Popular myths can be notoriously difficult to squash, and in the case of home cooling myths, they can do more harm than good to your system’s efficiency. Here are the facts behind some of the most popular home cooling myths.
Cool Your Home Faster by Lowering the Thermostat
Turning your thermostat all the way down does not cool your home any faster. Your system is designed to cool at a steady rate, and turning down the thermostat further will only increase the chances of you forgetting to reset the temperature and wasting energy.
Leaving the Air Conditioner Running While You’re Away Saves Money
By cooling an unoccupied home, you’re wasting more energy than it takes to cool down a hot home after you arrive. To make sure your house is comfortable when you come home while still saving energy, install a programmable thermostat and set it to turn on the air conditioner about an hour before you arrive.
Upgrading to a Larger Air Conditioner Will Increase Comfort
If your current air conditioner isn’t cooling adequately and it was properly sized for your home when installed, it’s likely that it only needs some routine maintenance, such as cleaning the coils, changing the air filter or verifying it has the correct amount of refrigerant. Upgrading to an oversized air conditioner will only result in an inefficient system that may require more frequent maintenance.
Air Conditioners Only Cool the Air
Air conditioners wouldn’t work as well if they only cooled the air. Most also remove moisture from the air, which helps you feel cooler at a higher temperature. When there’s excess moisture in the air, like on a humid summer day, it feels warmer than it actually is.
Fans Can Cool a Room
Fans only help people feel cooler by circulating the air and creating the wind chill effect. Turning them off in unoccupied rooms saves electricity and money.
To learn more about home cooling myths and how they hinder your system’s performance, contact Mowery Heating, Cooling and Plumbing. We’ve been serving the Indianapolis area for over 40 years.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Brownsburg, Indiana and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).
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