The life span of a central air conditioner or heat pump is approximately 15 years, and if you want it to reach that age and perhaps longer, consider these things to stop doing to your A/C. Repairing and replacing parts inside a cooling system can be costly.
What Hurts Your Cooling System?
- Ignoring routine maintenance: A central air conditioner needs to be cleaned and adjusted by an HVAC pro each year to keep it running as the manufacturer intended. These systems contain moving parts that create vibrations and electrical components that corrode and get dirty. As they run, the vibrations loosen parts, and the dirt or corrosion slows the flow of electricity. The equipment begins to lose efficiency and wear faster.
- Neglecting air filter changes: The air filter makes a big difference in how well your A/C performs. When filters are clogged, they slow the air flowing through the air handler and over the evaporator coil. It takes the system longer to cool your home and that increases its running time. Dirt also collects on all the parts inside the air handler, and a dirty blower motor holds more heat that contributes to early failure.
- Running the A/C with a frozen evaporator coil: Letting your air conditioner run with a frozen evaporator coil is a serious offense to the system. A frozen evaporator coil stops the cooling process, and if it continues to run, the refrigerant going back to the compressor will be the wrong temperature. This situation is one of the more common causes for compressor failure, which is the most expensive part found in an air conditioner and heat pumps.Preventing a frozen evaporator coil is possible by keeping the coil and equipment clean, and verifying adequate refrigerant in the A/C. Although refrigerant is in a closed system that shouldn’t leak, over time refrigerant lines can develop small leaks, especially if they’re dirty.
To learn more about things to stop doing to your A/C, contact Energy 1 Heating & Air Conditioning. We’ve served homeowners in Lorain and the surrounding areas for more than 30 years.
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/Cs 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