|
Service Your Air Conditioner for Summer Comfort
02/08/12
We all know that we can pay our auto mechanics a little now for
routine service, or pay them a lot later for a major repair. The
same idea holds true for your air conditioner or heat pump. If
you don't service your air conditioner or heat pump regularly,
you'll find yourself uncomfortable and broke. In this article
the term air conditioner will apply to a heat pump or a standard
air conditioner. Both benefit equally from annual service
tune-ups.
An air conditioner is a very tough piece of equipment. It is
engineered to withstand all sorts of abuse and keep on running.
This is great in most respects, but it can lead to complacency
about maintenance. Like a car, air conditioners need regular
tune-ups to run properly.
Without regular maintenance an air conditioner looses about 5%
of it's original efficiency for each year of operation. This
means that the 12 SEER unit that you bought just a few years ago
may be functioning like a 9 SEER unit today! The good news is
that you can recover most of that lost efficiency through
regular maintenance. Studies show that with regular tune-ups a
unit will maintain up to 95% of it's original efficiency. This
means that the cost of an annual tune-up is recovered very
quickly in savings on your monthly electric bill and reduced
repair costs. A properly serviced air conditioner will also do a
better job of dehumidifying your home.
Many local air conditioning firms offer special prices at this
time of the year. Some even offer annual service programs that
insure that you will be reminded of the need to service the unit
at the beginning of the cooling and heating seasons.
The service check should include cleaning the condensing unit
coils, checking the amp draw of the compressor, oiling the fan
motors, checking that belts are well adjusted, and checking the
system operating pressures and temperatures against the
manufacturers specifications. One of the most important items to
check is the coolant level (commonly know as Freon) in the air
conditioner. A system that is only 10% low on coolant will cost
about 20% more to operate! The Air Conditioning Contractors of
America (ACCA) recommends that coolant levels be checked every
year.
If your unit is low on coolant, and more must be added, there
are new laws governing its use. Freon is a chlorofluorocarbon
(CFC) that will damage the Earths protective ozone layer if
released into the atmosphere. The laws governing CFC's now do
not allow your air conditioner contractor to add Freon to a
leaky system. They are first required to find and fix the leak
in the system. Don't ask them to violate this law as they may
loose their license if they are caught doing this.
There are some things in addition to yearly tune-ups that you
can do to help ensure a high level of comfort and proper system
operation. First, buy good filters and change them regularly.
Next, keep bushes and other materials away from the outside unit
of your air conditioner. Another good idea is to avoid closing
supply air outlets in your house. In almost all cases, closing
supply outlets is harmful to the operation of the overall
system.
All equipment, even the most reliable, needs routine
maintenance. Complicated equipment like today's air conditioners
benefit in many ways from annual service. They recover much of
their lost efficiency, they are less likely to suffer a major
break down, they have a longer life span, they increase your
comfort, and they operate for less money.
You can also find more information including the Sustainable
Building Sourcebook compiled by the City of Austin's Green
Builder Program at the Sustainable Sources website.
|