Air conditioner maintenance is an important, but often overlooked, aspect of keeping your home running efficiently and cleanly.
Don’t leave all your air conditioner maintenance needs to yourself: hire a contractor to help you, and you’ll be lowering your overall risk!
Replace Your Air Filter
Your air filter is one of the most important pieces of your HVAC system, and making sure you have a clean one is one of the key parts of air conditioner maintenance.
When the filter gets full of particles, debris, and dust, air flow goes down. This causes efficiency to go down. Your air conditioner has to work harder. It also causes overall air quality to decrease.
Long story short: replace your filter as recommended!
Make Sure Wiring Is Okay
Under the access panel on your condensing unit, you’ll be able to see various wiring that powers the system. If you notice burnt wires or melted insulation, your system may have overheated at some point. This could cause performance reduction.
This is a job that not everyone is going to want to do, especially considering the risks of working with electricity. It’s better to call up a professional to make sure wiring is good.
Use a Programmable Thermostat
Your thermostat needs to be working properly in order for your air conditioning system to work properly. If you have a mechanical thermostat, you may want to switch to a programmable one.
Programmable thermostats can adjust temperature based on the house’s needs. If no one is in the house, the air conditioner doesn’t need to be on. This allows you to save on energy.
Clean The AC Unit Outside
Removing dirt, leaves, and other debris from around the AC unit is an excellent way to keep the unit well run. It’s also something that anyone can do. Simply remove the power from the unit and remove the dust and debris around the unit with a rake. If there’s stuff inside the unit, use a hose to remove any excess. Don’t use a power washer, and don’t touch the fins on the coil!
Make Sure Condenser Unit Fan is OK
Your condenser fan could be working improperly, causing your air conditioner to be prone to overheating.
To check the fan, turn off the power to your AC unit and go to your condenser unit. Take a look at the fan, which should be mounted on top of the unit. If there are cracks or chips visible in the blades, replace the blades. This job can be done by you, or you can have a professional take care of it. It’s highly recommended to leave this to a pro.
