There are definitely ways to increase your air conditioner’s efficiency without replacing it.

By making your home more air tight, you won’t lose as much cold air through cracks around your windows and doors. This will allow your system to cycle less frequently, which will save energy.

Also, if your air conditioner’s ductwork is located in your attic or a crawlspace, a lot of the air you’re paying to cool might not be reaching your living space because it may be leaking out of your ducts. This can be very inefficient and can create a depressurized environment in your home, which leads to hot air seeping in from outside, ultimately causing your air conditioner to work harder.

Finally, regular maintenance of the actually air conditioner is also very important. Although you will be able to maintain your furnace to some degree, such as changing air filters regularly and cleaning the return and supply registers, certain maintenance needs to be performed by a professional.

A great first step toward increasing your air conditioner’s efficiency is to have an energy audit, which you can get for free right now in Massachusetts through the MassSave program. An energy auditor plays an important role in fixing these problems because the average homeowner isn’t equipped to test their HVAC equipment or to figure out how well sealed their home is. Many auditors are also able to perform HVAC maintenance, so you may be able to kill two birds with one stone there.

Updated July 13, 2010