Spring cleaning your air conditioner extends its lifespan, optimizes its performance, and improves your home’s indoor air quality. It also greatly increases your AC’s efficiency and lowers your home’s energy bills. Here’s how:
Improves Airflow
During each cooling cycle, your AC draws indoor air in and extracts heat and humidity. Debris inside your AC inhibits airflow and forces it to work harder. This leads to longer and less effective cooling cycles and increased energy use.
Professional AC maintenance optimizes this airflow. HVAC technicians clean condenser and evaporator coils to support efficient heat transfer. They clear and disinfect condensate drains and optimize blower fan speeds. They also clean blower fans, lubricate moving parts, and replace worn bearings.
Supports Moisture Removal
By extracting excess humidity, ACs keep building interiors from feeling muggy and oppressive. All the moisture your air conditioner extracts is routed to its condensate drain.
When ACs lie dormant, algae, bacteria, and other microorganisms thrive in their condensate drains. Without cleaning and disinfection, these buildups can lead to overflowing drain pans, pooling water, and rising humidity. As a result, your AC will have to run longer to create the conditions you want. Blocked condensate drains can also create functional issues that further diminish AC performance, including short cycling, icing, and overheating.
Catches and Corrects Refrigerant Leaks
AC compressors pressurize and depressurize refrigerant to pump it throughout cooling systems. Cold refrigerant in your air conditioner’s evaporator coil extracts heat and humidity. Hot refrigerant in its condenser coil releases it.
When ACs have refrigerant leaks, compressors work harder to adjust the refrigerant’s pressure. This can lead to loud shrieking and hissing sounds at the condenser unit. If left unchecked, refrigerant leaks can also cause compressor failure.
Running your AC with insufficient refrigerant increases the length of cooling cycles while lowering their effectiveness. It can cause short cycling or overheating, or it may trip the circuit breaker.
Finds and Fixes Electrical Malfunctions
During tune-up service, HVAC technicians check for and address electrical problems. They look for worn contactors, faulty capacitors, loose wiring, and faulty circuits.
Optimizes Cooling Cycles
The typical cooling cycle lasts between 10 and 20 minutes. Most air conditioners run just two to three cooling cycles each hour. When short cycling, your AC might run cooling cycles that last two to five minutes, and it may run as many as 10 to 15 cooling cycles an hour.
Shorter cooling cycles flood compressors with cold, liquid refrigerant rather than refrigerant traveling as a hot, high-pressure gas. This flushes out lubricants, increases wear, and can have a long-term impact on efficiency.
By changing your air filter and keeping your air conditioner’s perimeter clear, you can improve airflow and decrease the amount of energy your AC uses. Adding professional AC maintenance to your spring cleaning checklist will optimize your air conditioner’s performance and efficiency. If you have concerns or require AC maintenance services, contact Sandium Heating & Air in San Jose, CA.
