Brought to you by the Professionals at EMMET REFRIGERATION

Most major manufacturers recommend having your equipment serviced professionally twice a year.  Although working on heating & air conditioning requires a trained and certified technician, there are some things that you can do, as a homeowner, to keep you system operating efficiently.  

Some general tips are:

• Use house fans. House fans help cool your home by circulating cool air throughout the house. They are most effective when the outside air temperature is cooler than the inside and when operated at night. An attic fan can "blow away" hot air that accumulates in the attic. This can go a long way to help the efficiency of your air conditioning system.
• During the Summer, set your thermostat at 79-82 deg or as high as comfortably possible. During the Winter, set it at 68-72 deg or as low as comfortably possible. By maintaining a minimum difference between indoor and outdoor temperatures, you'll lower your overall bill. A programmable thermostat will do this automatically.
• Don't reduce your thermostat setting to a colder temperature than normal when you turn on your air conditioner. This "oversteering" will not cool your home any faster and could result in excessive cooling and unnecessary expense.
• Consider ceiling fans to help spread the cooled air more effectively through your home without greatly increasing your power use.
• Keep lamps and TV sets away from your air conditioning thermostat.
• Shade air-conditioning units by planting trees or shrubs, but make sure you do not block the airflow. 
• Close shades or drapes on east, south, and west-facing windows during the hours when the sun's intensity is at its peak. Open drapes and windows during early morning and overnight hours when the air outside the home is cooler.
• Install low E Gain and double - pane windows
• Turn off the air conditioner if the house (or air-conditioned rooms) will be unoccupied for an extended period. Use a programmable thermostat to turn Air off and on automatically when you know the house will be unoccupied.

Air Conditioning Units and Furnaces:

• Change your filters every 30 days and use a good quality filter.
• Clean Electrostatic Filter by removing it from its rack and spraying it off with a garden hose at medium pressure.
• Never allow furniture or other items to cover or restrict either supply or return air ducts.
• For Condensing units on the ground:
  • Prevent debris, grass, shrubs, etc. from restricting airflow through the finned coils.
  • Do not bend the fins.
  • Hose off the coils using a garden hose.
  • Have coils professionally cleaned once a year.
• Adjust the dampers in your registers to balance the air for your comfort, but never close off more than 25% of the total registers in your system

Heat Pumps:

• Because of the added components, complexity of the system, and added workload, heat pumps should be regularly maintained by a trained technician
• Heat Pumps should be inspected and tested prior to the A/C and heating season
• Electric Heat Strips should be inspected and tested before use 
• Furnaces should be inspected and sometimes will require a cleaning of the heat exchanger and the burners
• If you have a furnace or gas pack that is older than 5 years, it is very important to check the heat exchanger for cracks

Evaporative coolers:

• Have professionally serviced twice a year for start up and winterization
• On an annual basis:
  • Change pads (every 5 years for Mastercool)
  • Inspect the bearings
  • Replace the belt
  • Check the drain
  • Ensure the distribution and drain-off systems are working properly