Temps you can expect from your A/C

TULSA - During this string of 100+ degree temperature days, experts say you need to adjust your thermostat and your expectations.

The President of Air Assurance, Mike Rampey, says Tulsa A/Cs are designed so that when it's 98 degrees outside you can get down to 75 degrees inside.

Obviously with highs well above 100 degrees your system may be hard pressed to keep you around 80 degrees during the hottest part of the day.

So why not design systems for temperatures above 100 degrees?

Rampey says in a normal Oklahoma summer we don't have that many days over 100 degrees. To size a unit, in other words put in a larger unit, for a few 100 degree days in the year will make it oversized 95% of the year. Rampey says that means it won't do a good job getting humidity out of the air and controlling temperatures the rest of the year.

While you can't do anything about the weather you can make sure you're helping your system work at it's peak performance for you.

Rampey says "Right now we're finding so many condensers, the outdoor units, dirty. Leaves and grass and dirt, and so they have to be completely clean to operate at 100% efficiency."

The dry weather adds to the problem allowing dirt and dust to clog systems more quickly.

There are ways to improve your AC's performance but it's not a do-it-yourself fix.

Rampey says you should really have a professional clean the unit.

If you see debris on the outside, you can carefully brush it away but do not spray water on, or in, the unit. It has high voltage which needs to be turned off on the unit before cleaning; turning the unit off at the thermostat is not enough.

You can expect a professional cleaning to cost between $89-$150 per unit according the Rampey.

Before hiring any company to do work around your home the Better Business Bureau always recommends that you check them out on www.BBB.org as well as checking several references.