Don’t wait until the Northeast Ohio weather gets hot before turning your air conditioner on, just to find out that it isn’t properly working. It’s important to schedule professional A/C maintenance before the cooling season to ensure that it’s ready to go when you need to turn it on. Doing so will save money on service and repairs as the system cools your home throughout the summer, while ensuring that it doesn’t conk out at the worst possible time. Here are some basic maintenance tips to follow for optimal A/C performance:
Air Filter Maintenance
This you can do yourself. A/C filters get clogged up with dirt and debris. Dirty filters force your blower motor or air handler to work harder to push air through the system, resulting in inefficient performance and unnecessary wear and tear on system components. Get in the habit of inspecting the filter monthly, and changing when it looks dirty.
Professional Maintenance
In addition to do-it-yourself maintenance, you’ll want to schedule a yearly maintenance appointment during the spring. Your service technician will perform a variety of tasks, including:
- Inspect and tighten all electrical connections.
- Check the unit’s voltage.
- Inspect the motor and blower.
- Inspect and clean both the indoor and outdoor coils.
- Check the refrigerant level, and if it’s low, look for leaks in the lines or coils. Once the system is checked out, add the manufacturer’s recommended amount of refrigerant.
- Inspect wiring and fuses.
- Check and adjust airflow.
- Run a test on the entire system.
These tips will help ensure that you don’t end up with expensive repairs during the hottest part of the year, find that some rooms are cooler than others, or see higher than necessary cooling bills.
For more information and advice about proper A/C maintenance or repair, contact Energy 1 Heating & Air Conditioning, serving Lorain, Erie and Cuyahoga counties.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Lorain, Ohio about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about A/C maintenance and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
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Energy 1 Heating & Air Conditioning
1 (440) 246-5440
Serving the Lorain, OH Area