Most homes in the United States completely take advantage of their access to air conditioners. Many leave them pumping 24 hours a day during the hot summer months, sometimes even longer, which isn’t necessarily a problem depending on the care the unit receives. Unfortunately, a substantial amount of homes completely overlook the need for AC maintenance.
An estimated two-thirds of all homes in America have an air conditioning system. With the millions of structures currently using cooling systems, there is much room for error. What many may not realize, is how dangerous ignoring regular AC maintenance can actually be.
With so much electricity being utilized to power air conditioners, there is always the chance of electrical problems. Just from between 2006 and 2010, faulty and poorly maintained air conditioners and fan equipment were responsible for 2,500 out 7,200, amounting to about 35%, of all home structure fires in the United States. Even broken heating pumps that did not receive maintenance account for another 7% of these fires.
Given that only an estimated 42% of American homes have their central air equipment serviced by air conditioning repair companies, a large chunk of homes in the country could substantially benefit from regular AC maintenance. However, even with the intention of doing so, forgetting can be easy considering most units are out of sight.
In an attempt to help, some air conditioning services may actually provide regularly scheduled checkups to remember for you. With automated computer systems, they can setup appointments over allotted periods of time, such as every six months or so, to ensure that cooling systems are running efficiently and safely.
It is important not to underestimate the dangers that air conditioners and other electrical systems can present to a home. Why not make a point to have them serviced now rather than later?
