Tag: AC maintenance

How To Keep Your AC Running Strong Through Arizona’s Heat

Written by Amanda Zink on June 2, 2025. Posted in Cooling.

Living in Arizona means facing hot summers, which makes your air conditioner work overtime to keep you cool. Constant use can wear down your AC over time, leading to expensive repairs or a breakdown when you need it most. However, with proper care and maintenance, you can extend the life of your air conditioner and avoid the hassle and high costs of replacements.

Simple cleaning, using the correct thermostat settings, and scheduling regular maintenance can help keep your system running smoothly during the hottest months. At Air Control Home Services in Lake Havasu City, AZ, we’re here to help you maximize your AC’s performance so you stay cool all summer long.

Power of Shade: Protecting Your AC and Home

In Arizona’s heat, one of the best ways to keep your home cool and lighten the load on your air conditioner is by providing shade. Direct sunlight hitting your house can raise indoor temperatures, causing your AC to work harder than necessary. While window coverings such as blackout curtains and blinds can help, you can improve their effectiveness by adding outdoor shading.

Planting trees and vines or installing awnings and shade sails can reduce the heat entering your home. Planting shade trees on the west side, where the sun is strongest in the late afternoon, helps block the sun’s rays and cools your home. This simple change also reduces the load on your air conditioning system.

You can also install reflective window films that block UV rays while still allowing beneficial natural light to enter your space. These films can reduce heat gain by up to 60 percent, making them a smart investment for homes in Arizona. Keeping your home cooler reduces the workload on your AC, prolongs its lifespan, and lowers energy bills.

Yearly Maintenance: Keep Your AC in Top Shape

To ensure your AC system lasts longer and operates in the Arizona heat, annual maintenance is essential. As your AC runs in triple-digit temperatures, it collects dirt, dust, and debris that can clog filters and impede airflow. An air conditioner with clogged filters and dirty coils must work much harder to cool your home, resulting in energy waste, higher bills, and unnecessary wear on the system. With professional AC maintenance, you can rest easy knowing your system is in great condition.

Schedule professional maintenance at least once a year, before summer. A technician will clean the coils, check refrigerant levels, and perform other necessary tasks to ensure your system runs. HVAC technicians should only perform maintenance. Yearly maintenance helps prevent expensive repairs, improves cooling efficiency, and keeps you compliant with the manufacturer’s warranty.

In hot climates like Arizona, it is especially important to keep up with maintenance since your air conditioner runs almost every day from June to September. Regular service ensures that your system is ready to handle the summer heat without significant issues.

Insulation: Unseen Protector of Your Home’s Coolness

Proper insulation is crucial for keeping your home cool and ensuring that your AC system runs in Arizona’s extreme temperatures. It helps maintain a steady temperature by preventing cool air from escaping and warm air from entering. If your home is lacking insulation, your AC will have to work harder to cool it, leading to higher energy bills. With the right insulation, you can stay comfortable without overworking your AC.

Begin by checking the insulation in key areas of your home, particularly in the attic. Since heat rises, your attic is where you will lose the most cool air if it is not insulated. Adding or upgrading attic insulation can improve the temperature regulation of your home. If you live in a multi-story house, be sure to consider the walls and floors between rooms as well. Insulated walls and floors help retain cool air and prevent heat from entering your living spaces.

In addition to adding insulation, seal any cracks or gaps around windows, doors, and ducts. Even small leaks can make your air conditioner work harder. Caulking and weatherstripping are easy solutions that help create a tight seal and maintain your home’s internal temperature.

Airflow Management: Let the Cool Air Flow

Good airflow is essential for a working air conditioner, especially in intense heat. Without proper airflow, your system struggles to distribute cool air, making your home uncomfortable and causing the unit to overwork. To improve airflow, clear any obstructions like furniture or curtains from vents and registers. If you have ceiling fans, adjust them to enhance the circulation of cool air. Simple adjustments can improve both comfort and efficiency.

In Arizona’s climate, it’s important to clean your ducts. Over time, dust and debris accumulate in your ducts, obstructing airflow and spreading allergens. Having a professional duct cleaning every few years keeps your system running and ensures that cool air flows throughout your home.

Don’t forget to check the filters in your air conditioner. Clean filters improve airflow. If your air conditioner is in an attic or another dusty area, you might need to replace the filters more often. Maintaining proper airflow is one of the easiest and most effective ways to keep your AC system running.

Avoid Overuse: Know When To Take a Break

In Arizona, it might be tempting to run your air conditioner all summer. However, doing so can cause wear and tear on the system. Although your air conditioner can withstand the heat, constant use without breaks can reduce its lifespan.

If your home feels too warm even with the AC running, check if your thermostat is set too low. Setting the temperature too low can make your system work harder than necessary. Try setting your thermostat to a more reasonable temperature, like 78°F. This keeps your home cool while preventing the system from running nonstop.

Another way to prevent overuse is by using a programmable thermostat. This device allows you to adjust your air conditioning when you’re not at home or when you’re sleeping. For instance, you can increase the temperature while you’re at work or during the night, and then cool your house back down before you return home or wake up.

Bring In Smart Tech

Smart thermostats are a game-changer for managing your AC in Arizona’s heat. You can control your home’s temperature from anywhere, even when you’re not at home. Many of these devices learn your schedule and adjust. For example, your thermostat can raise the temperature while you’re at work and cool down right before you get home.

Take Care of Your AC Today

Taking the right steps to care for your air conditioner can impact its lifespan, especially in Arizona’s extreme heat. Regular maintenance, proper settings, and proactive repairs can all help keep your system running. If you want to ensure your AC runs, Air Control Home Services is here to provide expert cooling services and advice. Let us assist you in staying cool for years to come. We also offer expert HVAC services, plumbing repairs, electrical installations, and advanced air quality systems.

Causes of Uneven Home Cooling and Ways to Resolve It

Written by Amanda Zink on May 4, 2025. Posted in Cooling.

On a hot and humid summer day, you want to be just as comfortable watching television in the downstairs den as you are doing so in your upstairs bedroom. However, it’s not uncommon for houses to be cooler in certain areas than they are in others. There are a number of reasons for this that you can remedy in a timely and affordable manner.

Ducts or Vents Are Clogged

Over time, dust, dirt and other particles gets inside of your ducts and coat them with a thick layer of debris. This debris reduces the amount of air that can get through the duct as well as the distance it can travel before it is completely blocked. While less common, a clogged vent prevents air from getting from the duct into a given space.

Typically, rooms that are closer to where the cold air is distributed throughout the home are cooler than those farther away. If a vent is clogged, it will struggle to make the room it’s in as cool as other rooms that don’t have clogged vents or similar airflow issues.

The easiest way to take care of this problem is to have your ducts cleaned by professionals such as those at Air Control Home Services. Ideally, you’ll have your home’s ducts cleaned at least every three years, but you can choose a schedule that meets your needs and budget. You can time this service with your regular AC maintenance appointments to stay on top of it.

Ducts Are Loose or Damaged

Instead of a clogged duct, your home might have a damaged or loose duct that is allowing air to escape before it gets to its intended destination. In some cases, the accumulation of debris inside a duct will cause it to sag or disconnect from other ducts.

A hole or crack can also form, allowing air to escape before it can get around to every room in your home. The easiest way to fix the issue is to have ducts inspected on a regular basis to catch these and other potential issues.

Regular cleanings can prevent sagging, while repairing or replacing ducts can take care of any problems that already exist. Sealing HVAC ducts may also prevent them from becoming clogged or otherwise ineffective at distributing cool air.

The Cooling System Is the Wrong Size

A cooling system must be properly sized to ensure that it is able to evenly cool your home without incident. If a system is too small, it won’t be able to generate enough cold air to reach every part of your house. If the system is too large, it could cool the air too quickly.

While this may seem like a good thing, it also means that the system won’t run long enough to take humidity out of the air. Ultimately, you could be left with interior spaces that are cooler but still full of sticky moist air.

Also, if your AC is too large, it won’t allow for gradual cooling in all areas of the house. Therefore, you may find that certain rooms remain both hot and humid even after the cooling system has run.

Finally, a system that is too large for your house is prone to short cycling. This means that it will continually start and stop instead of running for a few minutes, turning off and staying off until the house warms up again. Continuous short cycling means additional wear on parts and a shorter lifespan.

To remedy this issue, contact a professional to review product options in the area. This will enable you to make a confident purchase decision that can help you save on maintenance and other costs for up to two decades.

Your Cooling System Is Old

A cooling system generally lasts for about a decade, but proper maintenance may help to extend its useful life for another few years after that. However, regardless of how much upkeep you do, your current cooling system has a finite useful life. As it approaches the end of that lifespan, it will likely be less efficient than it was at first.

It’s also worth noting that it is probably less efficient than new products available today. This is in large part because efficiency standards have improved over the last two decades. Ultimately, you’ll start to notice that only certain parts of your home are getting sufficiently cool air.

To resolve issues related to an aging system, you can simply have a new one installed. A professional can complete this project in a matter of hours after it arrives at your home.

Your Home Lacks Adequate Insulation

Even if your ducts are clean, and your air conditioner is relatively new, you could still have uneven cooling in your home. This is because a lack of insulation could allow cool air to escape your house during the summer months. It’s also possible that warm and moist air could be allowed to enter the home in areas that aren’t properly insulated.

In many homes, the attic, basement and garage have little or no insulation. You may also discover that living room walls or floors lack insulation or that other areas of the home have older material that has worn away.

To resolve this issue, you can have an indoor airflow test conducted to determine where air is entering or escaping your home. From there, you can have problem areas insulated or add more insulation in areas where it’s simply too thin.

You may also want to consider sealing doors, windows and other gaps throughout the house to ensure that air isn’t allowed to go where you don’t want or need it to. You can seal gaps with a simple weatherstripping product or by caulking around the frame where the door or window isn’t flush.

Physics May Work Against You

If you live in a multistory home, you’ll likely find that the air is warmer upstairs and cooler downstairs. This is because warm air rises, so it will typically be hotter in an upstairs master bedroom than a first-floor den during the summer months.

The solution to the problem is to implement a zoned cooling system in your house. Installing such a system allows you to set the thermostat lower in areas that need extra help reaching your desired temperature.

Is the Thermostat in the Right Place?

A thermostat that is not installed or placed correctly may have a hard time sensing the temperature in your house. Therefore, it might decide that your home doesn’t need to be cooled or that certain zones in a zoned cooling setup don’t need to be regulated.

When this happens to you, the best solution is to have the thermostat moved, repaired or replaced. At Air Control Home Services, we can replace older products with a smart thermostat that is easier to control whether you’re home or away. In addition to installing or repairing a cooling system, we can clean and seal ducts to ensure that they allow air to flow as it should.

When you need air conditioning service, contact our team at Air Control Home Services in Lake Havasu City, AZ.

HVAC maintenance in Lake Havasu City, AZ

When to Change Your HVAC Filter

Written by Amanda Zink on September 5, 2024. Posted in AC Maintenance.

Your HVAC system’s ability to heat or cool your home effectively depends on its ability to circulate air. The air filter protects this function, capturing airborne contaminants before they can enter your system. The downside to that job is that you must replace them periodically. Use this guide to learn how to tell when it’s time to change your filter.

Average Filter Life

Leaving your filter in place for too long reduces your system’s efficiency, increases your heating and cooling costs, and adds strain and wear to your system. That’s why it’s important to change the filter regularly. How often you need to change it depends on the depth of the filter.

Smaller 1- and 2-inch filters are the most common and generally need changing every 30 to 90 days. Larger 3- and 4-inch filters may last from six to nine months. Filters that are 5- or 6-inches could last up to 12 months. Your air quality, the filter construction, and how you use your system will determine how often you’ll need to change your filter.

Ideally, check your filter every month, especially if you’re not sure how quickly it becomes soiled. You can extend your filter life by gently vacuuming the intake side of the filter when you change it.

The Air Filter Looks Dirty or Clogged

When you check your filter, look for evidence that it’s dirty or clogged. The filter itself will often look gray or brown. It could also have a thick layer of dust or pet hair when it’s time for a change. If the dust and other contaminants fall off when you remove it from the system, it needs to be changed.

Longer Heating or Cooling Cycles

Standard air conditioners run cooling cycles of 10 to 15 minutes and furnaces run 15 to 20 minute heating cycles. However, when the system cannot circulate enough air, it may take longer to bring your home to the desired temperature. This can also signal other problems, but a severely clogged air filter is a common culprit.

Less Air from Supply Vents

You likely don’t have the equipment to measure the air volume coming from your vents. However, you might notice that there seems to be less cool or hot air coming from your supply vents. A dirty air filter can cause this because it restricts the air from moving past the filter as it comes into the system. Less air coming in translates to less air coming out. It’s this restricted air that causes so many of the other issues associated with dirty and clogged filters.

Increasing Energy Bills

Keep an eye on your energy bills, including those for electricity and heating fuel. While what you pay is important for your budget, the energy you consume is more telling for your HVAC system. There are a few ways to look at your bill to catch when your system experienced reduced efficiency.

The first is the amount you consume each month, which will fluctuate based on usage habits and outside weather. More meaningfully, check how much you consume compared to the same month last year, which is usually available on your bill. If it is markedly higher with no other explanation, an airflow restriction like a clogged filter could be the culprit.

Excess Household Dust

Every home has some dust that needs to be cleaned periodically. However, when the air filter gets clogged, you’ll notice more dust because the filter isn’t removing it to the degree that it should. Keep an eye on the flat surfaces around your home to watch for excess dust. With a clogged air filter, the place you’ll most likely see this excess dust is around and in your ducts. Therefore, keep an eye on the floor around supply vents, on the vent covers, and just inside the vents. If you do notice this extra dust, be sure to clean it up when you change your filters to prevent recirculating these particles through your home.

Unusual Odors

Your HVAC system shouldn’t produce odors when it’s running properly. However, when the filter clogs, it could produce some odors. The most common is musty or moldy odors, especially if you have pets. This happens because bacteria and other contaminants get caught in the filter, which may produce the gasses that cause the odor.

Further, a clogged air filter can cause a burning smell, especially during the winter when dust hits the hot surfaces. Don’t ignore any unusual odor produced by your HVAC system, which could indicate potentially serious and dangerous problems, but could be as simple as a filter needing changing.

Increasing Allergies

Dust, pollen, and pet dander are just a few of the allergens in your home’s air. Your air filter works to help clear these out while the air circulates through your HVAC system. However, when it gets clogged, fewer of those contaminants get removed from the air. Further, those contaminants collect in a concentrated area, which can cause anyone who comes near the filter to have exacerbated allergic reactions. Further, those concentrated contaminants can get drawn into the system if there’s an air leak around the filter. This can create a hyper-allergenic environment throughout your home. If you notice anyone in your home sneezing more, with extra watery eyes or a runny nose, check your air filter.

Overheating Furnace

As your furnace produces heat, insufficient air moving through the system may cause the system to overheat. You may notice this excess heat simply touching the furnace housing. However, you are more likely to notice overheating because your system is short-cycling and shutting off prematurely. Even if you’re not paying attention to the length of the heating cycles, you will likely notice that your home isn’t getting to the desired comfort level.

Water Around Your AC Unit

Your air conditioner condenses moisture in the air due to the temperature of the evaporator coils compared to the due point of the air. When the AC works properly, this moisture, called condensate, drains away through a special drain in the drip pan. However, when there’s a problem, this condensate may spill onto the floor around the unit.

A clogged air filter is one problem that can cause excess condensate. The restricted airflow through the filter can cause the condensate on the coil to freeze. This becomes a compounding problem as the freeze itself further limits airflow through the system. When the coil thaws, there may be too much condensate to effectively drain, and it will instead spill out of the drip pan.

When property owners around Kingman need HVAC service they can trust, they’ve turned to Air Control Home Services since 1990. Our team takes pride in providing heating and AC maintenance, installation, and repair alongside indoor air quality solutions and a wide range of residential plumbing and electrical services. Call to schedule seasonal HVAC maintenance with one of our experienced technicians to help ensure your system continues operating at peak efficiency.

Air conditioning services in Lake Havasu City, AZ

Maximizing Efficiency: Top Tips for Cooling Your AZ Home

Written by Amanda Zink on July 15, 2024. Posted in AC Maintenance.

When the hot summertime weather hits, it’s nice to have a comfortable indoor environment to retreat to. A home cooling system is a great way to stay cool and safe during the worst of the heat. However, to avoid running up your utility bills, here are some useful methods you may want to implement to maximize your system’s cooling efficiency.

Schedule Regular Maintenance

One of the best ways to help maximize the efficiency of your cooling system is to have regular maintenance performed on it. Your HVAC technician will take care of things like lubricating moving parts, topping off low refrigerant levels, and even checking electrical connections. The best part is that they can alert you of any problem that you may have with your system so that you can get it fixed before the worst of the summer heat.

Invest in Zoning Systems

A great way to help maximize your cooling system’s efficiency is to opt for zoning systems. These allow you to have separate thermostat controls for different areas of your home. This way, you can turn the temperature up in areas of your home that you don’t use too often. When you can better narrow your usage down to specific zones, you can reduce your summer energy bills while remaining comfortable in your home.

High-Efficiency Systems

If your existing cooling system is over 10 years old, it may be time to consider an upgrade. Newer AC units are much more energy efficient. You can even invest in high-efficiency systems that come at a higher initial up-front cost but have a lower overall operating cost. The more efficient your cooling system is, the more money you’ll be able to save on your monthly energy bills.

Cover Your Windows

If you’ve ever sat in front of a window on a hot summer day, you know just how warm the sunlight can be. When you have direct sunlight pouring into your home, it can increase that room’s temperature drastically. Unfortunately, this will cause your air conditioning system to run excessively to keep up with your system’s cooling demands. You can easily block out direct sunlight with blinds, curtains, or UV window film so that the sun can’t heat up your home.

Use a Smart Thermostat

Another great way to help maximize the efficiency of your cooling system is to use a smart thermostat. This type of device will allow you to program different temperature settings for different times. You can turn up your thermostat during the hours when household members are away and then turn it back down just before you return home. These thermostats will even monitor your energy usage and make suggestions on how to alter your settings to lower your energy usage.

Cook Outdoors

When you cook inside your home, whether on the stovetop or in the oven, it creates unnecessary heat. Your cooling system will then have to run to cool your home back down to your desired temperature. Simply cooking your meals outdoors can prevent creating heat inside. Consider investing in a grill, an outdoor fire pit, or even a brick oven.

Hang Clothes to Dry

Your dryer can create a lot of heat inside your home with just one drying cycle. Instead of introducing that heat into your home, you can hang your clothes to dry. This will also help to reduce the energy costs associated with running your dryer.

Ventilate Your Attic

One lesser-known tactic for maximizing the efficiency of your air conditioning system is to ventilate your attic during the summer months. This necessary ventilation will allow warm air to escape out of your attic. Otherwise, excessively hot air will get trapped in the attic and can end up drifting down into the rest of your home. When this happens, your air conditioning system has to run overtime to cool your home throughout the daytime hours.

Use Exhaust Fans

Exhaust fans provide a great way to help ventilate steam out of your home. Excess humidity inside your home can make it feel much hotter than it actually is and have you turning down the temperature on your thermostat. It’s best to turn on your exhaust fans whenever you plan on taking a shower or cooking anything on the stove.

Change Your Air Filter Regularly

Your cooling system’s air filter is great for removing unwanted allergens from the air inside your home. This helps to create great indoor air quality and protect the internal components of your cooling system from excess dirt buildup. However, when your air filter reaches the end of its lifespan, it will make it much harder for your cooling system to operate. You need to check your system’s air filter at least once a month and changing it every one to three months depending on how much debris it attracts and what the manufacturer recommends. Having spare air filters on hand is a good idea so that you can easily replace dirty ones when necessary.

Keep Your Outdoor Unit Clear

The summertime can bring some nasty thunderstorms. When they strike, heavy wind gusts can cause loose debris, like leaves and twigs, to blow up against your outdoor AC unit. When your outdoor AC unit becomes restricted, it won’t be able to operate efficiently. It will struggle to disperse heat from inside your home to the outdoors. The best way to avoid this problem is to clear any debris from your outside unit. Check it every couple of weeks and after every major storm. Make sure that you also trim back any shrubbery or low-hanging branches to keep it free of obstructions.

Seal Air Leaks

As your house settles into the ground, unwanted air leaks can develop around your doors and windows. When this happens, hot air from outside can more easily penetrate into your home and raise its overall temperature. You can easily seal these air leaks with caulking or weather stripping. Also, check for temperature shifts near your outlets and light switches on any exterior walls. They may need to have a foam insert installed to prevent further undesirable hot air from seeping into your home.

Reliable AC Service

Air Control Home Services offers reliable cooling service for Lake Havasu, AZ and the surrounding area. Our helpful technicians can assist with all of your heating, electrical, plumbing, and indoor air quality needs.

Contact our team at Air Control Home Services today to schedule a service appointment with one of our highly experienced professionals.