I'm guessing it's safe to say you've heard the old saying an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. You could surely say the same for keeping...
I’m guessing it’s safe to say you’ve heard the old saying an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. You could surely say the same for keeping your home safe, not to mention your car. The same goes for preventing long-term expenses with routine air conditioner cleanings. You could say quite easily, periodic air conditioner cleaning will put money in your pocket. Here is more helpful rules for air conditioner cleaning.
1. You should always turn the unit off prior to beginning any cleaning.
This step is critical, otherwise you could be in for a real shock. Be safe, turn your air conditioner off at the circuit breaker panel.
2. Managing the inside coils.
You will learn there are some definite fundamentals in air conditioner cleanings. Get started by using your regular outdoor hose to get the coils wet. You can then apply a professional strength AC cleaner. You should follow the label instruction for how long you should leave the chemical on the coils. The air conditioner coils should then be rinsed. If you are cleaning a wall mounted unit grab a brush attachment for your vacuum cleaner. To get the best air conditioner cleaning be sure to pay attention to this step.
3. Clean the AC units drain.
Outside the where you will most likely find the air conditioner units drain. A shop-vac is a smart way to clean up the drain area. Find the cap and remove it for a real quality cleaning. Don’t let a lot time pass before putting the drain cap back on. It’s not uncommon to not replace the cap by accident. All part of saving real money down the road.
4. Call in a professional for routine maintenance.
You can keep your air conditioner as clean as possible but a professional offers guarantees. Some even suggest using a professional vacuum at the drain is a good idea. They offer good options to retard the growth of mold.
5. Always take time to replace your furnace filters.
Don’t underestimate the benefits. When running full time change your filter often. Think of your filter as the battle line. Combine these helpful steps and you will prolong any air conditioner repairs. You thought it might be some outrageously intense process but no.
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We’re going into the hottest part of the summer here in the United States and many of us facing a difficult decision: We can stay cool and comfortable in our homes by paying high electric bills due to the cost of running our AC all day long or we can skip the air conditioner and be hot and humid.
If you’re struggling with paying your electric bill this summer then don’t fret, because there are some things you can do to keep your house cool while still saving money. Here are a few inexpensive ways you can help keep your home cooler in the middle of the summer.
Install Blinds on You Windows: You’ll be amazed at how much cooler your house can be with the strategic placement of a few light-blocking blinds over your sunniest windows. Sunlight pouring in through your windows can warm your house like an oven. Regular curtains probably aren’t enough. You’ll want to use a specially designed light-blocking shade. You can keep your regular decorative curtains in place, just be sure to also use light blocking blinds on the same window or doorway. Blocking out that light during the warmest part of the day can make a dramatic difference in cooling.
Clean your AC Air Filters: Whether you have a central air conditioner or window AC units, you have to clean and eventually replace your air filters from time to time to make sure you have a consistent flow of cool air. A dirty air filter can prevent air from being blown efficiently by your air conditioner. If your air filter is really dirty it could actually cause your AC fan to overheat which could end up being expensive to fix. This is probably one of the single most important central AC maintenance tips and it explain why your http://http://www.homeimprovementsdepot.com/central-air-conditioner-not-working-try-these-simple-troubleshooting-steps/>AC won’t cool your house. You’ll want to inspect your air filters once a month and follow the manufacturer’s recommendations for cleaning and replacing your air filters regularly.
Make Your Home Airtight: One way to keep your home cooler is to make sure you’re not losing any cold air from your air conditioner where you shouldn’t be. You can inspect all your windows and doors looking for gaps where cold air could seep out. If you have a central AC then you should inspect as much of the aluminum vent system as you can. Utilize aluminum foil tape to cover up any small holes or gaps that may be letting out cool air. If you have window AC units you may want to make sure they are installed tightly and have no openings around the installation hardware. You may also want to close the air vent registers and close the doors in rooms you don’t use so that your AC doesn’t have to try to cool those rooms too.
And don’t forget, even switching can make a huge cooling difference in a room. All of these energy saving methods will help keep your house interior cool and help your air conditioner keep running efficiently this summer. These are just some of the many DIY home cooling methods you can use to stay comfortable inside during the dog days of the summer months. If you choose to use these energy saving methods together you can really lower your energy bills this summer.
Remember: these are just some of the ways you can save money. There are even some if they are energy saving or needed for a medical condition of any sort.
categories: home cooling,ceiling fan,air conditioner,diy,home improvement,cooling,green home improvements,saving money,frugal,summer,air conditioner
After about fourteen years most central air conditioner units are ready to be replaced, either because they’ve broken down or they’re just no longer as efficient when compared to modern models. With an average cost of $2,000 to $4,000 or more to pay for a new central AC you might want to try taking a few steps to keep your AC running for as long as possible.
First, take the time out right now (before summer) to test your ac unit and make sure it’s running correctly. If you do find a problem you might want to try some of these air conditioner trouble shooting tips if your . Here are are some things you can do to keep your central AC unit in decent working order:
Make Sure Your AC Unit is Clean: The big fan housing part of your AC unit outside your house is called the condenser and it’s what actually cools a Freon liquid in the coils of your air conditioner. You need to keep the condenser unblocked and make sure there is nothing blocking the airflow. Things like leaves, weeds and even kids toys can all damage an AC if left against the condenser. Make sure you aren’t blowing anything against it when you mow your lawn.
Cool Off Your AC: Putting your AC unit in the shade will reduce how hard it has to work and some estimates place the energy savings at nearly 10%! A US Department of Energy report recommends placing tall bushes or some sort of shade structure around your central air conditioner unit so that it doesn’t have to work as hard to stay cool. High-end and commercial air conditioner units actually have sensors in them that can adjust to higher temperatures.
Test your AC Often: Giving your air conditioner a quarterly “check up” will really help keep it working. First, you’ll need to change your home air filter every three to six months. These filters can get blocked with air particles and cut back on the amount of cold air you’re getting in your home. A very blocked filter can actually destroy an AC unit and require it to be replaced.
Regular AC maintenance all year around will help you stay cool for longer and with less AC breakdowns on those days when the temperature gets over 90 degrees! Use common sense and take a few minutes here and there to make sure your AC is running well and you’re sure to have a cool and happy summer.
Do you want to save even more money? Check out some more you can do on your own that could have big payoffs in the future.
categories: air conditioner,AC,central AC,home repair,home improvement,saving money,summer
It is possible to save a great deal of money on utility bills by simply installing a wood stove. Not only that, but wood burning is known to be more environmentally friendly than burning fossil fuels. Traditional oil, gas and coal cannot be replaced once burned but tree can be endlessly replaced by planting new ones. So let’s look at how to actually install one of these beasts.
First understand that installing a wood burner is akin to putting in an above ground furnace, so always check with your insurance company before you commence anything. Most of insurers will require the burner to be professionally installed since there is a certain amount of precision required and a single mistake can easily cause a fire to break out in your house or apartment.
The next step is to calculate the size of wood burner you should install. This is part science and part experience and you would be best advised to speak to a professional. Ask them to pay you a visit so they can see what your requirements are and what the situation is so they can help you choose the right burner.
While it is natural to focus on the wood stove it is in fact equally important to consider the flue, since flues fitted to wood stoves must be lined with material suitable for wood burning. If you are fortunate enough to have a conveniently located chimney you might be able to simply line this with the right sort of material, otherwise you will be looking at additionally installing a new flue.
After your wood burner has been professionally installed, your next step is to clear any and all combustible materials away from the vicinity of the stove. The owner’s manual will specify the recommended clearance for keeping flammable materials from the stove. If you have children, make sure they understand that what is being installed is potentially very dangerous and not a toy.
After you start to actually use your wood stove you will need to schedule cleaning and maintenance. This is not dissimilar to the process for cleaning a regular chimney. The reasons you need to remove creosote and other deposits from the stove and flue are twofold. One, an accumulation of creosote will eventually rot the flue pipe and impair the burner. Two, when not in use during the summer, the creosote will start to smell quite unpleasantly.
To ensure long and trouble free use of you wood burner you should arrange a full sweep and clean at the least every year. By all means also make use of proprietary cleaning products called chimney cleaning logs that don’t do everything the makers claim for them but which can help control deposits to some extent.
To sum up then, bringing in professional help from the beginning will give you wood burning stove installation the best chance of success. This is a long term investment that should pay for itself many times over in the years ahead as well making a small contribution towards reducing the impact on the environment.
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While the wood burning stove doesn’t sound even remotely futuristic, there are in fact a variety of simple yet compelling reasons why this apparent relic of the past is poised to re-emerge as an important heating technology in the years ahead.
The original wood burning stove was born of necessity about two hundred and fifty years ago when the rapid expansion of Philadelphia led to a chronic shortage of firewood. Among the residents happened to be the famous inventor Benjamin Franklin, who developed the circulating stove to alleviate this issue.
This new stove was orders of magnitude more efficient than a conventional open fire, which meant quite simply that a reduced amount of wood was needed which in turn substantially eased the excess demand for this finite resource. The first design was soon improved with a front door, to seal and even better control the airflow, and it remained fundamentally unchanged for the succeeding two hundred or so years.
By the time the 1970s rolled around, a familiar story resurfaced; the oil crises of that period of time limited the supply of oil which in turn impacted the many people who by this time counted on gas and oil to operate their heating systems. Many quite sensibly began to reconsider wood burners given the easily accessible and thus more affordable supply of fuel.
It could all have gone horribly wrong at this point as two hundred year old heating technology confronted modern fuel efficiency and pollution laws. But instead there were soon wood burners that boasted heat resistant linings, automation, and catalytic converters even. This new breed was a serious match for even the most up-to-date oil and gas boilers.
The wood stove continued comfortably along in this new upgraded form, but remained a decidedly minor player in the heating technology world. That was until oil depletion and climate change started creeping up the global agenda. Without doubt the escalating price of oil at first drove this new resurgence in the popularity of the humble wood burner, but concern about carbon footprints was also becoming a factor.
Burning wood is in fact not only cheap, it’s also a more or less carbon neutral and completely renewable form of energy. So long as the sun continues to shine, trees will take in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and split it into carbon in the form of wood and oxygen which is released back into the air.
All that is necessary to clean up the CO2 discharged by burning the wood from a tree is to grow another tree. It really is as straightforward as that and for that reason, although it will probably never become a dominant heating technology, woodburning is likely to be with us for quite some time yet. Think of it as a kind of solar energy that helps clear CO2 from the atmosphere while the fuel grows.
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