About two-thirds of all homes in the U.S. have air conditioning, and the last thing any of those homeowners want to happen is to find themselves with no ac during the hottest months of the year. To help prevent that from happening, it’s important to take care of your air conditioner. Here are some tips regarding preventative maintenance that will help you avoid the need for HVAC repair.
One of the easiest and most important HVAC maintenance tasks any homeowner can do is to change their filter. Having a dirty filter makes your air conditioner work harder, which lowers your energy efficiency and can increase the probability of a breakdown. That’s why it’s important to regularly change your filter. How often it needs to be done depends on the kind of HVAC unit you have. Generally, it can be anywhere from one to four times a year.
Another important HVAC maintenance task is to clean off your air conditioner’s compressor. This is the part of your home air conditioner unit that sits outside your home and takes in warm air and converts it to cool air. If your compressor fails, you will essentially have no AC because your unit will not be able to generate any cold air. It’s very easy to clean off your compressor and reduce the likelihood of it breaking down. All you have to do is hose it off with a garden hose a couple of times a year. This will help to clear out any dirt and debris that may have collected inside the unit.
While there are many air conditioning maintenance tasks that you can do on your own, it’s still important to have regular air conditioning service done. Most air conditioners can be expected to last 10 to 15 years, but having regular preventive maintenance done by a professional HVAC technician can help to make them last longer, up to about 40% longer.
Having no ac when you need it is not the kind of situation you want to find yourself in. If your AC goes out during the hot summer months, not only will you be miserable, you are likely to have to wait longer to get it fixed, because HVAC companies will be busier. That can compound your misery. To try to avoid that scenario, take care of your air conditioner and have it professionally serviced on a regular basis.
