If you want to prolong your air conditioner’s efficiency, you need a regular maintenance of its filters, fins, and coils. By forgetting its required maintenance, your unit ensures a steady decline in air conditioning performance while your energy use increases. Here are some tips to help you improve the efficiency of your air conditioner.
Clean your air conditioner’s coils.
You need to clean air conditioner’s condenser and evaporator coils regularly because they collect dirt over their months and years of service. Having a clean filter will help stop the evaporator coil from soiling quickly (though the evaporator will still collect dirt). The dirt it collects reduces the airflow and covers the coil, minimising its heat-absorbing ability. Check your evaporator every year and keep it clean to avoid having this problem.
When the environment is dusty or if there’s foliage nearby, an outdoor condenser coil can also become very dirty. You can easily see the condenser coil and notice if it’s collecting dirt on its fins. You should lessen the debris and dirt near the condenser unit. To allow the condenser to have some adequate airflow, clean the area, remove any debris, and trim foliage back at least 2 feet around the coil.
Clean air conditioner filters, too.
Cleaning air conditioner filters is the most important task to maintain and to ensure the efficiency of your air conditioner. Clogged or dirty filters can block the normal airflow and reduce the air conditioning system’s efficiency significantly. With the normal airflow being blocked, the air that bypasses the filter may carry dirt directly into the evaporator coil and impair the coil’s heat-absorbing capacity. Change a dirty and clogged filter and your air conditioner’s energy consumption will drop by 5% to 15%.
There are filter types that are reusable while others that need to be replaced. They’re available in a range of types and differences. Clean or replace your air conditioning system’s filter(s) every month or two during the cooling season. If your unit is in constant use, your filters may need more frequent attention because they can be in a dusty condition.
For central air conditioners, their filters are generally located somewhere along the return duct’s length. Common locations are in ceilings, furnaces, walls or in the air condition itself. Room air conditioners have a filter mounted in the grill that faces into the room.
Hire a professional.
A well-trained technician will help you find and fix problems if your air conditioner needs more than regular maintenance. These are the things technicians should do:
- Check if there’s a correct amount of refrigerant.
- Check and seal duct leakage in central systems.
- Measure the airflow through the evaporator coil.
- Use a leak detector to test for refrigerant leaks.
- Check the thermostat’s accuracy.
- Check belts for tightness and wear; oil motors.
- Examine electric terminals, clean and tighten connections, and try a non-conductive coating if necessary.
Call in the air conditioning experts in Australia.