With the summer swelter fully upon us, the time for cooling repairs for your air conditioning unit is certainly not now. Ideally, this is the time it will be running at optimum efficiency and keeping you cool. Alas, life is not always that easy.
There are a variety of problems and issues that can crop up at any time that will force you to invest in cooling repairs, but there are also some things you can do to reduce the chances of this happening. Regular maintenance and upkeep of air conditioners and HVAC systems in general is a crucial component of ownership. Without it, you will be spending much more money on cooling repairs than necessary.
Here are a couple things you should be aware of when it comes to your air conditioner/cooling system to help you avoid the need for cooling repairs right when the weather is hottest.
- Clean Condensing Coils: The condensing coils are the things on the outside of the air conditioning unit that disperse and release heat the unit has extracted from your home. These can easily become dirty and clogged without proper maintenance, which is why you should be cleaning them once every month or whenever the buildup begins to mount. Not only will this help improve the air quality of the cooling system, but it will increase the energy efficiency as well.
- Regular Air Filter Replacement:In the same vein as cleaning your condensing coils is regularly replacing your air filter. Every air conditioner has one, but many go long periods without ever being replaced. Again, this can result in foreign substance buildup that affects the efficiency, integrity, and even safety of the air conditioning unit. Many house fires have been attributed to air conditioners malfunctioning, often times a clogged air filter is part of the problem.
- Overall Age of Unit: At the end of the day, the older your unit is the greater chance it’s going to need cooling repairs sooner rather than later. It might be a good idea to invest in a brand new unit, which will prevent the need for repairs and actually save you money in the long run. Today’s units are far more energy efficient than even ones that were made a decade ago.
Summer is not the time you want your air conditioner breaking down. Keep these things in mind in order to prevent it from happening to you.
