AC Maintenance

Your AC system needs routine upkeep to work its best. The majority of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) professionals suggest that you get your air conditioner serviced at least annually, and they usually recommend springtime appointments, just before the system's peak summer workload kicks in. During these professional checkups, technicians do a number of very important things to ensure the system is not only working efficiently but also to try to prevent any potential breakdowns from occurring during the hot weather. Indeed, should your AC system have a breakdown during the summer months, you probably would not maintain any kind of energy efficiency, because you would be pouring cold air into your hot house just to keep you cool.

Your air conditioning system may require professional attention if these several indicators are present. Noises that are out of the ordinary can be a signal that your air conditioning system is having a problem. These include grinding, squealing, and banging sounds. Another indicator is if your system is clearly not working as well as it has in the past; this can be shown through a number of signs but is mostly reduced cooling that is not of the level one would expect in an air conditioning unit. Hearing your air conditioning system run is a normal part of the system's functioning. However, if you start hearing noises like grinding, squealing, or banging coming from your system, that could indicate something mechanical is amiss.

Making your air conditioning system more energy efficient can help save money and prolong its useful life. The most important step in achieving this is to keep the system clean and the air filters changed. This is of particular importance for older units that may not have the same airflow design as modern units. Systems that have not been serviced in a while may benefit from a good cleaning throughout. Not only is it detrimental to the efficiency of the system for the cooling coils to not be clean, but it's also detrimental for the service person who is doing the cleaning. Keeping greatly contaminated areas contained is a safety issue. Systems that were installed when R-22 was the refrigerant may have more dirt in them than is safe to breathe, and that's another reason to do a system inventory, clean the coils, and make sure the system is working efficiently with the right refrigerant (and in the right amounts) to safely handle the alternate air filter that is more efficient than the air filter that came with that system.

An air conditioning system that is properly maintained can usually be expected to last somewhere from 10 to 15 years, with the average today likely being nearer to 10. There are many factors, however, that can influence this. And those factors can work either way. An air conditioning unit that is not especially well-maintained could fail within 10 years. Conversely, a unit that is well-maintained might last even longer, perhaps nearing 15 years.

It is a maintenance task that is low on complexity but high on importance. For filters you can throw away, replace them every 1-3 months. For filters you can wash and reuse, remove them carefully and rinse them with water. Then be sure they are completely dry before putting them back. You don't really want to clean the filters with anything harsh and, please, don’t use anything that might be too abraisive and damage the filter. The better the filters you have and the cleaner they are, the better the AC system performs and the better the air quality.

There are a number of factors that can cause an air conditioning unit to freeze up. The most common of these is restricted airflow. When air can't move freely through the system, it can't absorb heat well, and the parts that are supposed to be cold become even colder — in this case, the evaporator coil. If airflow is sufficiently restricted, the coil can literally freeze and become an ice block. Have you ever made ice in a freezer? The ice formed because the water was cooled to a temperature below the freezing point. In an air conditioning system, the equivalent of water is the refrigerant.

An air conditioning system works best when you maintain it regularly. This means that the system does not break down often and that you do not need to use the "repair" part of the air conditioning maintenance schedule very often. However, when a specific part of the AC malfunctions, it must be repaired. This is what the maintenance schedule is for—the schedule that interrupts the steady use of the AC only when it's absolutely necessary (a short-term nuisance for the long-term benefit of having a working AC system).

The effective control of indoor humidity is greatly aided by air conditioning systems. A unit that is too small for the space it serves will not be able to achieve the kind of indoor conditions that most people would consider comfortable. And those units, if they even exist, are not commonly found in homes. If you happen to live in one, the next best thing to an effective air conditioner that can achieve dehumidification is a separate dehumidifier, which can also work in tandem with an air conditioning unit.

Obtaining regular maintenance for your air conditioning system is something that an owner will likely find many advantages in. The first, and potentially the most important factor, is that maintenance keeps the system running efficiently so that it can do its job when called upon. This means that the AC functions well enough to do two things that are incredibly vital, especially during hot summer months—remove excess humidity from the indoor air and cool the indoor air to a comfortable level. Most cooling systems are good at doing part one of this equation. Part two is where a system may struggle. A well-maintained system is far more likely to do well at both tasks.

Although certain fundamental aspects of people's beliefs about the world may remain unchanged over time, the details of those beliefs can evolve.