All air conditioners require maintenance!
All heat pumps require maintenance!
This is true whether they are central systems which lead to ductwork or mini splits, also known as ductless systems. But these systems are not the same.
Do ductless systems have different maintenance needs from central air conditioners? What does ductless maintenance involve? Here’s the lowdown.
Outdoor Units
The outdoor unit of a system is virtually identical, whether the refrigerant then heads to an indoor central AC unit or splits into separate lines to head to individual ductless air handlers. The most critical component here is the compressor. It keeps refrigerant moving by keeping it under pressure. It’s critical to keep the compressor meticulously maintained, because it’s the most costly component—you don’t want to damage it!
Just like the rest of the system, outdoor unit maintenance involves cleaning, lubricating moving parts, and inspecting and testing every component. This will help reduce the risk of overheating, cut down on wear and tear, and give the technician a chance to fix any tiny concerns so they won’t become bigger issues later on.
Indoor Units
With a ductless system, whether it’s an air conditioner or a heat pump, the indoor portion is not centralized. There are air handlers mounted on the walls in various parts or zones of the house, and the refrigerant lines go directly to each of these air handlers. That’s where the cooled (or heated) air is created: right behind the vents it blows out of.
That means that indoor maintenance involves going through the same processes: cleaning, lubrication, checking over all the components, and performing tests of the functionality of electrical components on each and every air handler. There is a critical thing to keep in mind here which is quite different from central AC systems: drainage.
Wherever there are evaporator coils, where refrigerant is absorbing heat from the air, there will be moisture. Just like the cold surface of a soda can straight out of the fridge, the cold surface of the coils will cause water to condense from the humidity in the air. This water needs to be safely drained away, so each air handler has its own drainage system. It’s critical to have these checked and cleaned regularly to avoid mold or leakage.
Maintenance Scheduling
For air conditioners, it’s recommended that maintenance be done in the spring, before the time of the year when it will be under the most pressure and needing to be in the best possible shape. But if you didn’t have it done in the spring, don’t wait until next year! Having it done every single year matters more than having it done during a specific season.
The same is true of heating systems. It’s ideal to have maintenance done during autumn, before turning the heat on during the first cold snap, but it’s more important to have it done regularly than to have it done on a certain date.
That means that if you have a heat pump, which is essentially both your heater and your air conditioner, you should get maintenance twice a year, in both spring and fall. Are you ready to schedule air conditioning service in Tucson, AZ? We’re ready to help.
Contact Picture Rocks Cooling, Heating & Plumbing today with any questions or to schedule an appointment with our professionals.