How to
Choose an Air Conditioner For Your Home
During the summer, as much as half of your energy costs go toward cooling your
home. In order to stay as efficient with this cost, you might want to consider
replacing your old unit if it is 12 years or older. Energy Star rated equipment
is the best option when you are ready to save on your utility bills, while at
the same time preventing costly repairs to an old unit. Just by replacing that
old unit with a high efficiency air conditioner, you can realize a return on
your investment many times during the life of the equipment. You just have to
know how to choose the right air conditioner for your home.
Just in case you are not aware, it is possible to save on the initial cost of an
air conditioning system when you take advantage of a variety of rebates both
from the manufacturer and the government. That’s right, the Federal government
is offering tax credits of as much as 30% on the price of home comfort systems
that meet their requirements.
How to save energy
Before we get started talking about how to choose the right air conditioner
for your home, we first need to discuss how you can save money on your energy
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- Never turn your air conditioner off when you are going to be away
from home. This will cause heat to build up in the walls and throughout your
house that will make it that much harder for the system to return to the desired
temperature when you do return home. Just dial it up 5 or 10 degrees and you
will be fine.
- Never use your air conditioning system until the outside
temperature reached 78 degrees, and just set it then to as high a comfortable
temperature as possible.
- While cooking, use the exhaust fan to take heated air up and out
of the kitchen.
- When possible, do not increase the amount of heat and humidity
generated in your home during the heat of the day. Activities like cooking can
be done outside on the grill, and the dishwasher can wait until evening hours.
Also, use the air dry setting.
- Plan trips outdoors so that you reduce the number of times doors
are opened letting hot air inside.
- Keep drapes, curtains, and shades closed during the day, or put
sunscreens on your windows to reduce solar gain.
- Block the suns heat by planting shade trees around your home, and
be sure to provide shade for your air conditioner without preventing air flow.
- Ceiling fans are a great option for keeping air circulating and
reducing the need for cooler air. Turn them off though, when you leave the room.
Now that the basics are out of the way, we can
get on with learning how to choose the right air conditioner for your home.
The first thing to consider any time you are ready to replace your old air
conditioning system is to purchase the most energy-efficient model you can find.
Today’s high efficiency models are as much as 95 percent efficient which is a
huge step up from the 65 percent of a decade or two ago.
- Select Energy Star rated equipment. Even though the initial cost
is higher, in the long term, you will be able to recover that cost through a
decrease in energy usage.
- Look for an air conditioning system that has a high SEER
(Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio). This rating provides information to
consumers about a variety of cooling systems. The most efficient models have the
highest SEER.
- Choose the right capacity for your home. This is one of the most
important and often overlooked components of searching for an air conditioning
system. Any time you are talking about how to choose the right air conditioner
for your home, you have to consider the size. If you select an air conditioner
that is too small for your home, it will run more than it should without
providing the comfort that you need. By the same token, one that is too large is
a waste in terms of investment, and can cause maintenance and service problems.
Your heating and cooling professional will be able to correctly size the unit
for your needs.
When it is time to replace your old air conditioning system, it is important
that you get the right kind of advice about how to choose the right air
conditioner for your home, and that advice should come from a trained,
experienced and qualified HVAC contractor.
"Providing immediate, same-day service for over 23 years"
AFM Heating & Cooling LLC
37676 Northfield Ave. Livonia, Mi 48150
Phone:
734-464-6700 Fax: 734-464-6710
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