The Arizona summer home checklist!

There are a few things that you can do to prepare for the intense Arizona summer heat that is headed our way! These tips can help you keep your home cool and give you the comfort you need!

1. Check attic insulation

Making sure that your attic is properly insulated can assure you that the cool air that you’re A/C unit is producing aren’t seeping right out of the walls!

2. Clean your air filters

Checking to make sure that your air filters are clean of dust and other things will assure that you’re getting the maximum amount of airflow in your home without that conditioned air being blocked by your clogged filter.

3. Make sure there are no air leaks

By making sure that there are no air leaks in your home or in your ventilation system you’ll know that your conditioned air is getting to each room and staying there. Warm air leaking into your home can waste a lot of your energy dollars. These leaks are most often found in a home’s ceilings, walls, ducts, door and windows.

4. Give your vents space

Blocking vents in your home with furniture or curtains could be limiting the air flow in your home.  By making sure that there’s not any type of obstruction of airflow your homes cool air will spread more evenly throughout rooms.

5. A/C tune ups

Cleaning your air conditioning unit’s coils and fins once a year can go a long way. It’s even better to have it serviced annually by a professional to make sure that your unit is running to its optimum ability. 

Energy Usage in Your Home

Why Changing Your Filter Is Important and What Type of Filter is the Best

When it comes to keeping your HVAC system maintained, nothing is more important or easier than making sure your filters get changed out every month or two.  Dirty, neglected filters have real affects on your AC system that end up costing you more in repairs and early replacement down the road than if they were changed regularly. 

When the air filter gets dirty it becomes restrictive to airflow passing through it, so your unit needs to work harder to "breath in." This puts stress on the small components like the capacitor and can cause them to run on a higher amperage, costing you more to run. Restrictive airflow can also cause your outside condenser coils to freeze over, creating a ice block over the coils and cause your HVAC unit to blow warm air in the summer. Dirty filters also allow more dust and crap past the filter and to build up on the indoor evaporator coil.  This lowers the efficiency of the heating and cooling system, costing you more money and not making you as comfortable as a properly operating unit would.

There are several types of air filters for your heat pump or furnace. Unfortunately, the kind most homeowners use is the most damaging to the AC system. However, as long as they are changed regularly, about every 2-3 months, you are still ahead of the curve. These filters are promoted as allergen reducing filters and have a 1" pleat or rib. The little known downside to them is that with only 1" of surface area, the heat pump or furnace will really have to work hard to suck air past the filter.  Have you ever tried to breath through only one straw? That's what is happening to your AC system every time it's turning on with the 1" pleated filters. 

We recommend using the cheap throw away filters because of the low airflow restriction. Your heat pump or furnace has to work a lot less to breath in and get the full capacity of air past the cooling coils. The only downside is that the cheap throw away filters do not catch as many airborne particles as the 1" pleated filter. If you are looking for the ideal filter that does both, capture airborne particles and doesn't put the heat pump or furnace under a lot of stress, look for the 4" HEPA filter. 

So what filters are the best? We love the 4" HEPA filters because it filters the dust and allergens better than either of the other filters plus it allows maximum airflow to pass through it, not stressing the AC system. The HEPA filters are becoming more commonly found at your local Home Depot or Lowes and they only need to be changed every 3 months. The only downside is that they are more expensive than the 1" pleated filters, but not that much more. 

To watch a video overview of the different types of filters watch the YouTube video link below:

http://youtu.be/MJOGYcMQ0Ig