30/01/2025
*Heat Wave*
With the forecasted heat wave predicded by multiple weather sources, and our inability to get to each and every customer who needs our help over the next couple weeks, I thought I would put together a "cheat sheet" of sorts to hopefully keep as many of you cool and comfortable as possible. Hopefully dismiss a few theory's we hear very commonly.
The first of which being - Turning the AC on once the house is hot...
This does not save you money, it does not give the unit a break. In fact it causes your system to work much harder then if you allowed it to run earlier in the day while temps were low to Keep The House Cool.
Waiting until the heat of the day to turn your unit on is bound to end in disappointment.
Overnight temps of 20degrees are the perfect time to cool your house down before the following days heat, and it is much easier on your system to cool your house, even cooler then you may want it at the time but you and your unit will appreciate this once that heat hits.
Yes, your system may cut out/ over heat. Typically this is a safety cut out to ensure minimal damage is done to your system. If this happens, leave the unit off until the sun has gone down and by all means try again. Any damage done is already done, you are highly unlikely to worsen the situation by trying to run the unit again.
SPLIT SYSTEM AND REVERSE CYCLE DUCTED - keep your windows and exterior doors shut. If you have roller shutters or blinds, use them. Light=heat so keep the light out, you will minimise how much heat you are letting in. If there are unused rooms inside the house, close those doors and shut corresponding zones if possible to decrease the area you are trying to cool as much as possible.
TEMP SET POINT - everyone has a different idea here. My advice 25-26 degrees. If you think thats too hot, go outside for 10 mins and im sure you will appriciate how much better it is once inside😉 When the sun goes down, by all means drop that temp to 22-23 or lower and get the house as cool as you like while the ambient conditions allow.
EVAPORATIVE UNITS -
Great idea to run overnight, so the water going to your unit has been changing over while its cooler, failing to do so usually results in the water in your basin or the water in the copper lines that first reach your unit being even hotter then the actual temp and creates an uphill battle that you simply will not win.
Evaporative coolers typically can provide air that is 12-14degree's lower then the outside ambient temperature. This changes with the relative humidity of certain days and as most of you know the more humid the day, the worse your old "Swamp box" works. Unfortunately this is just science, there's not a lot even we can do if your unit is working its little butt off and not keeping up.
Example of temps to expect with your Evap during this weather. I was never the best at Maths, our Sparky Sam and Apprentice Zac are the "numbers" guys here but if its 38degrees outside, and your Evap is working efficiently as it should/can. We can expect to take 12degree's from 38, leaving us with 26degee air coming through the vents. Now that doesn't sound too bad but remember based on this, each degree warmer is going to make it rather uncomfortable. Also remember to have windows/doors open to allow the air to flow out. This is a requirement, failure to do so will result in a premature burnt out fan motor due to back pressure.
Obviously its a great idea to have had your units serviced by a qualified person before this heat hits, and in a perfect world you did that.. right? 😉
Keep in mind, a service is not a magic get out of the heat card and wont make units run flawlessly forever. Particularly Evaps. They do suffer with prolonged periods of heat as we are expecting.
We get asked a lot about the risk of Fire from a faulty AC system. Yes, this can happen, BUT it is very rare and a lot needs to go wrong all at once. Your unit is equipped with safety devices, multiple in fact to not allow this to happen. The media like to report every year about the one or two hosue fires caused by the AC (allegedly) this usually scares everyone into a panic to rush out and pay someone (like us) to service their unit. We are always grateful for each and every customer who uses and recommends our services but we also dont want people living in fear. If you suspect a fault with your unit, in particular if you can smell smoke DO NOT call us first, make sure you and your family are safe, confirm there is smoke and call 000. In my 17yrs in the trade every couple seasons we get a call regarding FIRE/SMOKE. We are not emergacy services and we need people to understand that. We cannot help you in that situation. By all means call to let us know and we can arrange a booking ASAP to rectify and we hope there is minimal damage.
Our team is working tirelessly at the moment to keep up with the calls, quotes, installs and repairs at the moment. Please be kind, be patient we are a small (but strong) team and I am incredibly proud of the work we continue to commit to and deliver.
If you need us over this time our phone runs hot, get it.. little heat related pun 😎🫠 tough crowd...
0422 546 313 is our office manager / (my beautiful wife after hours ❤️) is already on a call, please leave a message and we will call you back ASAP as we always do. We have limited availability as usual this time of year but we ALWAYS try and squeeze you in if we are in your area that day.
Thank you to all our existing and new customers, we are celebrating 10yrs in business as of last November and going strong. Take care over the next few weeks, check up on your elderly parents or grandparents. I know we always have to force my Nonna to turn her unit on 🤷🏽
Feel free to share this, i know it is very basic stuff but we are continually educating customers on these exact issues each day and i figure the masses may need to read it before the heat comes, it may just help. I hope so anyway.
From the Team at Anthony's Refrigeration & Air-Conditioning
Anthony and Kirsty
Sam, Nathan and Zac ❄️☀️❤️
