Tips For Central Air Conditioner Use In A Multi-Story Home

Posted on: 14 December 2016

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If you recently purchased a multi-story home located in a hot climate, then it is important that you know how to properly cool it with its air conditioning system. Since larger homes that have more than one level can be a challenge to evenly cool during the summer, you can make some simple adjustments to ensure that all of your family members are comfortable in your new house. To this end, here are some tips for central air conditioner use in a multi-story home:

Tip: Run Your Air Conditioning System's Fan on "On" Not "Auto"

If you are like most people, you probably set your heater and air conditioner on the "auto" setting so that it only blows air when the furnace or air conditioner are operating. However, you will get a much better circulation of cold air to all of your home if you instead set the system to the "on" setting. The "on" setting will make your system's fan run even when the cooling function is not activated. This circulates the cold air already in your home around better and will make your upstairs temperatures similar to those found downstairs. Otherwise, during the times that your air conditioner isn't running, your upstairs spaces will heat faster than the downstairs. By the end of the day, your house will have a wide variety of temperatures that the system cannot compensate for.

Tip: Have the System's Air Ducts Cleaned and Checked for Leaks

Since your home's cooled air travels through its duct system, it is important that the ducts are kept clean and intact. Sometimes pets, house settling, and minor home repairs can accidentally knock the ducts apart. When the ducts separate, they blow your system's cold air into the walls or attic space of your home. This misdirection of air wastes your money because you do not need to cool your inner walls or attic space, and the leakage causes you to need to run the system more than you otherwise would. 

Finally, dirty air ducts can constrict the air flow through your new home's air conditioning system and result in less cooling. In multi-story homes, this often means that the lower levels receive the coldest air flow and the upper levels receive substantially less air because they are farther away from the blower motor. You should have your system's ducts cleaned at least once every year or more often if you have a lot of pets in your home. 

For more tips, contact the company that did your AC installation.