With the spring weather treating us so well this year, most of us have not had to rely on our A/C systems yet. What most do not realize is that 60% of utility bills usually consist of the cost of your A/C running and that if your bill jumps up over 25% in cost, there is a good chance that something isn’t working correctly.

Here is what to look for at the beginning of this summer season to see if you may need a repair on your A/C unit to prevent you and your family from being out of cool air during the hot months.

1.    If the lights in your home dim or change when you turn the A/C on.

2.    If there are whistling noises (common with A/C units that are outside).

3.    If you haven’t had a tune up in over a year.

4.    If it’s humid or feels different inside your home.

5.    If it takes a while for the A/C to kick in.

Here are some tips on saving money when the A/C bills begin to rise due to the summer heat:

•     If the A/C is making noises, the air filter may need to be changed due to air restriction.

•     Make sure not to turn your A/C on and off when leaving your home. This requires the system to use more energy to try to cool down not only the air, but all of your items that have also heated up while the A/C was off. Items can reach over 100 degrees when sitting in a home with the AC turned off. Ideally, you should keep you’re A/C at 74 degrees while you are home and 84 when you leave.

•     An A/C filter should be changed every 30 days (standard) or 90 days (pleated).

•     Having proper insulation and ventilation in your attic is also a great way to save on energy.

o     Heat flows naturally from a warm place to a cooler space. In the winter, heated air will try to flow to an unheated garage, basement or attic. Conversely, in warm months, heat will try to flow from the outdoors into the cool interior of the home. The majority of this heat transfer in homes takes place in the attic.

o     It’s the role of insulation to prevent this unwanted circulation throughout your home. Combined with proper ventilation and a radiant barrier, proper insulation helps your home maintain a comfortable, uniform temperature throughout the year with significantly less use of heating and cooling systems. As a bonus, insulation can also act as a sound absorber, to help make your home quieter.

“It’s important that people regularly have a professional come and check their A/C units to make sure that everything is working properly,” said David Dami, Goettl  general sales manager.  “A problem that could be easy to fix initially but is put off for too long can become a very expensive and time consuming problem.”

My conversation was with a representative from Goettl Air Conditioning. If you want to learn more about Goettl Air Conditioning please check out their website at http://www.goettl.com.

 I hope you find this information helpful and if you have any tips you can offer our moms and families on keeping cool this summer – please leave a comment!