We hate to tell you this, but summer is over. We’re sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but the change of seasons is an important time if you’re interested in saving money on your energy bill. It is of course time to prepare your home heating system and if you need things like insulation and you need to service your furnace, now’s the time to do that. But it’s also time to shut down your air conditioning system.
Tragar Home Services Are Your Energy Experts All Year Round
At Tragar Home Services, we want you to get the most out of both your cooling and heating systems. It’s why we’re available to service your systems year round in all types of weather. We want you to be certain to be shut down properly and we want your system well maintained, so we want to tell you what you should be doing to prepare your air conditioning system for fall or winter weather.
The Basics and Air Conditioner Maintenance
The arrival of cool weather is an excellent time to perform maintenance on your air conditioning system before you shut it down. This is particularly important for central air conditioning systems. If you have an outdoor condenser you want to make sure that you clear any leaves and twigs away. You’ll also want to make certain that you place a cover over your central air unit to keep it away from the snow. During fall and winter you want to rake the leaves away and shovel the snow away from your central air unit.
Shutting down your air conditioning system for the winter is also a good time to change your filters. Dirty filters cause your system to lose energy efficiency and you don’t want the dirt to stay in your system all through the winter months. Dirt can also cause other problems like freezing up your system. Another important thing to clean are the coils on your air conditioning system. Leaving dirt inside your system can spread allergens inside your home and dirty coils can reduce the life of your system.
Cold weather also means it’s time to adjust your thermostat. If you have a ductless air conditioning system, which has both heating and cooling, that means it’s time to adjust the temperature inside your home. The Department of Energy suggests setting your thermostat as low as is comfortable during the fall and winter months. They also recommend setting your thermostat down 10 to 15 degrees when you’re asleep or not home. It’s also a good idea to own a programmable thermostat which can save you up you 33 percent on your energy costs.
Tragar Home Services Is Always There For You
Finally, it’s always a good idea to do one final inspection before you say goodbye to summer. Check and see if there are any cracks or electrical problems with the unit. Also keep an eye on your system in the winter as well.
Making certain you shut off, and shut down your air conditioning properly is a great way to avoid problems when you’re ready to start it up again in the spring of 2018. If you have any problems with your air conditioning system all year round or your home heating system, don’t worry. Tragar Home Services will be there for you. If you’re interested in our service plans or a tune-up for your cooling or heating systems, contact us today.
