The summer heat is getting closer which could make your air conditioning unit work double time. Before you crank the AC it's best to get a tune up.
"It's keeping the maintenance up, it's keeping it clean, it's keeping it as efficient as possible, as it possibly can with the age of the unit. It's just the biggest thing to helping you reduce the cost of your unit," Jeff Williams, Service Department supervisor with Bruce Thornton Air Conditioning, said.
That includes checking filters.
It's also a good time to check the date on your equipment.
"Find out if there's a better piece of equipment that can give you more efficiency and cut your overall power bill because most of the time about 50 percent of the increase is you air conditioning so it's your biggest source of power consumption in your house," Williams said.
Turning off your unit when you're not home will cost you more than just adjusting the temperature before you walk out the door.
"The big mistake a lot of people do is they take and turn it off and they let their house heat up to about 90 degrees and they come home and they turn it on and they expect it to cool the house in about five minutes," Williams said.
Williams recommends turning it up to 78 degrees before you leave the house.
Getting a programmable thermostat can help you adjust the temperature throughout the day.
"Maybe when you're here with the kids here your husband or wife come home from work, you want it to be real nice, bring it in to 76 and when you get ready to go to bed roll it up to 78 and just two degrees will make a huge difference," Williams suggested.
Putting blinds on your windows also helps.
"Once you close these there's an insulation there. Once you close these that creates a dead air space and actually keeps from heat coming in," Williams explained.
The highest temperature thus far in Lubbock is 95 degrees.
