This page was last updated 20 March 2012 The date of production/manufacture or age of an KENMORE® furnace or other KENMORE® HVAC equipment can be determined from the serial number. As summer gets hotter, your central air conditioning is poised to become your BFF. But how well do you know your new bestie? Here are five things that might come as a surprise. It’s Not Just About Temperature: To make you comfortable, air conditioners do more than blow cool air out the vents. They also extract humidity from the air, so you feel less sticky. The moisture that the AC system removes drips out through a condensate tube. Algae and mold love that moist environment, so prevent their growth by pouring distilled white vinegar through the tube once a month during air conditioning season. Most drains have a T-shaped vent with a cover; remove the cover, pour in the vinegar, let sit for half an hour and then rinse with water. Seriously, You DO Have to Change the Air Filter: The dust, pollen, pollutants and other particles floating in your home’s air collect in the HVAC air filter during heating and cooling seasons.

How quickly an air filter gets dirty depends on the filter type and the home (cat hair, anyone?), but figure on replacing it every two or three months. Not only is a clean filter better at trapping impurities, it also keeps your central HVAC system running efficiently by allowing air flow.ac unit fan squeaking It’s Cheaper to Turn the AC Off When You’re Gone: One school of thought contends you save energy by setting your AC to a higher temperature when you’re gone rather than turning it off completely (the thinking being that it takes less energy to cool a cool-ish house than a hot one). home ac repair pflugervilleThat’s a myth—you use less energy by shutting it off when you’re gone all day. slider casement air conditioner energy star

If you don’t want to return to a hot house and then wait for it to cool, replace that Brady-Bunch era thermostat with a programmable one and set it to turn the air on an hour or so before you get home. Or jump fully into this millennium and get a Wi-Fi thermostat you control with your phone. There’s an Important On/Off Switch Outside: Attached to the outside of your house near the AC compressor is a box with a switch that turns the AC compressor on and off. To save energy, use that switch to turn the compressor off at the end of air conditioning season. Then, at the start of the next air conditioning season, flip the compressor switch on. Wait 24 hours before turning on the AC at the thermostat, so the compressor has time to convert the refrigerant from liquid to a gas. This advice doesn’t apply if you have a heat pump; because you use it for heating and cooling, leave the compressor on all year. Remember Goldilocks When You Replace Your AC: Eventually, the time comes to replace your central air conditioner.

After 15 years or so, your AC will conk out permanently, or require a repair too expensive to justify, or be so grossly inefficient compared to the latest technology that it’s time to upgrade. Then you, like Goldilocks, must find the AC solution that is juuust the right size and juuust the right price. You want the right size because an AC system that is too big or too small wastes energy. And you want the right system at the right price because, well, who has too much money? The HVAC experts from Sears Home Services are trained to do a complex load calculation to determine the right size AC unit for your home. They take into account not just the home’s square footage and your climate, but factors like how many heat-generating appliances and lights you use, and how many heat-generating occupants live in the house, and how many windows the house has, and which way those windows face. You also want a system that’s just the right price for your budget. The Sears Home Services HVAC experts can help you choose a Kenmore central air conditioner that delivers the cooling you need at a price you can afford.

If your house is ready for new central air, schedule a free in-home consultation with Sears Home Services.Air Conditioning • Comfort Pro • HVAC Cooling off in the summer and early fall is a constant thought. No matter what your plans are for the day, you must figure out a way to stay cool to avoid heat strokes, sunburns, and other nasty problems that can occur. We want our neighbors to stay comfortable year-round. One of the primary concerns in terms of cooling a home is the cost. Heating and air conditioning accounted for 47.7% of the average U.S. household’s energy bill in 2009. In more recent years, electronic devices are taking over as the majority, but the cost of heating and cooling is continuing to rise as oil prices rise. Air Conditioning Unit Energy Consumption Air conditioning (AC) units are constantly running through the hot seasons to keep your home and offices cool. So just how much energy does it take to keep your home cool? Well, let’s take a look at the big picture first.

The average U.S. household consumes about 700kW of energy each year, according to the . Keep in mind this energy is spread across the seasons, not the seasons. Now let’s jump into the specifics for AC consumption. In reality, there is no guaranteed number. You’ll just have to look at the specifications for your unit, specifically. The energy usage per unit truly varies a lot; however, we can give average estimates and examples of popular units that are installed. Here are some specifics: As the sizes of central ACs vary, the wattage will vary. The more tons you have, the more usage you’ll use. The 3500W average estimate is based on averages from 2.5 ton units. If you’re interested in installing a 2.5 ton unit, or already have one installed, then you’ll use anywhere between 3200W-3800W. What Does “Large” or “Medium” Mean, Specifically? The real difference between small, medium, and large window units is the BTU. If you notice, when purchasing an AC they give you the square footage covered, which is based directly off of the BTU.

Here are some estimates on large, medium, and small units in terms of their BTU for your reference: These numbers are all variants, as there are smaller units that go down to 3000 BTU and sometimes even lower. In fact, there are some window units that use up to 25000 BTU. These units use about 2600 Watts of energy to run. Central AC units can use a whole lot more than 3500 Watts of energy, but they can also use a whole lot less. It all depends on how efficiently you manage the system. Some of the factors affecting the energy usage of all air conditioners, which prevent specific estimations, include: What’s it going to Cost Me? Cooling your home can be costly if you don’t pay think it through. The cost to run an AC unit depends on the size of the unit, as well as the factors listed above. However, the average costs for each size unit can be found below: The above estimates are based off of an energy rate of $0.14/kWh, and the unit is run for 16 hours/day. To lower your energy bill during the summer, take a look at some of and if you’re in need of AC maintenance, repairs, or installation!