How Do You Determine If Central Air Conditioner Is Working Efficiently?

Central air conditioning keeps your entire house cool and comfortable on scorching summer days. Beating the heat does come at a cost, however. Heating and cooling costs account for half a typical homeowner's energy bill, totaling about $1,000 a year. The environment pays a price as well. Home air conditioning uses 5 percent of all electricity produced in the United States, releasing about 140 tons of carbon dioxide a year. Avoid wasting cooling dollars and protect natural resources by making sure your central air is efficient. Step 1 Determine how old your central air conditioner is. If it is more than 10 years old, replace it with an Energy Star-rated model to save more than 20 percent on your energy bills. Step 2 Check past energy bills. If your bill has been slowly climbing by a few dollars a month each summer, you may not have noticed. Your system may not be working at full efficiency if your energy use is steadily increasing. If you don't save copies of your old bills, contact ...  more