As the summer months fade and fall nears, you should begin the transition for your home’s HVAC system. Taking the right steps helps to keep your home comfortable while saving money on your energy bills. At Roland Black Heating & Cooling, our HVAC professionals can service your system and help ensure it functions well year-round. Here are some tips to help you ready your HVAC for cooler temperatures.
Keep Outdoor Temperatures in Mind
Pay attention to the weather outside when you adjust your thermostat. People often wait to react until they feel too hot. If you wait to turn your thermostat down until you feel too hot, your air conditioner will have to run longer to return the indoor air to a comfortable temperature. Schedule temperature settings according to what the weather is expected to be. Constantly adjusting your thermostat reflexively can cause your system to turn off and on frequently, resulting in added wear and tear and higher energy bills.
If you know that the outdoor temperature tends to be hot mid-afternoon, schedule the air conditioner to turn on once your indoor temperature reaches more than 73 degrees. On days when the weather forecast calls for excessive heat, leading to your indoor temperature rising, make adjustments to your thermostat’s automatic schedule.
Use Your Air Conditioner Wisely
As summer turns into fall, the temperatures change frequently but trend cooler. During this time, use your air conditioner wisely. At night, open your windows to take advantage of the cooler temperatures while turning your AC system off. Use fans during cooler hours to circulate the air and keep you comfortable. During the day, close your windows and use heavy curtains or blinds to keep the sun’s rays from unduly warming your home. Only use your air conditioner when necessary to save money on your cooling bills.
Avoid Turning Your Furnace on Too Early
Wait to turn on your furnace between summer and fall. Instead of turning the heat on when the temperature is cooler at night or during the morning, try the following strategies to deal with falling indoor temperatures:
- Layer your clothing
- Wear socks
- Use heavier blankets/sheets
- Place area rugs on hard floors
- Hang curtains over blinds
- Seal around windows to prevent drafts
Your house can retain heat from running your furnace at night or in the morning. It may feel too warm by the afternoon, leading you to turn on the AC and spend money unnecessarily.
Clean or Replace Air Filters
When you run your air conditioner during the summer months, the filters can become clogged with debris. Dirty filters cause your HVAC system to work harder because they restrict airflow. This increases how much energy your system consumes to maintain the indoor temperature and causes added wear and tear.
If you have reusable filters, clean them. If your filters are disposable, change them. Performing this routine maintenance step can improve your HVAC’s system overall efficiency as you prepare for cooler weather.
Schedule Professional HVAC Maintenance
To ensure your HVAC system is ready to confront the challenges of falling temperatures, schedule professional HVAC maintenance. The HVAC professionals at Roland Black Heating & Cooling have the expertise and experience to properly maintain your system and identify and fix small problems before they worsen and lead to costly repairs.
Your HVAC technician will clean your system’s components, look for leaks, add lubrication to moving parts, and test your HVAC’s performance. These tasks help your HVAC system to perform optimally year-round and ensure it will be prepared to handle the demands of colder weather efficiently.
Change Your Thermostat’s Settings
As the temperatures fall, you’ll need to adjust your thermostat’s settings. Change your thermostat to heating mode. If you don’t have a programmable thermostat, you might want to invest in one. A programmable thermostat allows you to program temperature schedules and optimize your energy savings. You can schedule your thermostat to turn down the temperature during hours you are away and begin warming your home about 30 minutes before you return. This helps to keep your home warm when necessary and save energy when you are gone.
Consider turning the temperature down at night while you are asleep and then schedule it to start warming around 30 minutes before you awake. Wear layers and warm socks during the daytime to remain comfortable without turning your thermostat up too high.
Eliminate Drafts
Leaks around windows and doors can affect how well your HVAC system works. Check around your windows and doors for small cracks or gaps that could let cold air in and cause your HVAC system to work harder to maintain a comfortable interior temperature.
Use weatherstripping or caulk to seal cracks or gaps. This keeps your warm indoor air inside while keeping the cold outside where it belongs during the fall and winter.
Test Your Heating System
Before cold weather arrives, test your heating system. Turn the furnace on to listen for unusual sounds. Make sure you have good airflow from your vents. Check for even heating and a lack of cold spots.
If you hear strange sounds or notice uneven heating or poor airflow, contact our HVAC technicians at Roland Black Heating & Cooling. We can inspect your system and make the necessary repairs. When you address problems proactively, you can prevent extensive damage and expensive repairs.
Clear Debris From the Outdoor Unit
If you have a central AC system with a unit outside, you’ll need to clear the debris from around it. During the summer, debris, vegetation, and leaves can accumulate and block airflow. Clear away this debris to ensure your unit remains free from anything that could restrict airflow.
Proper airflow is required for your HVAC system to operate efficiently. If you fail to clear debris away from your home’s outdoor unit, your system’s performance can drop, and damage could occur during storms.
Ensure Proper Insulation
To make sure your home is properly insulated, inspect your home’s insulation annually. Good insulation helps your HVAC system to maintain a comfortable indoor environment without working too hard. Inspect the insulation around your pipes and in the attic to check for damage, mold, or other problems. Poor insulation can allow warm air to escape through your home’s roof and force your HVAC system to work harder.
Make sure any exposed pipes have good insulation around them. This can help to prevent them from freezing and causing water leaks or other expensive damage.
Add Upgrades
Fall is a great time to add upgrades to your HVAC system to enhance its overall performance. Some upgrades you might consider include a smart thermostat or a new furnace with high energy efficiency ratings. A smart thermostat allows you to control your furnace’s heat settings remotely to reduce energy consumption. A highly efficient furnace can greatly improve your home’s comfort and efficiency. Installing a new furnace can help you realize long-term savings on your heating bills.
Contact Our HVAC Professionals
When you follow these steps and schedule professional HVAC maintenance, the transition from summer to fall can be seamless for your system. At Roland Black Heating & Cooling, our experienced HVAC professionals have proudly served people living in Gastonia, NC and the surrounding areas for more than five decades with furnace and AC installations, maintenance, and repairs. We also offer smart thermostats, duct cleaning, and more.
Contact us at Roland Black Heating & Cooling in Gastonia today for more information!