Have you ever had an energy bill that seemed higher than it should? I think we can all relate. I know i’ve even been struck with a few shocking bills before and i’ve been working for an AC Repair Company since the early 70’s. I can remember one time in particular back when i lived in California years ago. I just bought a new house that had an older Central Air Conditioning System. I was suspicious that it wasn’t operating at peak efficiency but it still kept the house cool so i didn’t do anything about it. The next thing you know i got the most unusually high Air Conditioning bill of my life! It was a real wake up call.
Since then, over the years, i’ve talked to several homeowners who’ve told me they’ve had a similar experience. They thought their Central Air Conditioning System was running properly because it was keeping the house cool but in reality that was far from the truth. It was running constantly and so inefficiently that it nearly tripled their energy bills.
Fortunately if you ever notice that your Central Air Conditioning System is running awkwardly here are a few things you can do to prevent yourself from ending up with an unusually high Air Conditioning bill like i got.
1. Replace Your Filter
There are many factors, which can contribute to unusually high utility bills but one of the most simple ones to fix is a dirty filter. Make sure you’re replacing your filter on a regular basis. 1” filters usually have to be changed once a month and 4” filters can last as long as 6 months.
2. Make Sure Your Outdoor AC Unit Isn’t Plugged
Another very common reason Air Conditioners will run inefficiently is because the outdoor unit is plugged with debris. Any overgrown vegetation, dirt or tree debris surrounding it can all cause it. The debris restricts the units air flow, causing it to work harder and longer, resulting in higher cooling bills.
3. Make Sure You Don’t Have Any Damaged Coils
Another common reason is because of a damaged coil in the outdoor unit. This usually happens because of a hail storm. Just like having debris plugging up the unit a bent or damaged fin will restrict the airflow, resulting in higher cooling bills.
If this happens sometimes you might be able to comb the bends out but most likely that might be pretty tough. Rather than trying to restore the fins it might be more cost effective to buy a new Central Air Conditioner For Your Home. The good thing is that most of the time your homeowners insurance will pay for the new AC Installation in the event of a hail storm.
Last resort? Call A Professional
Still not noticing unusually high utility bills? The next thing you might want to consider is the performance of the individual parts inside the unit themselves. However, in order to determine if that is the case your going to want to call a professional Air Conditioning Repair Sevice with the expertise and proper testing equipment to make that determination for you. Hopefully it can be fixed by simply adding Freon or swapping out a component.
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