Monthly Archives: April 2017

regular ac maintenance | Keith Air Conditioning

5 Ways You Can Help Your Air Conditioner Be More Efficient

Spring is a perfect time to prepare for summer. With hot weather on its way to Mobile, Alabama, it’s time to change your filter and seal your ducts to keep up your air conditioner’s efficiency. Keep your unit working at its peak all through the summer by keeping the area around your outdoor unit shaded and clear of debris.

Complete Regular Maintenance

For your air conditioner to work properly, regular maintenance is important. During a routine visit, a technician checks for worn or loose parts in your unit and replaces them as necessary. The professional also checks your coolant levels and the airflow over the cooling coils, both of which affect efficiency.

Regular maintenance not only improves your unit’s performance, it can also prevent breakdowns in the future. A qualified technician finds and fixes small issues before they become big problems. Sign up for a maintenance plan to make sure that you don’t forget your maintenance before the summer heat hits Alabama.

Change Your Filter

Change your unit’s filter before summer begins so it’s ready to work hard for you during the hot weather. Check your filter every month and replace or clean as necessary to keep things running efficiently.

The filter on your air conditioner traps airborne particles that build up on your unit’s coils and affect your home’s indoor air quality. Keeping your filter clean helps your unit take air in so it can cool your home efficiently. When your filter gets clogged your equipment has to work harder to bring air in, reducing efficiency.

Shade Your Outdoor Unit

When the summer heat beats down on your outdoor air conditioning unit, it heats up, making it more difficult to cool the air in your home. By shading your outdoor unit, you’re keeping your air conditioner cool, so it’s easier for the unit to keep your living space cool.

If possible, have your unit installed on the shady side of your home or beneath a shade tree. Installing a small roof or shelter overtop of your unit also keeps it protected from the hot Alabama sun, helping it work at peak effectiveness.

When landscaping your yard, keep in mind that large rocks and asphalt radiate heat, so it’s best to keep them away from your outdoor air conditioning unit.

Keep It Clean

Leaves, twigs, grass clippings, and other yard waste accumulate around your air conditioner’s outdoor unit, affecting its performance. When debris gets on the outdoor compressor, it blocks the unit, making it difficult for the machine to push the heat out of your home.

Cleaning yard waste from around your air conditioning unit regularly helps it to keep working efficiently. Be sure to clean around your unit after windy days that bring down more leaves and twigs than usual.

Also, make sure any growth such as decorative plants or shrubs is at least three feet from your air conditioner unit to make sure you’re getting proper air flow. Obstructions make it more difficult for the machine to cool your home efficiently.

Seal Leaky Ducts

Before the cooling season begins, inspect your ducts to see if they need sealing. Leaky ducts result in energy loss and make it difficult for your air conditioning unit to cool your home even when the unit itself it working at maximum efficiency. When you have a professional seal them for you, it increases the efficiency of your cooling unit by 20 to 40 percent.

It’s also important to make sure your ducts are properly insulated, especially in attics, garages, or crawlspaces where the conditioned air loses energy. Without insulation the cool air in your ducts heats, making it difficult for your air conditioner to keep your home at a comfortable temperature.

Before summer arrives, prepare your air conditioner to work efficiently, and don’t forget to keep it up throughout the hot season. In Mobile, Alabama, call Keith Air Conditioning, Inc. for maintenance, repairs, and installation. Our plans help you keep your unit working at top condition, worry free. Call us today at 251-476-3610 to speak to our knowledgeable staff about your air conditioning needs.

spring allergies | Keith Air Conditioning

How an Air Purifier Beats Spring Allergies

If you’ve lived in Mobile, Alabama, for long, you know that spring allergies tend to start early and can last for months. While most residents’ symptoms tend to be worse on warm, sunny spring afternoons, you can get some relief from all the sniffling and sneezing if you invest in an air purifier. An air purifier helps beat spring allergies by removing allergens from the air in your home.

Get a Whole-House Air Purifier

Portable air cleaners can tackle limited areas in your home, but they’ll never do a thorough job of removing allergens from your home. To get clean air and complete relief in every room of your home, you need a whole-house air purifier.

These innovative systems are compact but hardworking, and they integrate seamlessly with your HVAC system. That allows them to filter and purify with each air cycle. Depending on how frequently your air conditioner turns on, a whole-house air purifier could clean your home’s air supply several times each hour.

Eliminate Pollen From Your Home

Air filters are designed to keep dust and debris from entering your HVAC system and reducing its efficiency, but not all filters can capture microscopic pollen particles. Fortunately, most whole-house air purifiers can tackle pollen, removing this sneeze-worthy substance from your air supply.

If you’re ready to invest, we at Keith Air Conditioning, Inc. recommend the Infinity Air Purifier GAPA for optimal indoor air quality. These innovative air purifiers capture up to 95 percent of microscopic particles and even use an electrical charge to inactivate pathogens.

Trap Secondary Allergens

A high-quality air purifier like the Infinity GAPA doesn’t stop with just pollen. It also traps pet dander, tobacco smoke, mold, and other common allergens. That means you’ll breathe much more easily in spring and throughout the year.

Are you ready to say goodbye to spring allergy symptoms? To learn more about our air purifier options, call Keith Air Conditioning, Inc., the indoor air quality experts, at 251-476-3610 .

Lower HVAC Costs | Keith Air Conditioning

3 Ways to Lower HVAC Costs This Spring

Even if you love the warm temperatures and spring sunshine in Loxley, Alabama, you probably aren’t a fan of the high cooling bills that this season brings. Fortunately, you can keep your utility bills low with a few cost-effective steps. From using ceiling fans to installing a smart thermostat, find out how to lower your HVAC system use costs this spring.

Use Ceiling Fans

Ceiling fans seem simple, but they offer expert-level energy savings when used correctly. In the summer, set them to rotate in a counterclockwise direction to keep cool air circulating. Keep them on and lower your thermostat as much as 4 degrees less than normal, and you won’t feel any less cooler in your home.

Install a Smart Thermostat

Replacing your old manual thermostat with a smart model such as the Côr Wi-Fi Thermostat is one of the easiest ways to lower your cooling costs. Set an efficient base temperature of 76 or 78 degrees, and program the thermostat to maintain that temperature only when your family is home to enjoy the cool air. Set the thermostat to increase the temperature by 8 to 10 degrees while you’re away or asleep, and you can look forward to lower electricity bills. 

Invest in a New Air Conditioner

Buying a new cooling system might not sound like the most cost-effective way to save money, but for many homeowners, buying a new unit is a smart choice. If your current air conditioner is more than 10 years old, it’s more likely to run inefficiently and generate costly repair bills.

At Keith Air Conditioning, we recommend investing in the most efficient system possible, such as the Infinity 21 Central Air Conditioner. This system features two-stage compression, which it runs in low mode most of the time to reduce your energy costs as much as possible. A system like this one can help you lower your energy consumption and save money throughout the cooling season.

Whether you’re in the market for an energy-efficient air conditioner or a new smart thermostat, call our professional Keith Air Conditioning, Inc. team at 251-476-3610 . We’re here to help with all of your home’s comfort needs.