How It Works

When the summer heat takes over your home, your central air conditioner should be working in tip-top shape. It uses an indoor and outdoor coil - along with a set of fans - to cool your home and remove heat. Copper tubes carry heat away from your home and the indoor coil collects moisture to drain outside.

What Can Go Wrong?

Without proper maintenance, you may find the temperature rising well above the thermostat setting. Your air conditioner may work longer and harder, wasting energy for the same effect. 

Most often, you can avoid these problems by replacing the air filter - once every two months during the cooling season is ideal for an effective and energy-efficient unit. Your brand new air filter allows frigid, moisture controlled air to recycle between your home and air conditioner. 

If your home isn't cooling within five minutes of turning on your air conditioner - and the air filters are clean - get a professional diagnosis. There may be a problem with the refrigerant charge, compressor, condenser or fan.  

Environmental Impact

Air conditioners typically use between 18,000 and 60,000 British Thermal Units per hour (BTUh). a smaller 5000 BTU air conditioner uses less energy but is only suitable for single room cooling. Larger units can emit huge amounts of CO₂ over the cooling season, so it's important to keep your air conditioner at its most efficient. Check out our energy conservation tips to save money and protect the systems that run your home with simple solutions from MyHomeWorks™.