Service Your Air Conditioner For Summer
We all know that we can pay our auto mechanics a little now for routine
service, or pay them a lot later for a major repair. The same idea holds true
for your air conditioner or heat pump. If you don't service your air conditioner
or heat pump regularly, you'll find yourself uncomfortable and broke.
In this article the term air conditioner will apply to a heat pump or a
standard air conditioner. Both benefit equally from annual service tune-ups.
An air
conditioner is a very tough piece of equipment. It is engineered to
withstand all sorts of abuse and keep on running. This is great in most
respects, but it can lead to complacency about maintenance. Like a car, air
conditioners need regular tune-ups to run properly.
Without regular maintenance an air conditioner looses about 5% of it's original
efficiency for each year of operation. This means that the 12 SEER unit that you
bought just a few years ago may be functioning like a 9 SEER unit today! The
good news is that you can recover most of that lost efficiency through regular
maintenance. Studies show that with regular tune-ups a unit will maintain up to
95% of it's original efficiency. This means that the cost of an annual tune-up
is recovered very quickly in savings on your monthly electric bill and reduced
repair costs. A properly serviced air conditioner will also do a better job of
dehumidifying your home.
Many local air conditioning firms offer special prices at this time of the year.
Some even offer annual service programs that insure that you will be reminded of
the need to service the unit at the beginning of the cooling and heating
seasons.
The service check should include cleaning the condensing unit coils, checking
the amp draw of the compressor, oiling the fan motors, checking that belts are
well adjusted, and checking the system operating pressures and temperatures
against the manufacturers specifications. One of the most important items to
check is the coolant level (commonly know as Freon) in the air conditioner. A
system that is only 10% low on coolant will cost about 20% more to operate! The
Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA) recommends that coolant levels be
checked every year.
If your unit is low on coolant, and more must be added, there are new laws
governing its use. Freon is a chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) that will damage the
Earths protective ozone layer if released into the atmosphere. The laws
governing CFC's now do not allow your air conditioner contractor to add Freon to
a leaky system. They are first required to find and fix the leak in the system.
Don't ask them to violate this law as they may loose their license if they are
caught doing this.
There are some things in addition to yearly tune-ups that you can do to help
ensure a high level of comfort and proper system operation. First, buy good
filters and change them regularly. Next, keep bushes and other materials away
from the outside unit of your air conditioner. Another good idea is to avoid
closing supply air outlets in your house. In almost all cases, closing supply
outlets is harmful to the operation of the overall system.
All equipment, even the most reliable, needs routine maintenance. Complicated
equipment like today's air conditioners benefit in many ways from annual
service. They recover much of their lost efficiency, they are less likely to
suffer a major break down, they have a longer life span, they increase your
comfort, and they operate for less money
Written by
By Doug Garrett
City of Austin Green Builder Program
If you are looking for a
Tennessee air conditioning company please call us today at 931-684-1740 or complete our online request form.
|  | Home >>
Articles
>> A/C  Our Services
Heating Services
Air Conditioning
Indoor Air Quality
Zoning Systems
Geothermal
Commercial Services Our CompanyOnline Coupons
Client Comments
About Our Company
Community Involvement
   |
