Today’s high-efficiency air conditioners use about 30% to 50% less energy than made about two decades ago. As such, you could cut your energy costs by up to 40% by replacing your older system now.

Still, the efficiency of the “box” itself is just part of the energy saving story.  To save all you can, your system needs to be properly sized.  One measure of system size is the amount British Thermal Units (BTUs) of heat a system can remove per hour. Another common rating term for air conditioning size is “ton,” with one ton equal to 12,000 BTUs per hour.

Before Absolute Air recommends the right size for your new or replacement AC system, we first take into account:

• The size of your home and the number of windows.
• The amount of shade that falls on your home’s windows, walls, and roof
• The amount and placement of insulation.
• How much air is leaking in or out of your home, and from where.
• How much heat is generated by the occupants and other appliances on a normal day.

Why is it so important to recommend and install exactly the right size system?  Because anything smaller or larger than “right” will incur needless added wear and tear and not provide you with the maximum return on your investment.

To learn more or request a free in-home consultation and new AC system proposal, contact Absolute Air today.  We’re here to make sure you get your money’s worth, and then some.

Do you turn the thermostat up to 76 or even higher during those summer days when no one’s going to be home?  Lots of people do to cut down on their air conditioning energy costs.  But the second you get home, especially on a hot, humid day, chances are you make a mad dash to the thermostat to cool things off for a nice relaxing evening.

But what happens when a thermostat setting no longer delivers an indoor temperature of the same number?  Do you just shrug your shoulders and lower the thermostat a little more?  If so, we’d like to suggest doing one other thing so perhaps you won’t have to adjust the thermostat and incur more energy expense.  And that is:  check and be prepared to clean your AC filter.  begun.

The dirtier it gets, the harder your AC system has to work to reach the desired temperature.  Not only does that cause your energy bill to spike, it also means greater system wear and tear and, if left unattended for lengthy periods of time, a shorter system lifespan.  Plus, at least some of the dirt, bacteria, and other pollutants attached to your filter get blown by the system’s fan into your ductwork and eventually your living spaces and lungs.  And these are the airborne pollutants known to cause and/or aggravate allergies, asthma, and other upper respiratory problems.

At Absolute Air, we recommend following the instructions on your filter’s package for how and how frequently to check and clean your filter.  If you don’t have such a package handy and you’re committed to proper AC system maintenance, then plan to start checking the filter every 60 days and then clean or replace it as you deem appropriate.

For even greater airflow distribution along with cleaner air and more energy efficient system operation, be sure to have your heating and cooling systems professionally cleaned and inspected once a year each by the home comfort professionals at Absolute Air.  In the process, we do much more than check and clean or replace your filters.  We follow a multi-step process that leads to overall improved system performance plus greater safety for your home and family.

Has it been a year or longer since your last AC or furnace inspection?  If so, contact Absolute Air today to get the quality of service every family deserves.

If high outdoor humidity seems to be following you indoors, then something is definitely wrong with your AC system. If so, here are two distinct possibilities.

• You have an over-sized system. Let’s say, for example, that you have a 4 ton AC unit when a 3 ton unit would have been more than adequate. An oversized system will cool your home faster, but also shut itself off faster than a correctly sized system. That, in turn, means longer periods of time without the AC on, and thus higher than comfortable indoor relative humidity.

• Frozen evaporator coil. When a home AC system is operating efficiently, its evaporator coil – located inside the indoor half of the system – is doing its job by literally cooling off your indoor air. At the same time, it’s removing humidity from your indoor spaces, but that functionality is lost as soon as a coil freezes up.

If you have an older AC system and unbearable indoor humidity, you have a great reason to replace yours with a correctly sized system from Absolute Air. But what if your system is still relatively new and has a bunch of years left in it? Fear not: we have a very workable solution for you, too: a whole-house de-humidifier that we can install to work in conjunction with your AC system to cool and dehumidify your home at the same time. Plus, you can set the unit to generate the relative humidity level at which you feel most comfortable. For most people, that’s between 40% – 50%.

For more information on how to remove excess humidity from your home or any other AC problem at all, contact Absolute Air today.

Okay, so this is year you take the big step, and replace your aging AC system that barely wheezed and sputtered its way through last year’s intense heat.

And yet, it’s been roughly 15 years since you bought the last one, and now you feel a little out of touch and aren’t quite sure where to begin.

First and foremost, you want to team up with a professional AC company you feel absolutely comfortable with and one that brings at least this much to the table:

• Proven experience and capabilities
• A history of customer satisfaction
• Design and installation capabilities
• Offers you multiple new system options so you can compare features, benefits, and costs
• Services and repairs what they sell
• Has all the requisite licenses and insurance coverages
• Provides service where you live

That’s 90% of the battle right there. Still, by doing a little advance homework, you’re bound to ask better questions and make better decisions, and here’s a good starting point:

• You don’t want an over-sized or under-sized system, which is why pre-installation design prowess and experience are so important. A right-sized system will last longer and help keep your energy costs to a minimum.
• You should also ask your contractor about upgrading to a variable speed system to save even more money on your energy bills.       A system with a variable speed fan runs continuously, thus eliminating frequent and costly on-and-off cycling that you probably experience now with your single-speed system.
• If you or any family members suffer from allergies, asthma, or other respiratory ailments, your contractor needs to know that so they can recommend more or more clean air add-ons to your system, including a whole-house air purifier and a whole-house humidity control system.
• This may seem like a small point, but you can’t believe how big and important it can potentially be: ideally, you want a system with a “check filter” light to remind you that it’s time to clean or replace your filter. If you follow your system’s advice, you’ll be doing good things for the quality of your indoor air, the overall health of your AC system and, once again, helping to keep your AC-related energy costs to a minimum.

Here in Rockwall, Terrell, and throughout the East Dallas area, Absolute Air is a contractor more and more home owners rely on for great advice, great service, and straight answers to all their questions. Starting today, you can do the same, and all you have to do is call to get the process started.