Austin Energy Program and Christian Brothers Air Conditioning

Christian Brothers Air Conditioning in Austin is proud to be a long time, preferred participating company in the Austin Energy Program. This energy efficiency program has been cited as one of the most comprehensive in the country. Christian Brothers is very knowledgeable and current on the programs and offerings available to Austin’s residential and business communities. We offer no cost, in home estimates to replace heating & air conditioning equipment that qualifies for the Energy Program.

The Austin Energy Program has been in existence since 1982 and continues to this day as a premier program available to Austin homeowners. Call Christian Brothers today at 512-476-6800 to schedule a convenient time for one of our knowledgeable representatives to provide you with all the ‘ins and outs’ of this program. Learn about ways that you can conserve energy, improve your comfort and save money on your utilities. Christian Brothers can help educate you on rebates, financial incentives, and other ways you can save energy and money for your Austin property.

Visiting with Christian Brothers Air Conditioning will be time well spent so you can be current on all the offerings from this quality Energy Program. Did you know that the energy efficient air conditioning systems available to you today can use as much as 40% less electricity than the older systems that are currently installed in so many Austin homes. You can now improve your comfort and save on energy.

If you home’s air conditioning system is around 10 years old or more, give us a call at 512-476-6800 to find out more. We will check your Heating & Air Conditioning system, your duct system, attic insulation and more.

The Austin Energy Program provides several maintenance suggestions that a homeowner can perform on their current heating and air conditioning system. We have listed some of these tips below. Christian Brothers Air Conditioning offers a very popular Priority One Maintenance Program for twice yearly check ups and inspections on your current system. Click here for more information on the maintenance program.

Home Maintenance Tips for Austin homeowners:

• Replace your air conditioning system filters at least every month. Dirty filters will make your system work harder and therefore run longer to properly cool or heat. If you see that your filters are dirty and you can not replace at the time, try to knock off or vacuum as much of the dirt as possible.
  
  
• Your outside unit is called your condenser.Keep bushes and tall grasses clear of this equipment so it can do its job properly, which is to allow heat to be removed from your house. This condenser outside has ‘fins’ which protect the coil inside and allow airflow to reach the coil. These fins get clogged up with dust and dirt from the outside environment and they need to be cleaned off. Usually these fins can be sprayed with a garden hose to wash off much of the dirt. Again, let your outside system breathe better. If it can’t breathe, it has to work harder and that costs money. The water you spray will not hurt the system. As you can see, if there are bushes and grass surrounding your condenser, it will be all the harder to perform this maintenance.
  
  
• One of your inside pieces of equipment, usually found in the attic, is another coil that also needs cleaned. They get clogged up with dirt and dust from your house and when this happens, you’re A/C system has to work harder and longer to cool you off and this costs energy and money. It is not such a simple process as cleaning the outside coil. These inside coils are more difficult to access and get the debris removed, so we recommend giving Christian Brothers Air Conditioning a call at 512-476-6800 and we can have one of our trained technicians perform this coil cleaning for you.
  
  
• Austin Energy recommends keeping your thermostat at 78 degrees in the summer and at 68 degrees in the winter. If you keep your thermostat at 72 degrees, for example, your summer time energy use could increase by as much as 40%. This is a huge number!By all means, if you are not home for much of the day, turn up your thermostat so you don’t waste energy and money while you are at work.
  
  
• If your home has a central air conditioning system, which almost all homes have, many times
  homeowners will close off vents in rooms they rarely use or use infrequently. Austin Energy recommends that you do not close these return air vents. This vent closing can cause the air flow to back up in your duct work and this pressure could force air to go through leaks in the duct or cause a leak in the older ductwork. Your house air flow through the ducts should be designed so you have maximum efficiency. Christian Brothers A/C can help you evaluate your existing duct system or recommend a much more intelligent layout of ductwork for a new system.