Air conditioning maintenance is a cost-effective way to ensure your heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system performs when you need it. To emphasize its importance, major manufacturers often require proof of maintenance to keep warranties valid. The licensed technicians from Service Minds One Hour Air Conditioning and Heating of Bradenton, Florida, offer maintenance services for all types of heating and air conditioning equipment, including heat pumps, furnaces, ducted split systems, and ductless mini-splits.
What Is HVAC Maintenance?
You may think your air conditioner is doing just fine and wonder why you should schedule a maintenance session. HVAC equipment is rugged, built to endure summer heat, winter cold, blowing debris, and driving rain. However, just like a car, the finely crafted equipment that comprises a heating and air conditioning system must be periodically maintained to ensure reliability and energy efficiency.
HVAC professionals recommend tuning up the air conditioner in the spring before turning it on for the summer and tuning up the heating system before first use in the fall. During a tune-up, technicians examine the entire system to ensure each component is in good working order and that the system functions synergistically. One worn or damaged component can affect others, which can result in major repairs if not caught early.
Elements of HVAC Maintenance
During each seasonal tune-up, our trained technicians clean and calibrate parts that are common to both the heating and cooling system, including:
- Inspect and tighten electrical connections
- Check amperage
- Clean filters
- Lubricate fans, motors, and other moving parts
- Clean and sanitize drip pan and condensate lines
- Clean outdoor housing
- Check thermostat
- Inspect ducts for holes or poor joins with grilles
- Check airflow
Cleaning or changing filters according to the manufacturer’s recommendations keeps airborne pollutants out of your HVAC system and living space. Dirty filters impede airflow, which makes the system work harder. In addition, pollutants that bypass a clogged filter enter ducts and coat coils with grime. Dirt on coils acts as an insulation barrier that prevents the efficient transfer of heat and degrades the process of removing moisture. Dirty coils affect comfort, system performance, and energy efficiency.
The condensate system drains the moisture that builds up during the cooling process. Clogged drains and standing water allow mold and bacteria to grow. Water overflowing the drip pan can seep into floors, walls, or ceilings, which damages the structural components of the building. Water can also flow back into the HVAC system and damage coils and other parts.
Leaks in ducts let up to 30% of the conditioned air escape, which affects energy efficiency and can make the system run longer to reach the set temperature. In addition, leaks allow air from outside to infiltrate ducts. Eventually, that air, which can contain humidity, pollen, dust, biological contaminants, and other particulates, is blown into the living space.
We examine and clean the outdoor housing and components during each maintenance session. The housing protects the compressor, condenser coil, and fans. Over time, leaves, grass clippings, dust, and other debris can enter the housing and coat the coils, compressor, and other components.
Air Conditioning Maintenance Checklist
Air conditioners use refrigerant to cool spaces. Heat pumps use refrigerant for both heating and cooling by reversing the direction of flow of the refrigerant. In hot weather, heat pumps cool by gathering heat from indoors and releasing it outside. In cool weather, they extract heat energy from outside and release it indoors. The maintenance checklist for air conditioners is also used for heat pumps. However, heat pumps have a reversing valve, and some have auxiliary heating components that we check during heat pump maintenance.
In addition to the system-wide checklist, air conditioning and heat pump maintenance includes:
- Checking refrigerant levels
- Cleaning indoor and outdoor coils
- Cleaning blowers
The condenser coil releases the heat from the refrigerant, an important part of the air conditioning cooling cycle. During the winter, the exterior coil on a heat pump functions as the evaporator coil, extracting heat from the air, and the interior coil releases heat into the living space. Dirty coils can increase energy usage and affect the service life of the system.
After a maintenance session, our One Hour comfort specialists will discuss any issues they find and recommend cost-effective ways to solve them. We always recommend scheduling repairs as soon as possible to prevent major problems.
Benefits of AC Maintenance
Many people run their air conditioners 24 hours a day to stay comfortable in the warm Florida climate. Although HVAC systems are built to endure long runs and extremes of weather, tuning up equipment is necessary to ensure dependability and performance. Maintenance saves energy, reduces the likelihood of breakdowns and costly repairs, improves indoor comfort, and can extend the service life of heating and cooling equipment.
Poorly maintained equipment uses more energy to maintain comfort. The strain on components can result in more repairs, higher repair costs, and system failure. As energy efficiency declines, wear and tear increases. Simply cleaning filters can reduce the energy an air conditioner uses by up to 15%.
For more information about maintaining your HVAC system, call the experts at Service Minds One Hour Air Conditioning and Heating of Bradenton, Florida.