Your home air conditioner helps to ensure that your home can stay cool on hot summer days. However, a central air unit is a complex machine and it does need maintenance from time to time. Unfortunately, most homeowners go through the summer trusting that the AC unit will continue to work without putting much thought to maintaining its performance.
As summer approaches, you should start to think about the operation of the home’s air conditioner. It is getting ready to take on a lot of work, and you want to know that is up to the task from a mechanical standpoint. Additionally, you also want to know that it is ready to provide that cool air while also operating at its best efficiency.
Increased Efficiency
One way that getting a yearly AC tune-up will help is that it improves the efficiency of the machine. From running all last summer and being outdoors, the system will have dust and dirt built up on the coils and other components. This inhibits the machine’s ability to extract heat from the air and it forces the system to work harder. That means that you end up consuming more electricity and paying more to cool the home.
Additionally, the HVAC technician is going to inspect different components of the system to ensure that they are operating correctly and they are going to check the system for leaks and test the refrigerant levels. If the technician sees that anything is off, adjustments or repairs can be made and this will further improve the efficiency of the air conditioner.
Prevent Problems
A yearly air conditioner tune-up is an important preventative step. As we mentioned earlier, when the system is dirty, it forces the air conditioner to work harder in order to achieve the same results. Over time, this added stress can have an impact on the overall function of the machine.
Additionally, when there is a small problem or a part that is not operating in the way that it should, it can affect other parts or get worse over time. Without attention, what could have been a simple, inexpensive adjustment could lead to expensive repairs or a complete failure.
As an additional point, if there are any problems, it is better to catch them before summer. Instead of the system breaking down on a hot day, you can have it fixed before it even becomes an issue.
Extend Operating Life
An air conditioner is an expensive machine, and if you want to get the most out of the unit, it will require regular maintenance. Along with changing or cleaning the filters regularly and a few other preventative measures, the yearly air conditioner tune-up is one of the most important steps in ensuring a log operating life for the unit. By getting the machine serviced once a year, you can extend the life of the unit by many years.
Investing a little bit of money into a yearly air conditioner tune-up is really not that much when you consider what it saves you in repairs, efficiency and in extending the life of the machine. As a further point, it is a small price to pay to avoid the hassle that will come with the machine breaking down or needing emergency repairs in the middle of the summer.