Southern Manitoba is baking in the first heat wave of summer, and many homes are putting cooling systems to work for the first time this season.

Gord Titchkosky, owner of Polar Plumbing and Heating in Winkler, says operating an air conditioner efficiently starts with regular maintenance.

“As a homeowner, the number one thing I would say is ensuring that you have a clean furnace filter. Your system requires a certain amount of air to flow through it to operate properly, and a blocked or plugged filter can prevent that from working, and it can actually cause a freeze up. Obviously, then you're not cooling at all.”

Shopping for a new air conditioner requires more than buying the biggest unit.

Titchkosky says there are several options to consider.

“There are many levels of efficiency, there's staging. If sound is a concern, there are available units that can minimize that. A wide range of options fit many different budgets for sure. The best thing to do though is call a home comfort advisor and have them walk you through all those options to find the right system for your home.”

Many homeowners choose to disable their cooling system at night time, while away or on cooler days. But Titchkosky warns that, in humid weather, that approach will force the system to work harder when turned on. He says running an air conditioner efficiently is actually quite simple.

“Just to set it and forget it. Find the temperature that you're comfortable with in your home and leave it there. Your system is designed to maintain a desired temperature. [That way] your system will do its best at controlling the humidity in the humid summer months as well.”

Central cooling systems are designed to cool an entire home explains Titchkosky. When using a window unit or stand alone cooling model, he advises on choosing the rooms you want to cool and closing the doors to all other rooms.

To extend the life of a cooling system, Titchkosky it’s important to have it serviced and maintained annually.