Cleaning The AC Coils Can Improve Cooling

An AC that that’s not reliable or malfunctions, especially during a heat wave is a big inconvenience. You don’t need to have an uncomfortable pet to realize that!

Trying to fall asleep when your home is 85 degrees is not something to smile about.

If your AC is not cooling correctly or maintaining the desired temperature indoors, there is definitely a problem with one of the components of your HVAC system.

One of the reasons why the AC doesn’t cool well could be unclean coils. Clean them and you may find a noticeable difference in the functioning of your AC.

Understanding the air conditioning coils

There are two types of coils inside your air conditioner- the evaporator coil and the condenser coil. If any of these don’t function as required, your AC will not provide adequate cooling. These coils generally malfunction due to dirt and grime that gets collected on them.

If your AC is not cooling properly, one of the first things you could do is to check the coils and clean them if they seem too dirty.

1. The evaporator coils

Your air conditioner’s indoor unit, which is also called the air handler unit has the evaporator coil as part of it. This coil absorbs heat and humidity from your house.

2. The condenser coils 

Your air conditioner’s outdoor unit consists of the condenser coil. This coil expels the absorbed heat into the external environment. Because this coil is in the outdoor AC unit, it is more likely to get dirty due to dust, pollution, soot, leaves, and other debris.

Effect of dirty coils on HVAC system efficiency

Some may think that the coils are bound to get dirty after a while and will not make a big difference to cooling. But in reality, if your air conditioner coils have even 1/100^th of an inch of dirt and grime collected on them, the efficiency of your system falls down by 5 percent.

This will result in lower cooling, wastage of energy and higher utility bills. Although it may seem like a small number, a decline of 5 percent in HVAC system efficiency is very high in the long run.

The role of coils inside the air conditioner

The evaporator coil helps transport the refrigerant which cools the air. Warm air from inside your house is carried across the evaporator coil through the blower. The refrigerant inside the evaporator coil absorbs heat from the air and the air that is cooled is circulated into your house through the air vents of the air conditioner.

The refrigerant is then transported to the outdoor condenser coil which removes heat absorbed in it. The condenser blows heat over the coils, helping release the absorbed heat.

If the AC coils are dirty, there will be a layer of grime on them, which will create a separation between the refrigerant and the air that blows over the coils which makes the heat transfer process less effective.

Poor heat transfer slows down this entire process and forces your system to work hard, work over time, and under pressure to provide cooling.

Keeping AC coils clean is thus extremely important for efficient cooling.