Debunking Nine Heating and AC Repair Myths | Cypress, TX
For the residents of Cypress, TX, you may find those tips you hear from television or rumors turn out not to be true, this can be true of several popular air conditioning myths. While believing in these myths may not hurt you in the short term, in the long term, failing to heat or cool your home properly can lead to a more expensive electric bill, and potentially having to replace an ac unit. Learn these myths and how you can save more money.
Myth #1 – Fans Keep a Room Cooler
Fans installed by properly trained heating and ac repair technicians can help to keep your Cypress, TX home cool, and ventilate rooms by encouraging airflow, but they don’t actually lower the temperature of the room. They cool the human body by encouraging the evaporation of sweat with a constant stream of air. This is bad in the case of plants, animals, or some electronics that are more sensitive to heat and don’t have the benefit of being able to sweat. Remember to use fans for yourself, but don’t rely on them to keep your laptop or sound system from overheating.
Myth #2: – Bigger AC Units are better AC Units.
Heating and ac repair technicians work to not only install different ac units properly, they also work to consult with homeowners on the properly sized ac units for their home. In the event that a larger ac unit is installed and operates, it operates to cool a home larger than it actually is, using more power and losing the efficiency a normal sized ac unit has. Because they’re larger, they also cycle more, leading to faster wear and tear through continued use.
Myth #3: – Lowering the Thermostat’s Temperature Cools the House Faster the Lower You Set it.
For Cypress, TX residents who are desperate to relax after a long day of work, you may be tempted to crank the ac and be ready to cool down faster than just turning it to room temperature. In reality your ac works at a constant rate to cool your home, so setting it lower won’t cool your home faster. The same can be said for heating, since your heater also heats at a constant rate.
Myth #4 – AC’s Only Needs Professional Service When Something Needs to Be Fixed.
Both air conditioners and heaters need to be serviced by a heating and ac repair technician at least once a year. Routine maintenance increases the lifespan of your units, keeps them operating efficiently, and prevents sudden breakdowns. Consulting technicians for specific programming instructions at the change of the seasons can also help you save money and put less stress on your ac/heating units.
Myth #5 – Air Conditioning Units Only Cool Air.
Your air conditioner has functions other than cooling air that you can use at different times of the year. Conditioning air removes excess humidity and particulate matter from the air, so on particularly muggy/humid days, some air conditioning units can work harder to remove moisture from the air. Heating and ac repair technicians can work to fix any units that run into problems related to ventilation and dehumidifying.
Myth #6 – It’s Cheaper to Run Space Heaters Through Several Rooms Than Run Your Home’s Heater
While some Cypress, TX residents may find running space heaters through your home to be a smart way to get around paying the gas bill during the winter, heating and ac repair technicians agree all this does is make the rest of your house uncomfortable to live in. The logic behind this goes, by heating less of your house, you’re saving money by using electricity, but because electricity is actually more inefficient and expensive than natural gas, and proper air flow, the cost comes out to be a little more expensive than if you just used your heater normally.
Myth #7 – Your Thermostat Can Go Anywhere in Your Home
Now this isn’t exactly a myth, but a fact that’s taken for granted that your thermostat functions the same anywhere in your home. In fact, your thermostat measures the temperature from your house by the surrounding air, so if it’s exposed to external heat, it will make your air conditioner work harder to cool your home. Having a heating and ac repair technician reinstall your thermostat on an interior wall out of the way of natural sunlight, electronic devices that generate heat, or drafts from windows can make your ac and heater perform more efficiently.
Myth #8 – Closing the Vents In Rooms You Don’t Use Saves Money.
While it may seem like common sense to save money by cutting off air to the parts of your home that don’t need to be heated or cooled, air flows throughout your home at the same output regardless of if a vent is closed or not. In this case, all closing the vent does is make the air flow harder out of every other open vent, and cycle again, just for a shorter time. having a heating and ac repair technician install special units that heat different rooms individually can help save money in the future, but normal central air units don’t have this function installed.
Myth #9 – Turning Off the AC When You’re Not Home Saves Energy.
If you’re going on a road trip or having your home renovated, you may want to consider turning off your ac or heater to save money on your power or gas bill on wasted energy. However, simply leaving for the day to go to work or run an errand is too short to save money, and actually forces your ac/heater to work harder to return your home to room temperature, especially at the height of summer/winter. Heating and ac repair technicians recommend turning down your thermostat by just 10 degrees will save you money in the winter, and turning it up when you get home will make it so you don’t have to wait as long to have a room temperature home.
In Conclusion
Cypress, TX residents may find a home with total heating/cooling efficiency to be impossible, but heating and ac repair professionals like Cypress Heating and Air recommend following simple routines like these to get as close as you can to having a perfectly efficient home.
