EAST LANSING, Mich — As a heat wave approaches, HVAC technicians say many air conditioning problems can be prevented with basic maintenance and realistic thermostat settings.
WATCH: EAST LANSING HVAC COMPANY OFFERS TIPS AHEAD OF MID-MICHIGAN HEAT WAVE
East Lansing HVAC company offers tips ahead of mid-Michigan heat wave
Michael Adamoli, a service technician at The Meridian Company in East Lansing, said his field is built on extensive training and hands-on experience.
“It’s schooling, and then it’s an apprenticeship,” Adamoli said. “So you have to get in at least 5,000 to 6,000 apprenticeship hours before you’re considered a full-fledged tech.”
Adamoli, a service technician for more than 20 years, said he has seen “hundreds, maybe thousands” of problems over that time.
He said one of the most common issues is also one of the easiest to prevent.
“Filters are really important to change,” Adamoli said. “That’s some of the things that we see the most.”
Adamoli compared changing HVAC filters to changing the oil on your car. He also urged homeowners to keep the outdoor unit clear of overgrowth.
“Weeds, shrubs, grass, long grass like that, any of those things near your unit within two feet around needs to be cut back,” Adamoli said.
If airflow is restricted, he said, performance suffers and the system can struggle during extreme heat.
“It’ll ice up, your unit won’t work optimally, so it’ll struggle, and especially in a heat wave, you don’t want that,” Adamoli said.
As temperatures rise, he said maintenance calls increase.
“Definitely. We’ve been doing a lot of maintenance this week,” Adamoli said.
Asked what homeowners should check before the hottest weather arrives, Adamoli pointed first to the filter.
“Well, their filter is number one,” he said. “The furnace filter, making sure that that’s clean is very important.”
He also recommended ensuring vents are open and unobstructed.
“Unblocking all your registers, whether it’s the supply register or the return register, unblock all of them and open all of them up,” Adamoli said.
Thermostat habits can also affect performance, he said
“Instead of going up and down as the temperature goes up and down, keep it at one temperature, set it, and forget it for the rest of the day," Adamoli said. "Set it and forget it."
Even in a 100-degree heat wave, Adamoli said most systems should be able to reach a specific indoor temperature while cautioning against constantly lowering your thermostat.
Adamoli says setting it far below that number won't cool the home any faster.
“72 is the number that we say that we should be able to hit, even in a 100 degree heat wave,” he said. “You should never set your thermostat lower than 72.”
Some maintenance tasks should be left to professionals, he said, especially anything involving high voltage. Fixing an indoor coil is one thing Adamoli says customers shouldn't do.
"Those are high voltage electricity. You don't want to do this by yourself," Adamoli said.
If an air conditioner fails during extreme heat, Adamoli suggested steps to stay cooler while waiting for service.
“You can close all the drapes, especially the ones that are getting the most sun in,” he said. “Use ceiling fans in a counterclockwise motion so that it blows the air down.”
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