Save Cash on Summer A/C with These Simple Tips

Every day, your air conditioner toils to keep your house cooled and climate controlled. For the most part, many Americans take their heating and cooling systems for granted, just letting them go about their business unchecked. We tend to ignore our cooling systems until they break. Once that happens, it becomes painfully clear just how necessary climate control can be.

We’ve been taking care of air conditioning systems for years, and there’s much more to caring for your systems than just making sure nothing’s caught in the condenser and ensuring your ventilation is clear. As such, here are a few tips we want to share with you so you can save money on your air conditioning while still keeping your residence or business as cool as you want, all summer long.

Know Your System’s Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio

The total efficiency of air conditioning systems is called the Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio, or SEER for short. The guidelines of this efficiency ratio were created by the Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute, with 2008 being the most recent revision. The SEER is calculated by taking the amount of total cooling that a system has performed and dividing it by the amount of electricity it used in total. America measures cooling and heating units in the “British Thermal Unit” or BTU, and uses “watt-hours.”

If the math is too involved, that’s okay. We can help you figure out the SEER of your air conditioning system. New systems are required by federal regulations to have a SEER rating of at least 13. An AC unit with a SEER rating of 16 or greater will save the owner hundreds of dollars a year in efficiency. Older systems, especially those made before 2008, can have SEER ratings of 6 or lower — a huge difference in efficiency.

If you know your system is older and less efficient, don’t fret — contact us at Care Temp, LLC. We know how to install high-efficiency systems and bolster current systems to be more energy efficient. Contact us today to learn more about AC units with the highest SEER ratings. In the hotter months, New Jersey can get very hot, humid, and uncomfortable. Start saving money by using only the best SEER-rated systems.

Do You Use a Modulated AC System?

In a nutshell, modulated air conditioners are operated by a variable-speed system that adjusts the speed of the system as needed. When a property is being cooled to the desired level, it will drop to a lower speed instead of turning off entirely. Likewise, it won’t wait until your residence warms up before turning back on. The system maintains a low, efficient cooling speed to keep your property cool instead of constantly switching off and on. This process creates level cooling that is both energy- and cost-efficient. Additionally, many of these systems include separate, more efficient humidifiers and dehumidifiers, which play a significant role in the heating and cooling of a property. Through both of these advantages, modulated A/C systems can save you a nice chunk of cash every summer.

Speaking of Humidifiers… How’s Yours?

It’s a valid question. Often, areas can feel hotter than they actually are, which can cause people to over-cool their properties. This practice obviously costs more money than necessary. At the same time, insufficient humidity causes parts to dry out and can damage various things in a property that require a little moisture to stay in good condition — including leather furniture, carpets, and even people and pets sleeping in your home.

It pays over time to get proper humidity control systems in your property, whether you need humidification, dehumidification, or both. Some properties have excess moisture in their basements and need to add humidity to the rest of the property. You can save hundreds of dollars a year on cooling by maintaining healthy humidity levels throughout your property. Many modulated air conditioners include built-in humidity control, but if you’re using an older system, Care Temp, LLC can visit and walk you through your options for humidity control.

Does Your AC System Incorporate Heat Pumps?

Most standard A/C units use a refrigerant-based cooling process that works with a condenser, an air handler, and evaporator coils to extract heat and moisture from the air, producing the cooled air that people appreciate in the summer. This process consumes a significant amount of electricity and can place heavy demands on energy budgets. This is where heat pumps come in — they are purpose-built to extract heat and expel it outside a property when needed, or draw heat from outside and pump it in when required.

Instead of relying on traditional refrigerant cooling, consider a system that uses heat pumps to save a lot of money on cooling without putting strain on the A/C unit. Heat pumps are built to handle high-stress heat extraction and will save property owners hundreds of dollars.

These tips will save you a lot of money on air conditioning around New Jersey. If you are looking to install more efficient A/C systems before the hotter months of July and August, look no further than Care Temp, LLC. We’re used to keeping families cool in many hot and humid areas of New Jersey. Don’t hesitate — call us today at (848) 251-0600 and ask about our most energy-efficient cooling systems.