DENVER — Following Denver's first 100-degree day of the year, the Scripps News Group is looking at the preventative steps you can take to ensure your air conditioning unit can handle the heat this summer.
“It's usually once everybody gets home from work that they realize that their A/C is not running,” said Luke Munson of Done Plumbing, Heating, Cooling & Electric.
Munson, an HVAC manager, said he expects his phone to be ringing off the hook Thursday morning.
To maximize the efficiency of your A/C system, Munson emphasized the importance of maintaining good airflow, which starts outdoors with your condenser.
“We want to make sure that it's not plugged up with cottonwood,” said Munson. “It's usually really easy to look at the coil on the outside; if it looks like it's wearing a sweater, that's your sign that it’s really, really bad.”
Indoors, Munson said, homeowners should ensure that vents are open in every room to facilitate airflow. However, your focus should be on the filter.
“It’s always been my recommendation to change that filter monthly, even though the filter says on there three months," Munson told the Scripps News Group. "We generally recommend monthly for changes on that."
When asked if this would save homeowners money in the long run, Munson replied, “Yes, in maintenance costs especially. It’s also going to make the system more efficient if we can move proper airflow through the system.”
While many try to stay cool indoors, data shows roughly one in three Denver families do not have cooling systems in their homes. Munson offered some advice for those families who may not have an indoor unit.
“One of the best things you can do is just keep the Sun out,” he said. “Keeping the blinds closed… keep as much sunlight out as we can. That's just going to help prevent the solar gain from coming in.”
