In the United States, there are more than 100 million homes with air conditioning keeping them comfortable. But once the summer hits and your electric bill starts skyrocketing, you might be wondering how best to use your air conditioner.

If you’re curious about blunders to avoid during the summer, we’re here to help. Read on for the four biggest mistakes you can make with your air conditioner over the summer.

1. Weak Air Conditioning

One of the first things you should be aware of is the strength of your air conditioner. Not all units are built the same, and you can easily find yourself using too weak of an air conditioning unit. Weak air conditioners can affect air quality and temperature in negative ways.

The larger the home (or the more rooms being conditioned), the more powerful of an air conditioner you need. Make sure that you’re using an air conditioning unit powerful enough to keep your home properly conditioned.

2. Keep the House Closed!

Another crucial thing to keeping your home cool is to keep the air in the house. Every time you open a door or window, cold air goes gusting out as fast as it can. In just a few minutes of opening your home, you’ve already let in a great deal of hot air.

Not only does this make your home warm again, it also increases your electric bill. Your conditioning unit will work overtime to get cold air into your home, increasing the power your home uses.

Keep windows closed when your air conditioning is on. Similarly, open your doors as rarely as possible and close them as soon as you can. That way, you’re limiting how much air is leaving your home!

3. Open Doors, Open Vents

You shouldn’t only keep your doors leading outside closed. The rooms that you’re in should also remain closed. By keeping the door closed, you keep the air inside instead of flowing through the home and hall.

However, once you leave the room, you should close the vent. Keeping the vent closed will make the airflow into other rooms that are currently in use. You won’t waste money and air keeping unoccupied rooms cold this way!

4. Constant Conditioning

You might think that the best way to keep your home conditioned is to leave your unit running at max as often as possible. Unfortunately, there are many drawbacks to this.

For starters, you don’t need to condition a home you aren’t in. You can save money and the environment by keeping your air conditioning off while you aren’t home. Additionally, you threaten to overwork and break your unit by leaving it constantly running.

Run your conditioner intermittently to make sure you aren’t straining the unit. That way, you save money and prolong the life of your unit!

How to Use Your Air Conditioner

Your air conditioner is one of the most important parts of your home when it comes to keeping you comfortable. Avoiding these AC mistakes can help keep your home cool. 

To learn more about air conditioner maintenance and AC issues, feel free to contact us!