It’s been one hot summer this year. Temperatures have been hitting record highs almost every day. Our neighbors to the south in Boston saw their hottest day in recorded history just the other week. It’s safe to say that your AC is probably getting a workout this summer. That said, it’s important to remember to take it easy on your HVAC system. Overworked and overused ACs can break down and even in some rare instances cause electrical fires. Thankfully, there are some easy and convenient ways to take the strain off your AC system during this unprecedented heat wave.

Run Your Fan 24/7

This is a no-brainer. Short of an HVAC system, a good fan is one of the best ways to keep cool during a heat spell. By turning off the AC for a few hours here and there and supplementing the your cooling efforts with even a simple, cheap box fan from Walmart can keep you cool for a short period of time. While the temperature obviously won’t match the efficacy of the HVAC system, it’ll get the job done while you give AC unit a break for a little bit.

Don’t Turn off The AC When You Go To Work

This may sound counter productive, but hear us out. When you turn off your AC when you go to work, your house warms up dramatically during the day. That means that when you come home, your system has to work that much harder to get it back to a comfortable level. Think of it as a runner falling behind in a footrace: he has to run twice as hard to catch back up. By leaving your system running for eight hours while you’re out, there’s less catch up to do while you’re home. You can compensate this extra use of the AC by keeping it at a lower power or at a higher temperature. Keeping your blinds, curtains and windows closed during the day will help prevent the heat from entering your home and keep it comfortably cool.

Change Your Filters Regularly

Your air conditioner’s filters take harmful particles and bacteria out of the air you breathe. Over time, these filters get dirty and need to be replaced on a regular basis. Without regular changing, the filters decrease the AC’s efficiency and makes it work harder. This leads to more strain and more breakdowns, which is the last thing you need to deal with when the weather is 100+ degrees out there.

Wash the Outdoor Unit

If you have an outdoor unit, it’s going to get dirty. It’s just the nature of it being outside. Dirt, insects, leaves, water, and other forms of debris are all liable to accumulate on the unit over time and it doesn’t take a seasoned HVAC tech to be able to guess that stuff like that has an overall negative impact on your system. Giving it a good wash down every once in a while helps it work at 100%.

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By nshec