Preparing Ourselves For The Summer Heat

Hi, my sweet friends!

We’ve been living in the new home for 3 weeks and I can announce it is hot. If I compare it to the previous one I may say very hot. Well, the previous one was an east-oriented apartment and wasn’t hit so much by the sun, but this house gets lots of sun all day long. Hey, I am not complaining at all, don’t get me wrong. I love having so much light in all the rooms, sun to heat the swimming pool and sun to sunbathe and enjoy the patio too. Here’s a shot of it empty but I am working on it, can’t wait to show how is looking right now!

Patio of our new house, preparing it for the summer heat and the tune up of our HVAC |  My Sweet Things

I think it is about time to turn our air conditioner on! But before that, I need to get someone to get it checked. Here there are some recommendations

Tune-Up Your Savings With HVAC Maintenance

The change of seasons, especially the fall and spring, typically prompt homeowners to tackle the annual or semi-annual home maintenance checklist. The fall is a time to start preparing for colder weather, which means you probably clean leaves out of the gutters, check if your roof needs any repairs, or install weather stripping at the doors. When spring comes along, you’re ready to welcome the warmer weather, so you test your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors, check whether your windows or screens need repair, and inspect the basement for moisture.

For the most part, fall and spring maintenance checklists have different tasks. However, the one housekeeping item that is on both lists is tuning up your heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system. In most modern homes, the HVAC system controls the indoor air and humidity. The temperature of the air in your home not only makes you comfortable but also maintains your health.

When your house is too cold in the winter due to a broken or inefficient heating system, you or your family members are at risk for respiratory illnesses. Long-lingering dampness in the home can lead to mold growth. A home that’s too hot can put you or family members at risk for hyperthermia, a condition when the body temperature is more than 104-degrees Fahrenheit. This can lead to dizziness, elevated heart rate, headaches, and more.

A Maintenance Tune Up—Is It Worth It?

A maintenance tune up on your HVAC system does more than save your health, but it also saves you money. Many people assume that if the HVAC is working, there’s no need to check it for issues or potential problems, thus saving money on tune up fees. Another way people think they are saving money on their heating or cooling is by keeping the temperature at a comfortable level only when they are home.

For example, in the summer months, some people leave their home temperature at a high level when they are gone during the day thinking they are saving money because the air conditioning system won’t run for most of the day. Then when they get home, they turn the air conditioning to a comfortable level. This practice can actually result in a higher utility bill because the air conditioning unit turns on during the heat of the day, making the unit work harder to lower the temperature.

This is also true in the winter months—turning up the heater high in the evening to make the home warm up faster when you get home won’t help you save money. Your heating system will work harder to warm up your home if you drastically increase the heat when you get home.

A tune up of your HVAC system ensures that your system is working efficiently, which translates to saving money on your utility bill without compromising your comfort and health. In addition, you save more money if you are able take advantage of coupons or specials offered by repair companies.

What Happens In a Tune Up?

A typical HVAC tune up usually consists of inspecting and clean burners, adjusting refrigerant levels, lubricating motors, checking and tightening connections, and more.

Checking your system twice a year—preferably in the spring and fall—ensures your system is running efficiently and extends the life of your unit.

I hope you find this information useful, and I expect we can have everything tuned up between this and next week so we can start summer with the house ready to use the AC. Then we’ll have fights about the temperature; hubby loves to be inside the house like if he was living in Siberia but then my toes freeze, so when he’s not aware I set it at about 21º (C) and then he complains because he begins to sweat… but that would be a story for another post.

Have a wonderful week!

Hugs,

Pili  

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7 comments

  1. Ordinary Mom says:

    I would live to have my HVAc tuned up and maintained twice every year but my past experience tells me to not fix something that’s not broken. I have my misgivings because whenever I had maintenance done, the technicians always found so many faults and stuff to repair even in perfectly running systems.

    Maybe they were right but I have this phobia!

    • Pili says:

      So sorry to hear you had trouble with your tune up. I have the same feelings with the technicians and my car, so I can understand you completely.

      Thanks for sharing your point of view, I really appreciate it!

  2. Keri says:

    Pili, this is wonderful information for HVAC tune ups. Thanks for sharing the knowledge and tips!! I hope you get your AC set to the perfect temperature for both you and your husband.

    • Pili says:

      You are welcome, Keri! My husband is leaving again on Monday so I will set the perfect temperature for a while, and when he comes back will find a balance for sure.

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