The dog days of summer is no time for the air conditioning to go out. One local HVAC company has some tips to keep your home an oasis this summer.
The perfect temperature to run the air conditioner is mostly a matter of preference, but some families are looking to save some money on their electric bill by keeping it at a recommended temperature, usually 78 degrees.
"For some people, that's not really a tolerable temperature," said Clint Kennon, founder of Kennon HVAC. "We always recommend about 75, somewhere in that range. If you are going to set it back, maybe if you go to work or something like that, you want to stay within a three degree temperature difference."
Kennon said if you like it at 75 degrees, set it to 78 when you go to work to save some money. But he said the electric companies are right about turning your AC unit off during the day.
"You definitely don't want to turn it off or way up because the system is going to work a lot harder to catch back up," said Kennon. "And you're just going to throw all that extra savings out the window when you get back home."
But Kennon said if you have to crank it all the way down to stay cool, that's a red flag.
"We go into a lot of homes where customers actually turn their air conditioners down to 72, 71, or 70 even," said Kennon. "If you're having to do that with your air conditioner, you might have a problem with humidity."
Kennon said the humidity level will "definitely affect" how comfortable a home is.
Generally, good maintenance will help the health of your HVAC unit and keep you cool over the summer.
"The best thing a homeowner can do is change your filter," Kennon said. He suggested changing the filter every time your electric bill comes in for the most savings on your bill.
And, don't skimp on the regular maintenance.
"When you buy a car, the first thing you do is get your oil changed," said Kennon. "An air conditioner is a machine just like a car is, so you want to maintain it. So the best thing you can do, besides changing your filters, is have an AC company come out and do the maintenance."
Kennon said regular maintenance usually plans for summer care in the spring, so your HVAC call shouldn't cost more than usual just because it's summer.
