There are several things you can do as a home owner to help your Air Conditioner work better and last longer.

1. Don't mow around your Air Conditioner when it's running. The coils will get clogged with grass clippings. When you do mow, make sure the lawn mower discharge is away from the A/C unit.

2. Keep hedges and other obstructions well away from the outside A/C unit. It needs to breathe. Plants should be kept several feet away so as not to obstruct air flow (18 inch minimum). Shade is good (can reduce your A/C cost by 10%) but trim those shrubs.

3. Use a garden hose (not a pressure washer) and rinse the outside coils several times a year. Bits of grass and dust can clog the fins, making it harder to remove heat from your house. This won't take the place of a professional cleaning, but it will help. Turn off the A/C (at the circuit breaker) before rinsing the outside coils. Most A/C systems installed in the past 15 years have a circuit breaker or switch (called a disconnect) on the side of the house near the A/C unit.

4. Buy good (but cheap) filters and change them often. Pleated filters (like 3M Filtrete) are better than the cheap blue fiberglass ones, but don't go overboard. Highly restrictive filters can damage your A/C or furnace.You don't have to change filters every month, just check them and lightly vacuum if they are dirty. If you have pets, hobbies that create dust, or do a lot of cooking, you may have to check/change filters more often. Washable filters (permanent type) are too restrictive and should not be used. Look for the "Air Flow" arrows, and make sure the filter is installed the right way.

5. Check the white plastic condensation drain and make sure it's not plugged. There should be no water leaking from the A/C unit itself. Water should drain only from the white plastic pipe. A/C systems installed in the attic have a metal pan to catch overflow if the drain is clogged and usually have two drain pipes--one from the A/C system and one from the overflow pan. These pipes usually protrude from the foundation somewhere around the house and should also be checked. It's hard to tell if water is draining from the main pipe (good) or the overflow pipe (bad) so check the metal pan. Rust or other evidence of water in the pan indicates an overflow which should be checked out. Some overflow pans have an overflow switch (instead of a second pipe) to shut off the A/C if the pan is full. In any case, the pan should be dry. The outside parts of your A/C system should be a few inches above ground so ground water won't rust out the bottom of the unit. Landscaping may change your yard's drainage and cause water to collect under the A/C unit. This condition should be corrected so that the A/C system is kept reasonably dry.

6. Get an attic ventilating fan. Most homes built in the last few years don't have enough attic ventilation and really need an attic fan. Much of your Air Conditioning load is from removing the heat that builds up in the attic during the day. Attic fans are cheap to buy and cheap to run. A dime's worth of attic fan can save a dollar's worth of cooling. In the summer, use bathroom and kitchen vent fans and to help lower your house's humidity, which reduces the load on your Air Conditioner.

7. During strong electrical storms or power outages, turn your A/C unit off. The compressor could be damaged if it tries to restart under low voltage conditions. Some units have built-in compressor protection, but most don't. Ideally, an A/C unit should remain off for 3-5 minutes before restarting, but during a power outage or strong electrical storm, it may try to restart several times a minute as the power fluctuates.



Other D-I-Y Tips

Leaky Ducts

It's not hard to have 10%-20% of your cooling and heating disappear in the attic (or crawl space) because of leaky duct work. At least once a year (preferably before it gets too hot) check your duct work for leaks. Turn the A/C fan "On" before going into the attic so you can feel the air leaking from any gaps. Feel around the cabinet of the A/C unit for leaks, especially where the duct work connects to the A/C unit because that's where air pressure is highest and where leaks matter most. Use a high quality duct tape to reseal any leaks. IThe tape should say "UL 181" on the label. The cheap gray duct tape sold in most home centers is not really for air ducts. We don't use it and you shouldn't either. You probably can't get to all of the duct work in the attic, but check the joints you can reach for air leaks and re-tape them if necessary. Don't put duct tape on or near the metal furnace vent pipe.


Replacing a Thermostat

First, buy one the same size or a little larger than the one you are replacing so you don't have to repaint the wall where the old one was. Honeywell and Robertshaw are good brands. Digital thermostats are more accurate than mechanical ones, and a programmable thermostat is a good idea if no one is home during the day. A programmable thermostat can let the house's temperature rise (or fall) during the day when no one's home, and restart the A/C (or heat) and get the house comfortable again before you get home from work. This can save a lot of energy, but this technique won't work if the house is occupied all day. When programming your thermostat, don't let the house get too hot if you have inside pets.

Get a programmable thermostat that lets you set different programs for weekdays and weekends. This type is called a "5+2" and has only two settings: one for weekdays and one for weekends. Some let you program each day separately, but having to set up seven programs can be a pain if you don't need that much flexibility.

Features to look for: Some Honeywell thermostats don't need batteries, but Robertshaw programmable thermostats have a compressor time delay that prevents the compressor from trying to restart during power outages. (This feature can prevent your compressor from burning out trying to start under low voltage conditions such as during a power outage or storm.)

All new thermostats come with installation instructions and most home owners can replace a thermostat without too much trouble. However, most mechanical thermostats (like the one you are probably replacing) have a vial of Mercury inside. The amount of Mercury is small and represents no danger as long as it's still in the glass vial. Nevertheless Mercury is a health hazard and should not be thrown in the trash. Ask the store where you bought the replacement thermostat about recycling. If you can't find a place to recycle the old thermostat, give us a call and we'll pick it up and recycle it for you at no charge. Since the year 2000, more than 1000 pounds of Mercury have been reclaimed from old thermostats by the heating and air conditioning industry.


Color Codes

Most (but not all) manufacturers use the following wiring color codes:

Red = common. Check this connection if none of the thermostat's functions work.

Green = fan. Check this connection if the fan will not work when the fan switch is "On."

White = heat. Check this connection if the heat will not come on.

Yellow = air conditioning. Check this connection if the A/C will not come on.

Call us if you have any questions. There is no charge to speak to a technician.

©Copyright 2002-2003 Suburban Heating & Cooling