What Does AC Maintenance Entail and Can it Reduce Costly AC Repair?

In many ways, you can compare your air conditioner to your car. You can either spend a small amount for regular servicing, or you can wait until something goes drastically wrong and end up paying a much larger amount for major repairs.

Many people often wait until their air conditioner starts making a funny noise or stops before they decide to look for AC repair technicians, but this isn’t best practice if you want your air conditioner to last. Even if you think your air conditioner is running smoothly, without adequate maintenance, it can lose up to five percent of its operational efficiency every year.

According to reports, regular service can maintain up to 95 percent of your air conditioner’s original operation efficiency.

What Does Regular Maintenance Entail?

Having a regular maintenance schedule with a heating and air conditioning company means that you can have both your furnace and air conditioner checked regularly. Focusing on the air conditioner unit, the service technician will look at and listen to your system very carefully and check various aspects.

The main components that should be checked are the compressor, the refrigerant charge, the drain line and the air temperature difference across the refrigerant coil. The technician should also check and adjust the fan speed and belt tension, lubricate the blower bearings and motor, check and clean the condenser, and test the entire system’s operation.

What are the Benefits?

Regular maintenance gives you a number of great benefits which include increased efficiency, less chances of a costly breakdown, an increased lifespan for your unit, properly regulated home temperature, and best of all, lower energy bills.

While it may seem like an unnecessary expense, the cost of having regular maintenance is often quickly recovered due to increased efficiency and lower energy bills.

When Should You Schedule Maintenance?

Manufacturers have their own recommendations about how often you should have your AC unit serviced, the most common being once a year. It is best to have your unit serviced before you need it, this way if something needs repairing or replacing you won’t have to do without AC when the hot weather comes.

If you schedule maintenance with a heating and air conditioning company then make it every six months. This is because they also check your furnace and heating system and it’s a good idea to have your HVAC system checked before you need them.

Having a regular maintenance schedule for your heating and air conditioning can save you a lot of money in the long run and increase the comfort of your home. Don’t think of it as an unnecessary bill, but rather an investment in your comfort.

Sources:

Maintaining Your Air Conditioner, Energy.gov

Heating and Air Conditioning: How Important is Regular Service? AngiesList.com