Spring is in the air! What’s on your get-ready-for-summer to-do list? Air conditioner maintenance is right at the top, isn’t it? If not, it should be. Regular AC maintenance each spring has tremendous benefits that you can enjoy for the rest of the year and beyond. We’ll explain what technicians do during AC maintenance, how it helps your air conditioner, and what maintenance you can do yourself.
What HVAC Technicians Do During AC Maintenance
There are four main tasks that HVAC technicians undertake during air conditioner maintenance. These are cleaning, lubricating, inspecting, and testing. Each comes with a long detailed checklist, but we’ll just go over the general idea for you.
- Cleaning: All parts of the air conditioner receive a meticulous cleaning, from the dusty buildup around fans to the residue from water in the condensate pan.
- Lubricating: Parts that must rub against one another, such as ball bearings in the blower fan motor or the fan itself, will be lubricated to reduce friction.
- Inspecting: Air conditioners have many components, and your technician will look over each and every one, catching any small issues or making any necessary adjustments.
- Testing: An air conditioner is an electrical appliance. For proper function, safety, and efficiency, electrical components must be tested. This includes things like measuring the amp draw of the motor and making sure the thermostat is properly calibrated.
How Maintenance Helps Your Air Conditioner
Cleaning and lubrication will improve airflow and reduce overheating and wear and tear. This means your air conditioner can get the job done with less effort and thus less energy expenditure. Your home will be more comfortable and your efficiency will be better. Cutting the wear and tear means less strain to the system and reduced likelihood that repairs will be required this summer.
All that inspecting and testing will also help to decrease the risk of problems that need repair. When minor issues are caught early during maintenance, they don’t have the opportunity to worsen until they become major malfunctions. And all of these things also help your AC system to last longer, so more years will go by before it has to be replaced.
Maintenance Tasks to Do Yourself
Annual AC maintenance must be done by a qualified professional. As we mentioned above, this is primarily an electrical system, and it is not safe to attempt DIY maintenance and repair with such a system. You’ll also void your warranty, so don’t try it! But there are a few things you should be doing yourself.
- Changing the Air Filter: Your AC air filter should be changed monthly during the summer. Filter changes should be more frequent if you have heavily shedding pets or other sources of excess dust, or less frequent when you’re only using the air conditioning sporadically.
- Cleaning the Outdoor Unit: Keeping plants and debris away from the outdoor unit will promote good air circulation. Giving it an occasional gentle hose-down will prevent dust from accumulating in thick layers like insulation and interfering with the release of heat.
- Getting Prompt Repairs: When something does seem to be wrong, getting prompt professional help with your air conditioning in Oro Valley, AZ will help keep problems smaller and repairs simpler. Don’t ignore problems and delay repairs!
Contact Picture Rocks Cooling, Heating & Plumbing today to schedule an appointment with our professionals.