Excitement boils high with the summer weather slowly closing in, along with the promise of the sun, the beach, and a moment of respite from all the stresses of the world. While many people welcome the sun and its warmth, the coming of the summer heat merits a little bit of preparation for your house.
The promise of a relentless beatdown from the heat is present—which means your air-conditioning units will be on full-blast at the zenith of summer. As reliable as most of them are on most days, AC units are only as effective as how well you maintain them. To ensure 100% functionality and reliability for the summer season, make a cursory check on the system.
Here are four pretty simple things to watch out for when checking for problems with your AC unit:
The Compressor
Your AC’s compressor has an incredibly important job of compressing the refrigerant, raising the temperature enough to have the refrigerant moving through your system. A broken compressor won’t allow your refrigerant to work properly, thus not providing the cool air to regulate your room’s temperature. This component is one of the more expensive parts to replace and repair, as its role is one of the more complex and vital ones to the whole system. Without the compressor working properly, your AC unit will just be a glorified fan and ventilation system. Facing issues with this warrant the help of a specialist in AC repair, as it can be quite tricky to handle.
The Refrigerant
The refrigerant, as stated earlier, is the substance your AC circulates in order to modify temperature. By cycling the refrigerant from gas to liquid form, heat is absorbed from within the house and dispersed outside. A refrigerant leak, much like a compressor break, would cause major issues with your system and must be addressed quickly.
An easy test to check if there is a refrigerant leak would be to look into the evaporator coils for ice or to listen for hissing sounds when the unit is turned on.
The Fans
An AC unit will generally have two fans: an evaporator fan and a condenser fan. The evaporator fan cools the wind passing through it with the help of the refrigerant, while the condenser fan blows the heat out of the system. Broken fans are a usual issue with older or poorly-maintained AC systems and drastically increase the energy consumption while lowering your ACs efficiency as well. If you hear excessively loud whirring sounds or don’t feel the air blowing through, contact an AC repair specialist right away to check on your fans.
The Ductworks
The ductworks are in charge of moving the cooled air around, so any leaking air ducts can really hamper your AC unit’s efficiency. A simple duct leak already contributes to 30% of air loss from your system, thus consuming more energy to move around the air to cool your room or your house. While relatively sturdy, your AC’s ductwork may need to be checked at least once within ten years or if your energy bill is too high for the amount of time you’ve used the AC system.
Conclusion
Proper AC maintenance helps in increasing the efficiency of your unit, while also generating savings to your electricity and overall AC repair bill. Checking into these four parts of your AC can help maintain its full-functionality all throughout the summer—allowing you to breathe the cool air within the comfort of your home without worry.
If you’re looking for an AC repair service in Tampa, get in touch with us! We offer a variety of services for repairs and maintenance of your HVAC systems. We’re happy to serve you.
