Should You Run Your Air Conditioner All the Time?
The sweltering 100 degree weather in the summer is enough to send anyone running inside their air conditioned home. Air conditioners are lifesavers for Arizonans, so it’s important that they work properly and are well maintained. A large part of taking care of your unit is how long you leave it running. Today we are going to answer the age old question: should air conditioners be left on all the time during the hot months or do they require a certain amount of downtime?
Like refrigerators, air conditioners are designed to maintain a set temperature. Once they reach the desired coolness, they shut off until the temperature rises again. This works to save energy and reduce wear and tear on the appliance. Constant running can actually reduce the air conditioner’s lifespan. That being said, it can be challenging not to have your air conditioner running all the time when it is so hot outside. Fortunately, there are some ways to manage the heat without sacrificing your air conditioner.
Close all the window coverings during the day.
Blinds and curtains will do wonders to keep the heat out, so make sure to pull them down. You don’t need to live in darkness, however, simply keep the blinds closed on the east side of your house in the morning and then on the west side in the afternoon.
Let your air conditioner rest at night.
During cooler evenings, set your thermostat to a temperature that won’t require the air conditioner to run.
Use fans to share the cooling load.
Ceiling fans set counter-clockwise will pull up the cold air from the ground. Rotating or table fans can be used in tandem with your air conditioner unit to keep air circulating.
Use your appliances strategically.
Small changes like opting for using your crockpot over your oven once a week or only using your washer and dryer at night can make a big difference. Using these appliances can produce a lot of heat, so ensure you give your AC a break by only operating them when you need.
Follow these tips to take a load off of your air conditioning unit and keep it running when you need it the most. If your air conditioner keeps running even with all the above provisions, it could be a sign that something is wrong. In that case, contact your friendly Wickenburg-area technicians for an inspection today!
Taking care of parts like the fan and the filters could be exactly the kind of thing that we need to do more often for our unit. I feel as if we haven’t paid much attention to that, so it’s the thing that might need the most work when we get it cleaned. I’ll go and ask an HVAC contractor from the area to help us out with those specific parts so it’s much faster for us to get that maintenance done.