Are you concerned about the reliability of your air conditioning system or that it won’t work effectively enough for you to stay cool this summer? Regular maintenance is the most crucial key for keeping an AC system in good condition and ensuring it always provides effective and efficient cooling. When it comes to AC maintenance, one of the biggest mistakes some people make is thinking that they can do it themselves. While this may be true for very basic tasks like replacing the air filter, all of the major maintenance requirements should be left to a professional.
How Often Do You Need to Maintain an AC System?
The general recommendation is that any AC system should be fully serviced once a year. The best time to do so is in early spring before the weather gets hot enough that you need to turn your air conditioning on. The reason is just to make sure that the system is ready to go and free of any issues that could hamper its performance, lead to a decrease in efficiency or prevent it from running.
Annual maintenance is important for other reasons as well. One is just that it helps keep cooling costs lower by ensuring the AC system is functioning effectively. A well-maintained AC system is also far less likely to break down and stop working over the summer. A reduced need for repairs and a longer life expectancy are some of the other major benefits you can get by hiring an HVAC company to service your air conditioning system every year.
What Does Routine AC Maintenance Involve?
Properly maintaining an AC system requires performing a variety of different tasks, some of which can vary depending on the make and model of the system. It can include things like lubricating various moving parts, such as the bearings that drive the compressor motor, condenser fan motor and blower motor. However, the motors in some systems have sealed bearings, which never need lubricating.
Two of the most important tasks are cleaning the evaporator coil inside the house and the condenser coil in the outdoor unit. Keeping the coils clean is essential for ensuring an AC system can cool effectively and continue working efficiently. Dirt and dust on one of the coils interfere with the ability of the refrigerant in the system to capture or release heat. If the evaporator coil is dirty, the refrigerant won’t be able to capture as much heat as it moves through the coil.
A dirty condenser coil causes much of the heat in the refrigerant to get trapped, meaning it doesn’t get released into the air outside. In either case, the result is the system can’t perform as well as it’s meant to. If your AC has a dirty evaporator coil, it might also freeze up frequently and start blowing warm air. When this happens, the system won’t be able to cool at all until you shut it off and wait for the coil to completely thaw.
Another essential task is checking and testing the various electrical components and wiring to make sure the system doesn’t have any potential electrical issues. Measuring the refrigerant charge or level is also important. AC systems require a specific refrigerant charge to work properly. If the charge is too low, it results in the pressure and temperature of the refrigerant also being lower than they are supposed to be. The low temperature will then often lead to condensation freezing on the evaporator coil and the system freezing up.
Understanding the Hidden Dangers of DIY AC Maintenance
When it comes to maintaining your AC system, doing it yourself is most definitely not the route you should go. For starters, there’s simply no way for you to know what all needs to be done or how to do the various tasks safely and effectively. This is especially true when it comes to things like testing various components and switches or inspecting the wiring and electrical components.
It takes years of training and experience for expert cooling services technicians to know exactly what they’re doing and how to maintain an AC system correctly. The fact that some maintenance tasks are quite complex means there’s a high chance of you damaging your AC should you try to handle them on your own. For instance, you could easily damage the fins on either coil should you try to clean it yourself, which will result in decreased performance. Even worse is that you could end up putting a hole in the coil and causing a refrigerant leak.
Should you cause any damage, you’ll then need to hire an HVAC company anyway to fix the problem and get your AC working properly again. While not all repairs are expensive, some problems like having to replace one of the coils could easily cost you hundreds of dollars. This is one of the many reasons why you’re always better off paying for professional maintenance.
Another one of the major risks of improper maintenance is that it can lead to serious electrical issues. For instance, a loose electrical connection or a damaged wire could lead to the electrical current sparking and potentially causing part of the system to catch on fire. Electrical problems can also lead to short-circuiting, resulting in a massive power surge that does extensive damage to sensitive components like the control board or one of the motors. The worst-case scenario is that a power surge damages the compressor, as this will generally require you to replace the entire outdoor unit.
Another reason why DIY maintenance is a bad idea is that it can void the warranty on your AC system. Most new AC systems come with a 10-year manufacturer’s warranty that covers defective components. AC warranties are typically parts-only, meaning you’ll still have to pay the labor costs for replacing the component. Nonetheless, the warranty will still save you quite a bit compared to if you had to pay for everything yourself.
If you look at the terms of an AC warranty, they will almost always stipulate that the system has to be professionally maintained every year by a certified technician. That means servicing the system yourself or letting anyone who isn’t certified do any work on the system can result in your warranty being cancelled. You can also be required to show proof of yearly professional maintenance for the manufacturer to honor any warranty claims.
Our experienced technicians at Dawson's Electric & Air in Raleigh are ready to help you make sure you can get the most out of your air conditioning this summer. We’ve been serving North Carolina’s Research Triangle Area for 20 years and have the knowledge and skills to expertly manage your indoor comfort needs.
Our technicians can maintain any type of AC system from any manufacturer and will always make sure to do the job completely and correctly. You can also count on us whenever your HVAC system needs any repairs or if you need to install a new air conditioner.
To schedule a maintenance appointment and get your AC ready for the coming season, contact us today.
