Have you ever found yourself shivering during the winter, no matter how hard your furnace works? Does your air conditioner seem incapable of cooling you off in the summer? It may be time to have your old HVAC system replaced with a new one. For tips on finding the right system, keep reading.
Always make sure you are up-to-date about your HVAC unit. Know the brand name and model number. It is also helpful to have the maintenance history. This makes sure your contractor will be sufficiently prepared.
Before you choose an HVAC contractor, have an idea in your mind of what needs to be done. Providing you with an accurate estimate over the telephone may be difficult to impossible is they can’t see the system you have. If you do not know what you want, the process can become tedious, especially over the phone. This is information that you should have prepared in advance.
Each spring, clean the fan blades and coils on your condenser. First, the power should be turned off so things don’t move as you work. Remove the grill and carefully clean the blades and surrounding areas.
Check to determine if the fan condenser on your HVAC system is equipped with oil ports, and if it is, be sure to lubricate every year. Most of these ports have some sort of protective cap covering them. Put 10 drops of lightweight, non-detergent SAE oil in each port. Be careful not to use too much.
Whenever possible, try to shade the compressor unit outside. The air that’s in a place that is shaded is usually five to six degrees cooler than the surrounding air. Your air conditioning unit will be up to ten percent more efficient if it is properly shaded during the summer months.
You should be sure to change the air filter of your HVAC system once every six months. Neglecting to do so can cause dust particles to clog the air ducts. In turn, your system will not work properly and you will find your bills going up. It’s worth spending the time to clean the filters.
If you want to pay for less power use, consider installing an HVAC-specific solar panel system. Such an installation harnesses the power of the sun directly for your heating and air conditioning. Don’t worry though; you can have a switch put in that automatically connects to the power grid the days there isn’t enough sun.
Don’t let your home get overly hot. Air conditioners can only really cool your home down 20 degrees or so within a reasonable time period. If your house’s interior temperature hits 100 degrees Fahrenheit, you would only be able to cool it down just above 80 degrees. Depending on humidity levels, this isn’t even a safe temperature for a human body to sleep at to recover from summer heat.
As you can see, finding the perfect HVAC system for your home can be tricky. There is a lot of information that you need to absorb before you can make the right decision. By keeping this advice in mind, you can find a great new system that will keep you comfortable all year long.
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