Would you like to know how to increase your air conditioner's efficiency in three easy steps? Your air conditioning seems like a complicated system, but it is a really simple set-up once you understand how and why it works the way it does. And its efficiency all starts with those intake vents you have placed around your house. If you care for those vents and the air going into them, you are well on your way to making your air conditioner work very well.

How Your AC Works, in a Nutshell

Your AC system sucks in air through intake vents placed around your home. This air passes through a filter, which removes particles like dust, pollen, and more. The air passes into the AC's cooling system, where the heat is extracted from the air, and the cool air is blown back out into the house.

Obviously, you need the entire system to be working well. But the AC's efficiency starts with making sure that air can get into the system without a struggle. If the air coming in is too dusty, or if there is too much dust built up the vent, your AC is going to struggle.

Dust the Intake Vent's Opening

Keep the grilles in front of the intake vents nice and clean. All you really have to do is dust them every week. But if you don't, and if you leave them to develop a thick layer of dust, that dust is going to get sucked into the vents when the air conditioner turns on once hot weather starts up. And as more dust lands on the grilles, more dust will enter the vents.

Change Your Filters Monthly

That dust all builds up on the filters, whether it comes from the grilles, the carpet, or just the environment in general. In fact, dust and pollen, as well as pet hair, can quickly clog up a filter to the point where air can barely squeeze through. That makes your AC work a lot harder than it should have to. If you change those filters -- monthly at first and then adjust that timing as is necessary -- you'll keep the air's passageway into the AC system a lot more open.

Rotate Those Blinds

Finally, if you have blinds, learn how to rotate them. Yes, you know how to work the rod that rotates them, but do you know which way the blinds should go?

If you want to help your air conditioner, you have to make the inside air cooler, too. You can do that by rotating the blinds so that direct sunlight is not entering the room, not even between the slats of the blinds. That will stop the air from warming up too much near the windows and then circulating around the house, warming everything up.

Your AC is a great appliance, but it can always use some human help. Keep things clean and protected from direct sunlight, and contact an AC repair company if you notice that the system isn't cooling as much as you think it should. Contact a company like Air Around The Clock for more information and assistance.