Saving Money

During the past weeks we have all heard a lot about how to save on energy cost for the cooling of our homes. Please be aware that I am not an Amana dealer. I do have two Amana systems which are about fourteen years old. These systems have an SEER of 11.2 and were state of the art way back in 1992.

What I would like to write about today is "Saving Money" as the title of this blog indicates.

How many times have you seen air compressors outside a home that have the fins covered with grass and/or weeds? Or to make this even more personal, "When was the last time you have your Air Compressor Serviced or just Cleaned?"

I am not an Air Conditioner Service Representative, but I do know that a clean compressor outside of your home will save you money. It may even add to the life of your current air conditioning system.

There are several steps in cleaning the compressor:

• First of all, please turn off all electric power to the compressor. Usually there is a switch mounted on the exterior wall of your home very near the compressor.
• Next remove the top cover so you can back flush the fins or coils.
• Pump a degreasing soap onto all the exterior sections of the compressor box that has cooling fins visible.
• From the inside of the compressor, through the top take a water hose and spray water from the inside so that the dirt on the coils is blown back out.
• After you have reinstalled the top cover, turn the electric power back on and enjoy a more efficient cooling system.

Now a few recommendations on how to keep the coils clean:

• When performing the task of mowing the grass and/or weeds take the time to turn off the Air Conditioning Compressor at the same switch you turned off the system to clean it.
• If you employ someone else to mow your grass/weeds, instruct the worker on how you want the Air Conditioning system turned off.
• If your lawn maintenance people cannot do the above, at least have them turn the lawn mower discharge chute in a direction away from the Air Conditioning Compressor.

Every heating and every cooling season we are all reminded to change the filters on our Air Handling systems on a monthly basis. I do mine on the first day of each month. To make the task an easy one to remember develop a routine and execute it in a consistent manner. Additionally I write a date on the new filter just to insure that I am doing my changing on schedule. Of course in the mild Spring or Fall Months it is also quite possible that your Air Handling Systems will not be in operation so it is of no value to change the filter for the sake of change.

Because I believe in frequent changing of filters I obtain a box of twelve filters of the appropriate size for each of the air return vents in my home each December. It is a lot like buying your home a Christmas Present. Then, when you need to change a filter/filters you have them on hand.

Please be aware, as I stated above, I am not in the Air Conditioning Sales or Installation Business. Nor does the image I chose for the blog constitute an endorsement of any particular brand. I publish this blog to help my fellow members of planet earth save some money. Anyone who knows me knows that I continue to enjoy life. To enjoy life sometimes takes money.

Thank You for Reading My Blog today!!!