It may be hard to think of getting your house too cold when the heat rises to its peak during the summer. In order for you to have a retreat from the heat outside, you will want as much cooling as you can get from your AC. But you wouldn’t want your home as cold as a freezer which is partly why air conditioners aren’t designed to provide a home with freezer-like temperatures. No matter how hot you feel even though you can lower the temperature on the thermostat down to 60°F doesn’t mean you should. Your air conditioner can be negatively impacted when you run the AC too cold. You don’t need it that cold and you can still keep out the heat if you raise it a little rather than a lot. Today, we at Ambient Heating & Air Conditioning would like to stress the dangers of running your air conditioner too cold.

There is a Cooling Limit on the AC

This is not the lowest setting on the thermostat. How much it can change the temperature in the house is your air conditioner mechanical limit, which is known as the temperature differential. The air conditioning systems is 20°F for residential applications. Especially if you have a well-insulated house to keep out extra heat, this should be enough for most days. The setting on the thermostat for recommended energy-saving is 78°F, which can provide comfort on nearly any hot day. Because the insulation in the house will prevent some of that heat from getting in, even a day above 100°F, giving the AC a head-start on cooling down the interior. Because it’s attempting to reach a temperature setting beyond its limits, the air conditioner will run continuously without cycling down. On the system that it isn’t designed to handle, there is immense strain placed on it. The strain leads to motors burning out, the system overheating and tripping the circuit breaker.

Frozen AC Coils

When cooling the house, it is strongly recommended you don’t lower your thermostat below 68°F. Most people won’t find it comfortable since this is already a low temperature. It also creates a risk of the evaporator coil freezing over, aside from possibly forcing the AC to run too much, which will prevent the system from removing enough heat from the air.

Raise the Temperature to Keep It Cool

If you raise the thermostat setting as high as you feel comfortable, you can help your AC survive the summer. This also helps keep your house cooler. The slower heat from outside moves into the house is from, the closer the indoor temperature is to the outside. This is known as heat gain. Though it does at a higher temperature setting, like 78°F, insulation helps slow it down. In addition to your home not heating up, you will also enjoy great energy savings compared to lowering the thermostat too far.

Air Conditioner Maintenance, Repairs, Replacement, Emergency Repairs & More in Springfield, Granby, Holyoke, South Hadley, Monson, Chicopee & Agawam, Massachusetts

When it comes to your cooling system in Hampshire and Hamden County, Massachusetts, trust Ambient Heating & Air Conditioning to provide quality installation, replacement, repair, or maintenance services. Call us to schedule service today.