Home cooling do’s and don’ts INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — As the temperatures climb, so can the strain on your air conditioner. Experts say a few simple steps can help your system operate more efficiently and keep your home cooler. When there’s extreme heat, professionals in heating, ventila tion, and air conditioning (HVAC) say there are two things people should focus on: air flow and, not heating up your home.“Maybe draw the blinds if you have them. Try to avoid running things in the hot part of the day, like a dishwasher, a dryer, an oven, things like that that would actually heat up a home,” said Kevin Kubacki, general manager of Hope Plumbing. Kubacki says changing your furnace filter every few months, checking the outside unit for nearby debris and making sure vents are clear can go a long way. “When it’s really hot like this, it puts a lot of stress in the systems, so maybe pay attention to any weird noises that you might be hearing, if there’s a grinding or a different buzzing sound, or maybe smells. Could be indicators that your system is starting to have too much strain on it,” he said. On average, Kubacki’s team installs a new air conditioner to a unit every day in the summer. It can take all day to install an air conditioning unit. “The big issues that we see this time of year are if the units are older, and if they hadn’t been maintenanced, then you can start to see things breaking down. If you see ice on the lines on your outside, that means your refrigerants are leaking, or if you see water in the inside unit, that’s also a sign that things are breaking down,” Kucbacki said. Kubacki recommends getting maintenance on HVAC units twice a year as seasons change to prevent costly issues when you need it to work most. “Keep your vents open, don’t put anything over the returns, sometimes people have couches or things like that over their returns,” Kubacki said. ...read more read less