The Hidden Causes of House Fires Could Include Aging Heating Fans and Leaky AC Units
Is your air conditioning more than a decade old? Recent studies show that homes with aging AC units, refrigerators, and other appliances could be costing their owners significantly more money than they realize. In general, modern air conditioners and refrigerators are built to use about half of the energy that older models consume: simply replacing older kitchen appliances and contracting for residential AC repair could save hundreds of dollars every month, depending upon the size and layout of the home.
Regular filter maintenance can also help save dollars, which makes sense to homeowners striving to conserve energy. The majority of American homes feature air conditioners, but homes older than 50 years old may not have internal heating and cooling vents. Local AC repair contractors may be able to offer solutions, ranging from a complete retrofit of ventilation to the installation of freestanding air conditioning units.
Homeowners who want to save money are also beginning to investigate tankless water heaters as a cost-efficient option for their homes. In general, reducing the amount of air, water, and gas that is wasted every year could save thousands of pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the earth’s atmosphere, and homes with updated appliances that receive regular AC service typically fetch higher resale values.
Surprisingly, there is also a substantial fire risk from delaying AC service to older units: freon can leak from contained coils, and fire safety reports indicate that internal fires due to overheated or malfunctioning AC fans accounts for about one-third of all residential fires every year. Getting heating systems updated and maintained in advance of colder weather is also advised, as damaged fans can also cause significant malfunction during winter months.
In the last two decades, home air conditioning use has actually doubled. Residential properties typically have substantially more floor space to heat and cool, and energy-efficient cooling systems mean that homeowners can spend less while running air conditioners for longer periods of time. In fact, AC units that see heavy use do require maintenance each year; commercial AC service is best undertaken regularly as well.
Under increased consumer pressure to offer eco-friendly home appliances, both online and local retailers should notice an increase in customers interested in obtaining “green” certifications for their homes and businesses. In the coming decades, consumer-driven shifts toward minimizing energy costs and maximizing residential should result in a noticeable reduction in both greenhouse emissions and in the quantity of industrial waste that makes its way into landfills. Environmentally-conscious shoppers could change the future of the world, and activists worldwide are holding out hope that they will.
