Before you know it, warm weather will be here to stay. Even though outdoor temperatures are currently fluctuating, there’s no better time than the present to prep your home for savings come cooling season! Thiele Heating & Air Conditioning brings you top spring HVAC tips that will help you boost your energy savings when it’s time to turn on your air conditioner.
Top Spring HVAC Tips
Our top spring HVAC tips are designed to help you prepare your HVAC system and home for warmer weather while maximizing energy efficiency. This season, take action and complete the following steps so you can increase your energy savings whenever you use your air conditioner this summer.
1. Schedule Preventative Maintenance
Cooling equipment requires a professional tune up each year – or twice a year if you use a heat pump system. Spring is the ideal time to have this service performed, as the timing allows your system to be fully serviced prior to the start of the cooling season. The air conditioner or heat pump receives the care it needs to operate at maximum energy efficiency, and any malfunctions are found and corrected prior to running the system this season.
Preventative maintenance tune ups help you save money in many ways. When your air conditioner or heat pump operates at a higher efficiency level, as it uses less energy to cool your home. The lower your energy consumption, the lower your energy costs will be. You save money on repairs by catching and fixing them early on. Fixing repairs early can also help you avoid a sudden system outage and high fees for major HVAC repair calls.
2. HVAC System Cleaning
The winter season isn’t always kind to your outdoor HVAC equipment. One of the most important spring energy saving tips is correcting outdoor unit issues that have occurred over the winter.
- Clear away any debris that has accumulated along the exterior of the outdoor unit.
- Pull out any weeds or vegetation growing up from the base of your outdoor unit, which could obstruct the fins.
- Prune shrubs and trees nearby that have grown out of control and may impact airflow through the outdoor unit.
- Make sure the outdoor unit is level and secure – call your HVAC technician to make repairs if needed.
- Check overhead gutters and make sure they flow correctly. You don’t want water spilling over the edge onto your outdoor HVAC unit.
These housekeeping steps for your outdoor unit will save money by improving system efficiency. Anytime airflow is obstructed, the system will draw more power to operate. Avoiding water damage from leaking gutters can also help you avoid a big repair bill.
3. Seal Your Home
Air leaks throughout the house increase energy waste, forcing your cooling system to do extra work to keep your living areas comfortable. Our spring HVAC tips include checking for air leakage and sealing leaks when you find them.
- Windows and doors should be checked to see how efficiently they keep warm air out. If you find that your doors aren’t closing properly, weather stripping can be added to save precious cold air.
- Cleaning your windows and screens can identify holes or tears that could be causing your HVAC system to work overtime.
- Check for gaps and holes in the foundation, around exterior wall penetrations, surrounding window and door frames, and in other areas of the home. Use caulking to seal these gaps and help your home hold cool air in.
By sealing air leaks, you reduce the amount of cooling lost and heating gained through these cracks. By reducing this load, your air conditioner won’t have to work overtime and you’ll save money on your energy bills.
4. Clean & Maintain Household Equipment
Vacuuming isn’t just for floors! Our spring HVAC tips include some cleaning for important accessories in your home.
- Your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors need some TLC twice a year. When you change out the batteries, recommended during daylight savings time, go ahead and give them a good dusting to prevent malfunctions.
- Another unit to vacuum is your dehumidifier. Remove the cover and allow the unit to dry completely.
- While you’re working on the dehumidifier, go ahead clean its filter. Shut off power to the dehumidifier and remove the filter. Use warm water and detergent to clean the filter, then rinse. Shake out the filter to remove as much water as possible. Reinstall the filter, close access doors, and turn the power back on.
These spring HVAC tips help you save money and improve household safety. Maintaining your dehumidifier will ensure it is working properly this summer. Your whole house dehumidifier alleviates the dehumidification burden on your air conditioner so it can run more efficiently and use less energy.
5. Clean Vents
All vents throughout your home should be open and unblocked. Take time to walk around the house and make sure all are open and are not covered by furniture, rugs, and other items. If vent covers and grilles are dirty, vacuum them or remove them and clean with warm water and soap. Fully dry each cover before reinstalling on the vent opening.
Cleaning vent covers saves you money by eliminating any airflow obstructions that could cause the air conditioner to consume excess energy. It also prevents these particles from entering the system as air circulates, where they could rest inside your cooling equipment and stress the system, which also wastes energy.
HVAC Maintenance for Indianapolis Homes
Completing our spring HVAC tips will surely help you improve your home’s energy efficiency throughout the summer season. Call Thiele Heating & Air Conditioning today to schedule preventative maintenance tune up service for your air conditioner or heat pump.