Over time, your air conditioner can begin to lose some of the efficiency it no doubt had when it was first installed. Just like any other piece of machinery – your car, the refrigerator – the air conditioner will wear down the longer it’s been chugging along.
While you won’t be able to avoid having it deteriorate completely (nobody can stop that from happening) there are plenty of things you can do to make sure it lasts as long as possible.
By maintaining your air conditioner and performing routine care on it, you’ll not only maximize the length of its lifespan, but odds are good you’ll end up saving money the longer your unit stays in good shape. An efficient air conditioner can shave off a significant portion of your energy bill, and that money will add up over the course of several billing cycles. So, not only are you going to enjoy a better-performing air conditioner, but you’ll pocket a few extra bucks along the way!
Not a bad deal, right? Follow along with this quick list of tips the experts at Acree Plumbing, Air & Electric have put together and find out how you can make a difference in no time.
Don’t Forget the Filter
The easiest way to make sure your air conditioner stays in tip-top shape is to maintain a strict filter-replacement schedule. Most of the time, swapping out the old filter for a new one roughly every three months should suffice.
A filter will trap those undesirable pollutants and contaminants, so your air stays fresh – but those particles have to go somewhere, and that “somewhere” is right on the filter. It’ll get clogged if you neglect it for too long, meaning your air conditioner has to work overtime to get the air to the temperature you set the thermostat to.
Check the Condenser
A vital component of your cooling system lies outside. The condenser can get equally as dirty and inefficient over time, just like the filter can, so it needs a proper cleaning every now and again. If you’re not HVAC-savvy and don’t want to open up the unit itself, the best thing you can do is to clean up around the condenser itself to make sure it’s clear of dirt and debris.
Washing the fins of the condenser is a good idea as well. Take a hose and spray it through the cover – don’t risk hurting yourself by opening up the grill.
Put in the Call for a Professional
Beyond this, however, there’s not a whole lot you can do unless you have extensive experience performing maintenance on HVAC units. The best and most comprehensive way you can increase efficiency is to have someone who knows what they’re doing take a look and give it a tune-up.
By having this done routinely – say, once a year – you’ll constantly be optimizing your air conditioner to make sure it’s performing at the peak of its abilities. Not only that, but a technician will spot any troubling signs well before they become something much more problematic and costly.
Maintaining your air conditioner doesn’t need to be difficult. Most of the time, you can do a great job of making sure it performs at maximum efficiency simply by keeping it as clean as possible and swapping out the filter on time – but if you’d like to have an expert take a look, let Acree Plumbing, Air & Electric do the dirty work.
Give us a call at (813) 530-9061 for the most reliable service in Tampa!
