Can I Service My Own Air Conditioning System

Outdoor A/C unit

When cold weather turns warm, it feels nice. When warm weather turns hot, information technology might not feel then pleasant. You can always get for the comfort of your air conditioner, but if it isn't working, y'all'll end upwards feeling the oestrus. The skillful news is that there are simple things you tin can do to aid continue your Air-conditioning in acme shape.

Professional Air Conditioner Maintenance

You lot should have your air conditioner serviced regularly earlier the start of the warmer atmospheric condition. A professional will come out to audit and service your Air-conditioning. This keeps things in running order and helps spot potential trouble. It costs around $125.00 to $175.00 and tin can salvage you lot thousands in repair or replacement costs.

The technician will give the unit an overall inspection, looking for whatsoever signs of trouble. They will test the voltage, inspect the condition of the belts, vents, and ducts, check the refrigerant, and examine the drainage lines. They should besides lubricate any ports that may be nowadays.

They will inspect the blower motor and exam the thermostat to ensure proper operation. A motor that is drawing likewise many amps may exist nearly set up to fail completely. A thermostat that doesn't engage the unit when it's supposed to could need adjustment or replacing.

You should check the air filter every calendar month. The technician will check information technology as part of the servicing. They should also clean various parts like the compressor, condenser, evaporator coils, air handler, and drainage line.

Finally, they should exam refrigerant levels and discover AC function through a complete bicycle. If whatsoever problems are yet present, they should let you know and recommend repairs.

How much does information technology toll to recharge an Air-conditioning with the help of a professional person? Check our AC Repair Guide for average figures.

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vii Tips for Maintaining Your AC Unit

1) Change your filter.

The simplest and most effective way to keep your Air conditioning running smoothly is changing your filter once a month. By regularly irresolute your filter, you lot reduce a lot of the brunt on your system. A dirty or clogged filter makes your air conditioner work much harder than does a make clean filter. Irresolute your filters regularly is easy on your budget and easy on your system equally well. It will lower your utility bill and extend the life of your Air conditioning.

2) Keep your coils make clean.

The Air conditioning coils and fins on the outside of your unit demand to exist kept clean and articulate of obstructions. Leaves and other debris sometimes accrue around your unit. If obstructions are nowadays, your unit must work harder to part than it should. You can make clean your unit of measurement with a regular garden hose and a broom. Do not employ a force per unit area washer, as the potent spray could cause damage to your system. A little bit of housekeeping in this regard goes far toward keeping your air conditioner working optimally.

3) Go on surrounding shrubbery trimmed.

If you accept planted shrubbery around your unit of measurement to hide it from view, be certain to leave adequate space around it for the unit to function without obstacle. A quick trim will do the trick.

4) Ensure your dryer vent is not angled toward your Air conditioning unit.

Lint from your dryer frazzle can cause issues for your unit. Ensure that lint cannot get within the vents of your air conditioner by simply angling your dryer vent elsewhere.

5) Conform your thermostat.

If you are away for long periods every twenty-four hour period, adjust your thermostat to a higher temperature for the time y'all are away. This volition lessen the corporeality of time your unit of measurement has to work each mean solar day and will lengthen its life cycle. An boosted benefit will be a lower utility bill each month. Some newer thermostats allow you to pre-program your thermostat to match your schedule then that your home volition still be cool when you arrive. Optimizing your system's usage will maximize its life in the long term.

vi) Cheque your ductwork and seal open up spaces.

Make sure all your doors and windows are properly sealed to assistance keep your home cool. Perform a visual inspection of your ductwork occasionally to be sure it is sealed correctly. If the ductwork is not properly sealed, cool air will escape before getting into your dwelling house. The less cool air that escapes your home, the less your unit volition have to piece of work.

7) Schedule an almanac tune-up with an HVAC professional.

A trained HVAC technician can detect nearly bug before they become major ones. With a cost of around $100 for a routine maintenance call, the benefits will likely outweigh the costs by a considerable margin. A typical tune-upward will include various tests to ensure your unit's internal parts are functioning correctly, besides as a filter check, and a refrigerant accuse if needed. Your technician volition probable too clear the bleed, and clean your unit thoroughly within and out.

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DIY Maintenance and Cleaning

Yous can do some bones maintenance yourself. Here is what to wait:

Price: $50.00 to $100.00
Fourth dimension Needed: Less than half a solar day
Tools and Materials:
- Screwdriver or wrench
- Wet/dry out vacuum ($50.00)
- Garden hose
- Butter knife or fin tool ($ten.00)
- Rake and/or pruning shears
- Level
- Shims if necessary
- Foil tape ($17.00)
- Soft bristle paint castor ($ane.00)
- Curlicue cleaner ($5.50)
- Hot, soapy water
- Bleach

Earlier You Brainstorm

Turn off the ability to the unit. Turn the condenser switch to the "off" position. At your home'due south breaker box, turn off the billow. You don't want it turning on while you have your hands near the fan blades!

Outside

Clean the condenser. If your condenser is on the roof, in that location probably won't be much to clean. If it'southward at ground level, you're more likely to have droppings. Remove the grate over the fan and vacuum any debris establish inside. With a garden hose, spray the fins from the inside out. (Never utilise a pressure washer. The fins are very thin and can damage easily.)
Inspect the fins. They are very thin and bend easily. If yous see damaged spots, like where the fins are flattened, straighten them gently with the butter knife or fin tool. Be careful non to damage the tubing inside the fins.
Rake any basis-level debris away from the condenser and prune any branches or bushes away at least two feet.
Level the condenser. As soil settles, it's not unusual for the condenser pad to go off-level. Using shims and the level, you lot can bring the condenser back to a level position.

Inside

Clean the evaporator coils. These should be behind a door higher up where the blower motor is. It might exist sealed with foil tape. Open the embrace and employ the soft paint castor to dust off the coil. Next, spray the coil with coil cleaner, letting it drip into the bleed pan. Afterwards, clean the bleed pan with lather and hot water. (Calculation a drain pan tablet to the pan tin help prevent algae growth and costs about $three.50 for a pack of half-dozen.) Make sure the bleed flows freely. If information technology does, you tin can skip the next step.
Make clean the evaporator bleed. This is usually a one-inch PVC pipage coming off the evaporator enclosure. Follow it to where it drains out. Adhere the wet/dry vacuum to this stop, sealing it with duct tape or with a rag. Remove the vacuum's filter to avoid damaging it and turn the vacuum on for 2-3 minutes to articulate out any blockage.
Modify the filter. This should be washed twice a year on heating/cooling systems; in one case at the outset of the cooling season and one time at the start of the warming season.
Plow the power back on and allow it go through a total cycle. If it's non cooling similar it used to, it's time to call a pro.

This whole project should cost around $fifty.00. Fifty-fifty if all y'all can practice is modify the filter, doing it regularly volition salve about 15% on your cooling bill. Just whether you spend $50.00 to $100.00 to practice information technology yourself or if you spend $125.00 to $175.00 to rent a pro, information technology'south cheaper than paying several thousands of dollars repairing or replacing your AC.

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Window/Room Units

Maintenance on window or room ac units is a lot less intensive because there are fewer moving parts.

Unplug the unit of measurement.
Remove forepart plate and vacuum the coils with a soft brush zipper. If you accept the unit outside, you can hose them off if you take intendance not to get the motor or electronics wet.
Inspect the cooling fins and straighten them out with a fin tool.
Check drain pan for rust or algae, or check drain pipage for blockage.
Check the filter. If it's damaged, replace it. If information technology's just dirty, y'all can wash it. Let it dry before replacing it.

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Air-conditioning Glossary

The specifics of an air workout unit tin vary widely. At that place are some parts that all units take in mutual, though:

Furnace – This is where the air gets drawn in to be sent through the system to be warmed or cooled as the unit operates.
Heat Exchanger – If your unit heats as well as cools, the heat exchanger is where the cold air is warmed up earlier being blown out to the ducts.
Evaporator Coil – This is similar to the rut exchanger except that it cools the air.
Condensing Unit – This is the big box outside. The refrigerant gas is condensed into liquid form and sent through the evaporator whorl where information technology gets turned back into a gas that cools the air. The gas so returns to the condenser and the procedure begins once again.
Refrigerant Lines – These are aluminum or copper tubes that run through the organisation carrying the refrigerant gas. If one of these springs a leak, a professional volition be needed to fix it.
Thermostat – The thermostat is the control to set the desired temperature. Some elaborate systems can control the temperature in specific areas of your house.
Ducts – The ducts are the pathways that the air is pushed through to get into the rooms. They are usually installed during construction of the building.
Vents – Vents are the openings for the air to laissez passer through into your rooms. Many accept louvres that permit you to straight the air or close it off entirely.

Regular maintenance and cleaning of your AC unit of measurement will not simply save you hundreds (or thousands) of dollars, information technology will go on you from an unexpected intermission downwards that will get out you sweating.

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