Air Conditioning Tips To Make It Through A Hot Summer

With these high temperatures, air conditioners are working overtime and so are AC repair crews. 

While it may feel good cranking the thermostat down in your house, it could be putting a strain on your AC. 

Just like any appliance, they can go out with little notice. But when it comes to your AC unit, there's a few things to remember to keep them working well and long as possible. 

When the heat is high, cooling down is important. That's why Ron Veit is here with his family. 

"The grand kids. You gotta do what you gotta do," said Veit. 

He's in town visiting from Texas, so he's not shocked by it...but it's still very hot. 

"Have you ever heard of a fried egg on the sidewalk? That's what it feels like," said Veit. 

For kids, cooling off means playtime in the water. For others, relaxing in the house. 

"Man you're real grateful for air conditioner when you get it," said Veit. 

But for the unfortunate, it means coping with a broken down AC unit. 

That's when people like Kenneth Green come in to save the day. He's a repair man for A Best Heat and Air. 

"This one. He called in saying he had no air conditioning," said Green. 

90 percent of his repairs are replacing a small piece. 

In older units, that small piece would be the compressor. 

On any summer day he can easily work 12 to 14 hours on repairs. 

"The lower you run them, the more apt they are to not cool properly," said Green. 

He says when it's this hot, people will set their AC on 50 degrees hoping to get the temperature down. 

But that doesn't always work. 

"When it's 105 or above outside, if you can get your house down to the mid 70's to around 70 degrees, you are doing something really good," said Green. 

He says for optimal efficiency, its best to keep your AC around 70 or 75 and when you leave the house, don't turn the AC off or turn it up too much. 

Green added, "If you turn it up too far and the system is down too long it allows the humidity to build up in the house."