In our next post, we’re going to talk about one of the most important jobs you can have scheduled for your air conditioning system each spring: annual maintenance. You need professionals like ours to do a complete and thorough series of inspections, cleanings, adjustments, and general tune-ups.
However, there are several maintenance jobs you can do right now for your air conditioning system. We recommended doing these even before standard maintenance since you may discover a problem with your AC that you can alert the technicians to. Some of these steps are ones you’ll also need to take later in the season to ensure the air conditioning system continues to run at its best and avoid late-summer mishaps.
Change the air filter
The air filter on the AC (also called the blower filter) is usually found on the HVAC cabinet where the return air duct connects to the blower housing. If it’s not there in a slot, check behind the vent cover of the return air duct in the house. Since the heating system uses this same filter, it will probably have plenty of debris trapped in it that will hinder the AC from pulling in the proper airflow when it turns on—which wastes power and makes the AC less effective. Change the filter for a clean one, and continue to change the filter every 1 to 3 months for the rest of the cooling season.
Clean and clear the condenser
The condenser is the outdoor cabinet of the air conditioning system where it exhausts heat to the outside through the condenser coil. If this unit is obstructed or extremely dirty—and this often happens after a long winter—it will lower AC efficiency and may even cause the unit to overheat. You can clean the cabinet with the hose on low pressure (don’t blast water into the condenser as you may bend the fins of the refrigerant coil). Remove any debris or plants from about a foot around the condenser.
See that all room vents are open and unobstructed
Every vent register throughout the house should be open and not blocked by furniture, rugs, etc. Blocked vents increase the air pressure into the HVAC system which forces the system to work harder. The pressure increase can also cause air leaks to form in the duct walls.
Give the AC a test run
On a mild day when you don’t need the air conditioning system, turn it on for about an hour and see if you notice anything unusual: lack of cooling, strange sounds, the system shutting down early, cooling not reaching all the rooms of the house. You may smell dust at first, but this should go away after a short while. If you find anything amiss, please inform us when you call for maintenance.
Onward…!
Okay, you’re now ready for professional air conditioning maintenance in Delaware. Give us a call to arrange for the service. We strongly recommend you join our Maintenance Agreement Club: it helps you get even better value from your regular maintenance.
At Atlantic Refrigeration & Air Conditioning, Inc., “We Take Pride in Your Comfort!” Schedule your AC maintenance with us today through our Maintenance Agreement Club.