Arizona’s summer monsoon season means dealing with extreme heat and higher humidity, both of which can obviously have a major impact on your indoor comfort level. The heat and humidity also mean that your HVAC system has a much greater workload and has to do more to keep your home as cool and comfortable as you want it to be. That’s why you should take some steps to make sure your HVAC system is functioning properly so that you ensure your home stays comfortable and also reduce the risk of your air conditioning suddenly not working.
Make Sure Your HVAC System Is Properly Maintained
Whether your home has a standard central air conditioner, heat pump or ductless mini-split HVAC system, keeping everything properly maintained is of the utmost importance. Without annual professional maintenance, there is simply no way that your air conditioning will cool as well or work as energy efficiently as it should. That means your comfort may end up suffering or you’ll have to pay more in electricity costs to keep your home sufficiently cool. Another reason why annual maintenance is essential is that it can help your air conditioning system last longer and reduce how often you need to have it repaired.
Any central or ductless air conditioning system has a variety of essential maintenance tasks that need to be performed regularly to ensure the system performs effectively. One of the most important tasks is cleaning the condenser coil in the outdoor part of the system and the evaporator coil inside your house. For ductless systems, you need to clean the evaporator coil in each of the indoor units. Dirty coils are one of the most common AC issues and will always result in decreased performance and lower efficiency. The issue is that a dirty coil interferes with the heat transfer process an AC system uses to remove indoor heat and release it outside.
A dirty evaporator coil will reduce how much heat the refrigerant in an AC system can capture, leading to the system not cooling nearly as quickly as it should. The same thing happens if the condenser coil is dirty. In this case, the system won’t be able to release as much heat outside. The result is that the refrigerant won’t cool back down as much as it should and then won’t be able to absorb and hold as much heat when it gets pumped back to the evaporator coil.
There are also a variety of other essential tasks like checking the electrical connections, inspecting and testing the system’s motors and checking the refrigerant level. None of these tasks are something you can properly do on your own, which is why you should make sure to schedule a professional maintenance service early in the year before the monsoon season arrives.
Check Your HVAC Air Filter
Another key factor in your air conditioning system’s performance is replacing or cleaning the air filter regularly. Central AC systems can use either a disposable filter or a reusable filter, while each indoor unit in a ductless system usually has a reusable filter. In either case, you generally want to make sure you’re always replacing or washing the filter at least every three months. While three months is the recommended interval for replacing or washing the filter, sometimes, you need to do it more often. This is especially common in Arizona due to our hot, desert climate.
The extreme heat means an AC system gets a huge amount of use, and this increased workload often causes air filters to clog more quickly. Another issue when living in a desert climate is that there is more dust in the air, which speeds up the rate at which air filters get dirty and begin to clog.
A dirty air filter greatly decreases an air conditioning system’s performance since it restricts the airflow coming into the system. When there is less warm air coming in, the AC system obviously won’t be able to remove heat from your home as quickly. The system will also end up blowing out much less cool air into each room, leading to your home feeling hotter. That’s why you should make sure to check the air filter regularly throughout the monsoon season to ensure that your air conditioning can perform at its peak and your energy bills stay lower.
Sleep With Your AC On and Windows Closed
One of the biggest issues during monsoon season is that the increased rainfall often leads to higher indoor humidity. One reason that it’s an issue is that you never feel as cool in a humid environment as you do when the air is drier. Another issue is that air conditioning works more slowly and not as effectively when the air inside a house is more humid.
Many people try to save on electricity during the summer by shutting their AC off at night once it finally cools down outside and then sleeping with their windows open. There’s no issue with doing this when it’s not overly humid outside, but it’s generally not a good idea on humid days. The reason is that all of the moisture that comes inside through your windows will obviously increase the humidity level in your home. When you turn your air conditioning back on the next day, it will then have to work much harder since it has to remove much of the moisture before it can finally start effectively lowering the temperature inside. It may end up using more energy than it would have if you just kept it switched on all night and it only had to run periodically.
Consider Upgrading Your HVAC System With a Whole-home Dehumidifier
The best way that you can combat indoor humidity during the monsoon season is with a whole-home dehumidifier. This type of unit works to draw much of the moisture out of the air coming into your HVAC system before it enters the air handler and flows over the evaporator coil. Although your air conditioning also helps to dehumidify, it can’t ever do it nearly as effectively as an actual dehumidifier.
A whole-home dehumidifier will always ensure your home is never too humid during monsoon season. That means you’ll feel more comfortable, and your air conditioning will work more effectively and not run as much since it doesn’t have to struggle with high humidity. Whole-home dehumidifiers are also extremely low maintenance since the water the unit collects drains straight into your plumbing system. One final thing to note is that you’ll never need to worry about the dehumidifier making your home too dry either. That’s because the unit is controlled by a humidistat to ensure it only runs when the humidity level in your home is higher than you want it to be.
For the past 35 years, Goettl's High Desert Mechanical has been assisting residents in Camp Verde and the surrounding areas with all of their HVAC and plumbing needs. We provide residential and commercial services and have the experience to ensure that your building is always comfortable and that your air conditioning, heating and plumbing work properly. Whether you need to have your HVAC maintained or a dehumidifier installed, contact us, and we’ll ensure you stay cool and comfortable throughout monsoon season.
