Interestingly enough a big AC may not be your ideal answer to the summer heat. It might, in fact, provide you less cooling than a smaller unit, since smaller units run longer than bigger ones which tend to click on and off. Running longer permits smaller units to maintain a regular room temperature, remove moisture from the room (thereby getting rid of humidity) and ultimately gives you greater comfort.

Even you are selecting a machine for central air-conditioning size is of considerable importance. This sizing however needs to be done by a pro. When dealing with a central air-conditioning system for your home make sure that the fan shuts off along with the compressor, that is, do not make the central fan for circulate the cool air, use circulating fans for each room instead.

Following are a few cooling tips which will save your air conditioning systems from breaking out in a sweat;

(1) Use whole house fans. These help maintain a cool temperature by dragging cool air through the whole house and throwing out the hot air through the attic. Whole house fans work best during night time when the outdoors is cooler than the indoors.

(2) In the summer months your thermostat should ideally be set as high as possible. The closer the temperatures outside and inside are the less your cooling bill! If your thermostat is set at a colder setting your cooling rate will slow down, the temperature will fall to an uncomfortable level plus your cooling expenses will mount.

(3) Let your fan's speed be high, unless of course the weather is particularly humid in which case you will be better off setting it at a lower speed.

(4) Use an interior fan to complement your window AC. This will give your AC a helping hand and distribute the cool air better without unnecessarily increasing your electricity bills.

(5) Putting your lamps, TV sets etc. near your thermostat is a big no-no. heat from these appliances can be detected by the thermostat making the AC run unnecessarily long.

(6) Its ok to put trees or shrubs to shade your AC but make sure they don't come in the way of the airflow. An AC unit functioning under a shade is known to use almost 10% less amount of electricity than one functioning directly under the sun.