Six Bad Habits That Will Prematurely Age Your Air Conditioner
Air conditioners tend to be fairly expensive home appliances, so anything you can do to increase the lifespan of your air conditioner will save you money in the long run. Unfortunately, a lot of homeowners have bad habits that cause their air conditioners to work harder than necessary and therefore age prematurely.
The following are some bad habits you should get rid of to avoid prematurely aging your air conditioner:
Leaving doors and windows open while running your air conditioner
Open doors and windows allow conditioned air to escape a home. This means that the energy the air conditioner expends to cool that air was wasted. Doors and windows that are left open while an air conditioner runs lead to inefficiencies and make it so that the air conditioner has to work harder for the same results.
Closing your doors and windows keeps conditioned air inside and makes it so that you can more or less give your air conditioner a break for a while once you've achieved the desired temperature on your interiors.
Neglecting to change your air filter when necessary
Air filters in air conditioners are important for optimizing the air quality within a home. However, if they are not changed when necessary they can restrict the airflow in an air conditioner.
Restricted airflow makes it harder for an air conditioning system to channel conditioned air throughout a home. Restricted airflow puts more pressure on an air conditioner unit and therefore leads to more wear and tear. This makes the unit age faster.
Not keeping your vents and ducts clean
Another thing that restricts airflow and thereby prematurely ages an air conditioner is allowing dust and other debris to build up in vents and ducts. Vents and ducts are essential for freely channeling conditioned air to interiors, so if they become blocked it will put more stress on the air conditioner unit.
Positioning your outdoor unit in an area that isn't shaded
If your outdoor unit is positioned in full sunlight, it's not going to function as efficiently as it should because it will have trouble cooling the air inside it. Put some shade-creating landscaping features in your yard around your outdoor unit to prevent full sunlight from hitting it. This will lead to greater efficiency and less wear and tear over time.
If you're looking for more information or need a replacement or repairs, contact an air conditioner provider near you.
