Summer is on its way, which means hot, sweltering days—and the familiar hum of your air conditioner. If you’re in a new home or it’s been a few months since you’ve turned on your air conditioning system, you might have a few questions about how your system works and how to keep it in top shape. Here are the most common questions our friendly HVAC experts are asked about air conditioners.
Is it bad for a home air conditioner to run 24 hours a day, 365 days a year?
Not at all! Your air conditioner is designed to run around the clock. Assuming your system is in good shape, has been well maintained, and has fresh filters in place, you can run it for as often and as long as you want. Just because your air conditioner is set to “on” doesn’t mean it will be running the entire time. Your system will cool according to the temperature set on your thermostat, with the compressor switching on and off as needed.
Do air conditioners need to rest?
No. Air conditioners are designed to run continuously. However, your air conditioner experiences the most stress when you start it up, so set the temperature on your thermostat and let the system cycle accordingly—rather than manually switching the system on and off all the time.
Do air conditioning units work “harder” or just “longer” to cool a room?
Many air conditioning units feature two-stage systems that allows them to run at both high and low speeds. But they can’t run any harder than that to cool a room. The system will continue to run until you hit the temperature on your thermostat, with the amount of time this takes depending on how hot the current temperature it is and how low your desired temperature is. Once your system has reached that temperature, it will continue to click on and off to maintain your desired cooling levels.
Does an air conditioner use more energy when it’s hot?
Yes. The hotter the temperature outside, the harder your air conditioner has to work to cool a room to your desired interior temperature, and then maintain that temperature. High humidity can also affect how hard a system has to work to cool a room.
Is it possible to set my air conditioner temperature too low?
On very hot days it’s tempting to set your air conditioner low in the hopes that it will work harder and faster to cool your room. But the goal of air conditioning isn’t to refrigerate a room—it’s to correct internal temperature. Your system won’t work “faster”—it’ll just work longer to try to cool the room. Be realistic about comfortable cooling levels and be mindful of the electric bill that can accompany a hard-working system!
My air conditioner isn’t cooling fast enough
If your air conditioner is taking too long to cool a room, there might be a few factors at play. On very hot days, it can take time to sufficiently cool a room, especially if the system has been switched to “off.” This is also true if you have set your thermostat very low. However, if there is no cool air coming from your system at all, there might be something wrong. Call the HVAC experts at Shaw to check your system and confirm that all is working as it should be. We’re happy to answer all of your questions and handle any concerns!