Most of us aren’t thinking about our air conditioners right now. Winters in Central California can be surprisingly chilly and heating is the name of the game when it comes to home comfort. But summer will be here before you know it, and when it arrives, you’re going to need a reliable air conditioner to see you through it. If your existing air conditioner is on its last legs, now is the ideal time to consider a replacement, and with a new air conditioner comes a host of new options for you to consider.
Among them is the possibility of a 2-stage cooling system, which allows you to alter the speed of the fan blowing conditioned air into the home. The system makes a lot of sense with temperatures like ours, which can be all over the map. It could end up saving you a great deal of money.
How Does It Work?
When you turn on your air conditioner, you may notice that the fan blows at the same speed no matter how hot or cool it might be. Air conditioners usually have one fan setting, and the air blows until the temperature in the house is lowered to the desired level. (This is one of the reasons why you should never set the thermostat lower than you’d like in hopes of the system cooling the home faster. It simply doesn’t work like that.)
That’s all well and good on hot summer days, when you need your home to stay cool in the face of triple-digit temperatures. (And we get more than our share of those.) But it can be less efficient on milder days, when you need the AC to keep the home cool, but you’re not fighting a running battle against the stifling hot air outside.
Enter the 2-stage system. It simply allows you to set the fan to two different settings: high for days when the heat is really on, and low for those days when you need your home to be cool, but don’t need to make quite as much of an effort for optimum household comfort. A trained technician can install a 2-stage system in your home easily, and have it ready to go well before the first warm day hits us.
What Are the Benefits?
There is one big benefit to a 2-stage system, but it’s the one that counts the most. The ability to lower the fan speed when needed also means that you won’t have to spend quite so much energy to keep your home cool on milder days. That in turn, means your monthly bills will be lower than they might be otherwise. In addition, it can reduce the strain on other parts of the air conditioner. That, in turn, helps them last longer, which means both a reduced risk of repairs and a longer life for the system on the whole.
If you think a 2-stage air conditioner is a good bet for your Sacramento, CA home, call the pros at Sierra Pacific Home & Comfort, Inc.