Your A/C unit is one of the cornerstones of life as a homeowner. And if that thing breaks, life gets real bad, real fast: you spend your time hot and sweaty until you buy a new one…and then you’re sweating for new reasons when you see the price tag! This is why you’ll want to make your A/C last as long as possible. We’ve put together five great tips to help extend your air conditioner life expectancy!

GET A PROGRAMMABLE THERMOSTAT

When it comes to extending your air conditioner life expectancy, many people end up overthinking it. It’s fine to keep things simple. For instance, you already know what causes wear and tear of the unit: using it too much! Therefore, one of the best ways to help the unit last longer is to find ways to use your A/C less.

However, that can be a hard sell to most homeowners. Who wants to sit around in hot, sweaty misery? That’s why you should install a programmable thermostat and get the best of both worlds.

The basic idea behind such a thermostat is that you can set it to have different temperatures at different times of the day. And newer “smart” thermostats can even be controlled remotely via your smartphone! This allows you, for instance, to turn the temperature up while you’re out of the house and back down once you’re home.

This is great throughout the year for when you and your family are at work and school. Your unit will last longer because it’s being used less, and you’ll see a major savings on your power bill each month! Be sure to call a professional for thermostat recommendations and installation.

REGULAR TUNE-UPS

Helping your air conditioner last longer often comes across as a mystery for many people. They think that because they aren’t HVAC experts, that they don’t really know what they should do. To this, we have a simple question: how do you help your car last a long time?
Chances are that you’re not a professional car mechanic. Nonetheless, you take your car to experts regularly for tune-ups and general maintenance. And we’ve got some good news: that same wisdom applies to your A/C unit as well!

One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning® of Charlotte offers great maintenance service for your unit throughout the year. This gives our team of experts a chance to professionally inspect the unit and do any cleaning or repairs that might be necessary.

There are a lot of benefits to this. One, it can ultimately save you money, as our team can fix small issues before they turn into major problems. And we can help make adjustments to your unit through the different seasons, ensuring that it has a good, long life ahead of it!

KEEP ITS COOL

Remember when we said you don’t have to overthink ways of extending your A/C unit’s life? This is another “hot” tip on how to keep things cool. Specifically, you can get very creative when it comes to making sure that your unit doesn’t get overheated.

Pretty simple, right? The hotter your A/C unit is, the harder it has to work to keep you cool. And the harder it works, the quicker it dies. Now is your chance to return the favor and help your A/C keep its cool!

Of course, this is easier said than done. Your unit is outside, and depending on its location in your yard, it may have no real protection from the sun. Fortunately, there is a cheap and easy way to provide such protection!

Consider planting trees or shrubbery around your A/C. In time, these will grow tall enough to provide natural shade for the unit, helping it to live a longer life. And such protection will also extend to any future units that you put in the same location!

However, you do need to be careful when you’re doing this. If you plant anything too close, you risk getting debris caught in the A/C unit. Don’t be afraid to consult with a professional about where to plant!

TURN OFF HUMIDIFIER IN THE SUMMER

Much of our advice here includes things that you can do anytime of the year. This next bit of advice really only applies to summer, but it’s totally worth it: summer is the hottest season, and it’s when your A/C works the hardest. Anything you can do to make life easier for your unit during the summertime is going to help that unit last much, much longer.

This is a surprisingly simple tip, too: when summer rolls around, you need to make sure to turn off the furnace humidifier and avoid using any room humidifiers if at all possible The reason for this is that the humidifier is completely unnecessary during summer and is responsible for driving your bills up and even damaging your A/C!

What are we talking about? On the most basic level, an air conditioner cools down a room by removing the moisture from the air. And, of course, a humidifier works by putting additional moisture into the air. When these things are happening at the same time, it means your A/C is working overtime to cool things down.

Long story short? Turn off the humidifiers to make life easier for your A/C!

CLEANING THE DUCTS

Many of our tips here have focused on the A/C unit directly. However, the final tip examine something external that you can take care of in order to help your A/C last longer. What are we talking about? Cleaning your ducts, of course!

Any dirt and debris inside your air ducts is effectively an obstacle for the flow of air from your A/C unit. This means that the unit has to work twice as hard to keep you as cool as you want to be, basically guaranteeing it will break sooner rather than later.

Fortunately, this is an easy enough fix. Make sure to call a professional to have your ducts inspected and cleaned. Just think: one call can seriously extend the life of your A/C!

THE BOTTOM LINE

Your air conditioning unit is an investment, and you’re interested in making it last. Most importantly, you need professionals who can help make that happen!

That’s where we come in. At One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning® of Charlotte, we are A/C experts with roots in your community. Whether you’re shopping for a new thermostat, cleaning ducts, looking to extend your air conditioner life expectancy or anything in-between, just pick up the phone and give us a call!