Questions About Air Conditioning Systems Answered

Your air conditioning system is one of the most complicated and important appliances in your home. Unfortunately, homeowners without a basic understanding of their air conditioning system may find that they are unable to get the best performance from them. Here are some basics that you should know.

Why Do You Need to Clean Your Air Conditioning System?

Regularly cleaning the air conditioning system is among the most effective forms of maintenance that you can do for it. When you clean the unit, you will remove large amounts of dust and dirt that could compromise the mechanical parts of the system by clogging it or increasing the friction between moving pieces. Additionally, dust and dirt on the condenser coils can lead to the system icing over. To clean the air conditioning unit, you should use a garden hose to spray jets of water over the exterior. Additionally, you should remove any leaves or sticks that may have gotten trapped in the grates of the system. As you are spraying the system clean, you should notice water coming from the system's primary drain. If there is no water coming from this drain, it could indicate that it is clogged and you should use a drain snake or long stick to free the clog.

Is Replacing the Air Conditioning Unit the Only Way to Improve Its Efficiency?

An air conditioning unit will have very intensive energy demands, making these systems fairly expensive to run. While it can be easy to assume that there is not an effective way of reducing the system's energy use, there are some fairly simple ways that you can do this. Replacing the system's air filters will go a long way to improving the efficiency of the system. You can also boost its performance by making low-cost upgrades like installing a programmable thermostat, which can drastically reduce the overall energy usage of the system.

Is It Necessary to Supplement Your Refrigerant Every Summer?

Homeowners will often assume that they need to add more refrigerant to the system at the start of each summer. This should not usually be necessary as the refrigerant in these systems will last for many years before it needs to be replaced. Additionally, these units are designed to be closed systems. As such, the level of refrigerant should stay constant. If you notice that the refrigerant is starting to get low, it most likely indicates that a leak is present. You need to have the leak repaired if you want to avoid gradually worsening performance problems with the system. For help with this or any other problem with your air conditioner, contact air conditioning services in your area.


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