How to tell if your air conditioner is working efficiently

If you live in a climate where the temperature rises frequently, then an air conditioner can make living conditions much more pleasant and comfortable. As is the case with many pieces of technology, an air conditioner also loses if it is working properly after a period of use. It is essential that you continue to measure the efficiency of your air conditioner so that if problems do arise, they can be fixed before it is too late.

Here are some tips on how to tell if your air conditioner is running efficiently.

Prepare your CA for testing

You need to replace your furnace filter and then remove all vent covers. This is necessary to ensure that the airflow is smooth and not restricted. Simply pry off loose vents or use a tool to pry off tight-fitting covers. Sometimes you may need the help of an air conditioning maintenance company if you need to remove the vents that are attached to an outdoor unit. They can do this job more efficiently and safely.

Determine the different AC ducts.

You need to know which are the supply and return ducts on your air conditioner. To determine this, place a tissue over each duct. If the tissue starts to fly out of the duct, then that’s your supply duct, while if the tissue paper gets sucked in, then that’s your return duct.

Check the temperature of both ducts

You can do this in a few very simple steps. Turn on your air conditioner and let it run for at least 15 minutes. Then take a thermometer and place it inside the supply duct. Check if the thermometer is below the current room temperature to ensure a correct reading. You can use any thermometer, even a refrigerator thermometer will work. Remember that the supply duct is the part of the air conditioner that blows cool air into your room. Keep the thermometer there for 10 minutes. Record this temperature.
Now go to step two and hold the same thermometer in the return vent, again for ten minutes. As stated before, the return ventilation is the part of the air conditioner that draws in air from the room and delivers it to the HVAC system. Keep this reading in mind as well.
Now submit both readings to calculate your results.

The results will tell the efficiency of your air conditioning

If there is a 20 degree difference between the supply and return ducts, then the air conditioner is working fine. But if this temperature is below 20 degrees, this can tell you that your air conditioning is not working efficiently. There can be many possibilities of this problem. One may be that there is a leak in the system, or another may be that you need to replace the HVAC filter.