It's well known that we can pay our auto mechanics a little now for routine service, or pay them a lot later for a major repair. The exact same idea is true for the air conditioner or heat pump. If you don't service your air conditioner regularly, you'll find yourself uncomfortable and broke.
An air conditioner is an extremely tough piece of equipment. It is engineered to withstand all sorts of abuse and keep on running. This is great generally in most respects, but it can lead to complacency about maintenance. Just like a car, air conditioners need regular tune-ups to operate properly.Without regular maintenance an air conditioner looses about 5% of it's original efficiency for every single year of operation. Which means that the 12 SEER unit that you bought just a couple years ago could possibly be functioning like a 9 SEER unit today! The very good news is that you can recover almost all of that lost efficiency through regular maintenance.
Studies show that with regular tune-ups an unit will maintain up to 95% of it's original efficiency. This means that the cost of an annual tune-up is recovered very quickly in savings on your monthly electric bill and reduced repair costs. A properly serviced air conditioner will also do a better job of dehumidifying your house.
Many local air conditioning firms offer special prices at this time of the season. Some even offer annual service programs that insure that you will be reminded of the need to service the unit at the beginning of the cooling and heating seasons.The service check should include cleaning the condensing unit coils, checking the amp draw of the compressor, oiling the fan motors, checking that belts are well adjusted, and checking the system operating pressures and temperatures against the manufacturers specifications.
One of the most important items to check is the coolant level (commonly know as Freon) in the air conditioner. A system that is only 10% low on coolant will cost about 20% more to operate! The Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA) recommends that coolant levels be checked yearly.If your unit is low on coolant, and more must be added, there are new laws governing its use. Freon is a chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) that could damage the Earths protective ozone layer if released into the atmosphere. The laws governing CFC's now do not allow your air conditioner contractor to add Freon to a leaky system. They're first forced to find and fix the leak in the system. Don't ask them to violate this law as they may loose their license if they are caught doing this.
There are some things in combination with yearly tune-ups which can be done to help ensure a high level of comfort and proper system operation. First, buy good filters and change them regularly. Next, keep bushes as well as other materials away from the outside unit of your air conditioner. Yet another good idea is to avoid closing supply air outlets within your house.
In almost all cases, closing supply outlets is harmful to the operation of the overall system.All equipment, even the most trusted, needs routine maintenance. Complicated equipment like today's air conditioners benefit in many ways from annual service. They recover much of their lost efficiency, they are less likely to suffer a significant break down, they have a longer life span, they increase your comfort, and they operate for less money.
Author Resource:
You will find additional information about air conditioning repair los angeles in our website - http://www.speedyairconditioning.net/los-angeles-air-conditioning.html
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.look4articles.com/images/icon_Rss.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
Category Rss Feed
Print This Article
Add To Favorites
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.look4articles.com/images/rss.jpg "XML Feed For RSS")