We’re strong advocates of regular air conditioning maintenance. This is when a NATE-certified HVAC technician makes an annual visit to your house to inspect the cooling equipment, clean and lubricate parts, check refrigerant pressure, tighten electrical connections, and generally make sure that the air conditioner is in great shape for the summer weather.
The biggest benefit of maintenance is that it gives you the peace of mind that your home cooling won’t fail abruptly on you during the hottest days of summer. The preventive maintenance done on the system really does “prevent”: it stops many major AC problems before they get a chance to inflict serious damage and jeopardize your household comfort. Below are a number of repairs for your air conditioner that you can stop from happening if you keep up with maintenance. In fact, 85% of the repairs any AC system may need over its service life can be prevented with this routine professional service:
- Condenser replacement because of leaking refrigerant: We put this one first because needing to replace the compressor or the whole condenser (the outdoor unit) is the most expensive and drastic air conditioner repair. If the compressor fails, a new one must be put in—and it’s often more cost effective to replace the entire condenser. Compressor failure can often occur because of refrigerant leaks. Maintenance always checks refrigerant pressure to find leaks early enough that they can be sealed, the refrigerant recharged, and the compressor saved.
- Replacing burnt-out motors: An enormous amount of wear and tear is placed on the motors of the AC that power the compressor and the fans. Unless the motors receive regular care to clean and lubricate their moving parts—which is always done during maintenance as needed—they will soon overheat and burn out requiring replacement.
- Electrical repairs: The majority of repairs an AC system may need are electrical in nature. Wires loosen, corrode, create electrical shorts, etc. During maintenance, the certified technician investigates over all the wire connections to see if they are corroding and if any of the wiring needs to be tightened.
- Defrosting the evaporator coil: The indoor evaporator coil can start to develop ice and frost due to a number of malfunctions, such as leaking refrigerant, a clogged air filter, and a build-up of dust and grime on its surface. A frozen coil won’t be able to carry out heat exchange, but maintenance can stop all of these problems before they develop to the point of ice along the coil.
- An early AC replacement: Okay, a replacement isn’t exactly a “repair.” But it’s also an expensive job you want to put off as long as possible. Maintenance can give your air conditioning system 5 to 8 years more service life than if it didn’t have maintenance.
Still haven’t arranged for your air conditioning maintenance in Katy, TX yet? It’s still not too late—you need to get it done each year, and July is still a good time to schedule it. Call us to get on the calendar for maintenance and we’ll ensure your cooling system has the best tune-up and inspection possible. Our customer’s needs always come first.
Maintain your cool—At AC Comfort, your comfort is our business!