Keeping your air conditioning ahead of the heat

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — Local air conditioning companies recommend to stay prepared as temperatures rise.

Technicians with Bud Anderson Heating and Cooling say when the heat ramps up, it is not unusual for AC companies to get more than 200 calls a day.

They say one of the things they see most often that cause AC units to break down is uncleaned air filters and lawn debris around your unit. That’s why it’s important to keep up regular maintenance and replacements.

Carson Olsen, service manager at Bud Anderson, says the best practice when it comes to your AC system is to not wait to replace it.

“The life expectancy of a system is 10 to 15 years. A lot of people, you know, wait until it goes out, and it’s always going to choose the worst time of year. So, one of the things that we coach on is you can decide when to take it out, when it’s convenient for yourself, or the system’s going to decide the least convenient time,” said Olsen.

When the temperature outside hits 91 degrees, Olsen says that’s typically when your AC system is working the hardest, so when the heat waves ramp up, start cooling your home at night.

“So, as we’re hitting 100 degrees outside, we’ll be lucky to see 75 inside. One of the things we can do to kind of combat that is at night when it cools down, turn the thermostat a little bit lower than you typically like it, just so we can get ahead of that heat wave in the midday,” said Olsen.

If your AC does go out, Olsen says to act quickly so humidity does not cause lasting damage to your home.

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