Air Conditioner FAQs

Air filters can get dirty quite quickly. The best way to determine when you need to change the filter is to check on it frequently. In general, we recommend that you change out your air filter once every one to three months. This is largely dependent on the air quality in your home. If you start to notice problems with your AC, you might want to check to see if your filter is dirty.

Preventative maintenance benefits you by catching any potential problems with your air conditioner before they become a bigger issue. At Cates Heating and Cooling, we recommend at least annual maintenance on HVAC products. In some cases, it may be best to have maintenance done on your air conditioner before the weather starts to warm up and again on your furnace before it starts to get cold.

Air conditioners that undergo yearly maintenance are less likely to need repairs at other points during the year. These regular repairs quickly add up to a lot of extra dollars spent to make sure that your air conditioner is running and running efficiently.

Indoor humidity levels should be kept between 35 and 50 percent to prevent condensation from forming mold and static electricity. Most homes are kept between 40 and 45 percent humidity for the comfort of the occupants.

The best way to prevent overpaying on your energy bill this summer is to never let your home become uncomfortably hot in the first place. Air conditioners are only designed to change the temperature by 20 degrees, so if you turn off the AC in your home when it is hot out for a few hours, you may come back to find that when you turn the AC back on, the system struggles to cool your home back down. Instead, it is best to only change the temperatures a few degrees in either direction at a time to prevent overworking the system.

Programmable thermostats are a great way to save money! These thermostats auto-adjust the temperature in your home throughout the day. The small adjustments that programmable thermostats make can save you between 15 and 20 percent on cooling costs. However, you will want to make sure that you don’t have your new thermostat installed in a place in your home where the temperature easily fluctuates.

UFirst, you may want to start by talking to your utility company to see how much people in other homes similar in square footage to yours. They might be able to help you calculate how much you are spending per square foot to cool your house.

Most air conditioners will last between 10 and 20 years. You may notice that over time your unit starts to run less efficiently. Some HVAC units will also start to get louder and need more frequent repairs. At some point, you will probably need to decide on whether you would like to keep up with repairs or replace the system altogether.

While there is no “best temperature,” we always recommend setting the temperature to the highest temperature at which you and your family are still comfortable. For some people, this may be 75°F, and for others, it may be 68°F. As temperatures first start to warm up, you might opt for a higher temperature and then start turning it down as it gets even hotter..

To determine the size of the air conditioner that you need, you will need to think about a lot of different factors. For this reason, we recommend that you contact one of our technicians for a consultation. We can help you determine the size of the air conditioner that you need based on the size of your home, the climate in which you live, and more.

When it comes to purchasing a new air conditioner, there are a lot of different factors to consider to determine how much a unit costs. If you are considering a new air conditioner, you can contact Cates Heating and Cooling for a free estimate.