How to make sure your A/C system runs efficiently in extreme Florida heat

TAMPA, Fla. - When the temperatures outside go up, how can you keep your utility bill down?

"It’s hard to be an air conditioner in Florida," Matt Cook, who owns Tampa Bay Home Solutions, said.

Tuesday marked the hottest July 4th on record. Wednesday marked the second consecutive day Tampa Bay is under a heat advisory.

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"We’re seeing a lot of phone calls. Industry-wide, everybody’s extremely busy right now so people are having to wait sometimes two to three days to see a technician," Cook said.

It’s a call volume Cook said they don’t typically see until closer to mid-July or the beginning of August.

Experts say air filters should be changed once a month so A/C systems run efficiently.

"Your air conditioner, just like you or I, needs to breathe. It needs to inhale and exhale," Cook said. "Anything that’s interrupting that process is going to wind up stressing the system and can create early failure and certainly is going to charge you more as far as the energy consumption."

To help your A/C system run more efficiently, consider changing your air filters once a month. Cook recommends a MERV 5 filter.

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You also want to make sure the coils on your condensing unit stay clean, but using a pressure washer could damage it, he added. Instead, Cook suggests calling a professional, who will clean it with a specific coil cleaner that will get rid of any pollen, dirt, or grass clippings.

If your A/C system does shut off, try unclogging your condensation line with a shop vac, Cook said. And when it’s this hot out, don’t ask your A/C system to do something it’s not meant to do.

Florida is experiencing record heat which means air conditioners are working overtime to keep homes cool.

"It is not designed or engineered to keep your house 70, 72 degrees. That magic number is 20 degrees, around there: It’s going to keep you about 20 degrees cooler than the outdoor temperature," Cook said.

So what’s his recommendation: Should you crank up the air temperature while you’re gone in the middle of the day?

"When it's this hot as it is lately, just leave it," Cook said. "When you get home, and you're asking it to stress out and get it so cool in such a short period of time when you get home, you've lost any savings that you thought you would have gotten during the day."