01CRITICAL HERE
Bigger is not better
An oversized system blasts cold, hits the setpoint and shuts off before it has pulled any moisture out of the air — leaving your house cold and clammy. The only honest way to size a system is a load calculation on your actual home.
SOURCE: TRANE ↗
02CRITICAL HERE
Keep the drain line clear
Water near the indoor unit, rust, or a musty smell when the AC runs means the condensate line is plugging up. San Antonio humidity makes far more condensate than most of the country, and hard water speeds up the scale.
SOURCE: TRANE ↗
03CRITICAL HERE
Aim for 30–50% humidity
The EPA range is 30–50%, with 30–40% ideal in summer. Above 60% you get mold, dust mites, warped floors and worse asthma — and down here your AC alone may not keep up with it.
SOURCE: TRANE ↗
04CRITICAL HERE
Leaky ducts waste money
A typical home loses 20–30% of its conditioned air to duct leaks. In a 140° Texas attic that isn't just loss — it's pulling scorching, dusty, unfiltered air into the house.
SOURCE: TRANE ↗
05
Change the filter on schedule
Trane's window is every 3 to 9 months depending on the unit. Our dust and cedar pollen push you toward the short end of that, not the long end. Check your manual for the exact interval.
SOURCE: TRANE ↗
06
Higher MERV isn't always better
A denser filter catches more, but it also restricts airflow — the biggest number on the shelf isn't automatically the right one. And the arrow on the filter has to point toward the furnace or air handler.
SOURCE: TRANE ↗
07
Know your SEER2 minimum
SEER2 replaced SEER in 2023 with a tougher test that reflects real duct pressure. Texas falls under the stricter Southern floor: 14.3+ under 45,000 BTU, 13.8+ above it.
SOURCE: TRANE ↗
08
Give the condenser two feet
Keep plants and landscaping two feet back on every side and aim mower discharge away from it. Dirty coils make the system work harder. Garden hose only — a pressure washer bends the fins.
SOURCE: TRANE ↗
09
78° is a starting point
Every degree above 72° saves up to about 3% on cooling, but 78 is outside a lot of people's comfort zone. Nudge up a degree at a time and lean on fans, blinds and dehumidification to make it feel fine.
SOURCE: TRANE ↗
10
Book the spring tune-up
One professional visit a year, scheduled in spring before the season turns. With a cooling season as long as ours, a pre-season tune-up here is closer to mandatory than optional.
SOURCE: TRANE ↗
11
Set it back, don't shut it off
A 7–10 degree setback for eight hours a day cuts heating and cooling costs about 10% a year. Just don't set back so far that humidity climbs while you're out.
SOURCE: TRANE ↗
12
Don't close vents in empty rooms
It feels thrifty and it isn't. The system needs at least 75% of your vents open to move air correctly — closing them off unbalances everything and makes the unit work harder.
SOURCE: TRANE ↗
13
Keep return vents uncovered
Returns pull air back to the equipment to restart the cycle, so blocking one throws off pressure across the whole system. Keep furniture, rugs and drapes off them.
SOURCE: TRANE ↗
14
Refrigerant is changing to R-454B
R-454B has a global warming potential more than 75% lower than R-410A, and the transition started in 2024. Here's the part nobody tells you: your existing R-410A system can still be serviced.
SOURCE: TRANE ↗