with duct tape, this is ultimately not a long-term solution and is best handled by a professional.
Cleaning Your Outdoor Unit
Debris – such as dirt, branches, leaves, and other obstructions – around the outdoor condenser can reduce the efficiency of your system. Your tech can inspect the general area around your outdoor unit to ensure that the area is clear. They may also recommend that you provide some sort of shade or shelter for the system; shading the condenser unit during the summertime naturally cools it, causing it to work more efficiently. Your HVAC tech might have recommendations to provide shade to the unit.
#4: Supplement your indoor climate control
Your A/C unit is a powerful system to maintain a comfortable temperature inside your home, but you can help it work more effectively by making some simple adjustments to the interior of your home. Here are a few ways to supplement your A/C system:
Window Shades & Blackout Curtains
If your home receives a lot of direct sunlight, then you’ll probably notice that your rooms with the most windows exposed to sunlight during the summer months are generally much warmer. This is due to the greenhouse effect, which occurs when light passes through a clear surface like a window, absorbs into surfaces within the room, and then becomes trapped which increases the overall temperature of the space. You can easily combat this with effective use of thick window shades and blackout curtains that deflect sunlight back toward the window itself, keeping the space cooler. In some cases, you may even want to consider placing tinted film on your window panes to further decrease light infiltration.
Ceiling Fans
Many homes in Bucks County, Montgomery County, and Philadelphia are equipped with ceiling fans, particularly in bedrooms. While ceiling fans don’t actually cool the air, they do create a windchill effect that can cool your body. They are also an effective tool to circulate air throughout the home, especially when used correctly. In the summer months when you want to cool your home, ensure that they are rotating in a counterclockwise motion during the summer. This creates a downward airflow that disperses cool air throughout your house when used in conjunction with your A/C unit. In the winter, rotate your fanblades in a clockwise direction to create an upward airflow to distribute the warmer air that collects near your ceiling. Need a ceiling fan installed? Our licensed and insured electricians are here to help.
#5: Don’t touch the thermostat
While it may be tempting to change the thermostat regularly in order to maintain your preferred comfort level, changing the temperature on your thermostat frequently causes your system to work harder than normal. This has several negative effects, the first of which is that these constant adjustments will decrease the efficiency of your system and drive up your electricity bill. Secondly, changing the thermostat can lead to excessive wear and tear as your system is forced to shift unnecessarily. Using a programmable thermostat for daily changes – setting the house to be cooler in the evening and warmer during the day when you’re at work – is definitely tempting, but it forces your system to cycle through these changes each day which causes unnecessary wear and tear.
The main time you want to change your thermostat setting is when no one will be inside your home for an extended period of time, such as when you’re on vacation. In this case, it’s fine to set your thermostat to a higher temperature in the summer months, allowing your house to get warm while no one is home. This gives your A/C system a break from constant use and decreases your bills while you’re out of the house.
Questions About Your HVAC? Call McClain Bros!
As your local HVAC specialists in Bucks County, Philadelphia, and Montgomery County, we’re here to help if you have any questions about your HVAC system or if you need help performing maintenance on your system. If your air conditioning fails in the middle of summer, don’t worry; our team is ready to assist 24/7/365 with emergency home services to ensure that you are comfortable in your own home. Call us today to start a conversation about your HVAC needs to see how we can help.
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