6 Benefits Of Routine Air Conditioner Service
There’s an old adage that there’s no need to fix something that isn’t broken. While this may be true, your air conditioner still requires routine service if you want to avoid breakdowns. Consider these six benefits of getting routine annual service, also called maintenance, for your air conditioner.
1. Lower Energy Bills
Keeping your home comfortable can feel like it’s dipping into your retirement account with the cost of energy in southern California. That’s why most homeowners appreciate the savings that come with routine annual AC service.
Your maintenance technician will clean your unit, test for any components working sub-optimally, and tune how it performs to keep it running efficiently. The more efficiently that your system runs, the less energy it’ll consume and the lower you’ll keep your energy bills.
2. Better Indoor Air Quality
Keeping your home’s air quality in check will help ensure that you stay healthy, that there’s less cleaning needed around your home, and that your system runs efficiently. Your HVAC system’s air filters help remove contaminants from the air that degrade your home’s air quality. However, it relies on sufficient air flowing through it to continue removing unwanted contaminants.
Your technician will clean the evaporator coil and the circulating fan wheel as well as check your air filter to make sure there aren’t any airflow restrictions. They’ll also test and balance the circulating fan, check the electrical connections on the motor and the power that it draws, and lubricate the bearings in the motor. All of this helps the system circulate the proper amount of air through the filter, which helps improve your home’s overall air quality.
3. Better Comfort Throughout Your Home
Everyone has been to a building where there are areas that are frigid while others are boiling. This usually comes down to a problem with air circulating throughout the building properly. To provide even cooling throughout your home, your system must draw enough air through the return vents and push enough from each supply vent. The attention your maintenance technician gives to cleaning your system and tuning your circulating fan ensures that the system can produce the circulation needed to evenly distribute the cool air throughout your home.
4. Fewer AC Repairs
Airflow restrictions, components running sub-optimally, and too little refrigerant in the system are all common causes of AC failure and the need for repair. In addition to preventing airflow restrictions, your technician performs a series of tests as part of routine maintenance. This includes running a cooling cycle to make sure that everything initiates at the proper time.
However, it also includes testing specific components to ensure they are passing the proper amount of electric current with the right resistance. Your technician will also test to ensure the system is properly charged with refrigerant. All of this reduces the strain your system experiences while running, which prevents component or system failure when the temperatures reach their peak for the summer.
5. Extended Service Life
An air conditioner is an integrated system where one component directly affects the strain and wear on other components. All the testing your technician performs will identify small problems early on. Some of these are issues that are resolved by tightening electrical connections or lubricating motor bearings, which is part of the maintenance process. However, it may also identify other issues that require repair. By catching and repairing these issues early, you prevent excessive wear on the system. This allows the system to run without excessive strain through most of its service life, allowing to it serve your home for the expected 10 to 15 years.
6. AC Warranty Protection
The warranty that came with your air conditioner at installation is something you hope you never need. However, if you do need it, you want to know that it’s going to cover premature system issues.
Unfortunately, too many homeowners don’t realize that a term for keeping the warranty valid is routine system maintenance. Manufacturers include this term because they understand how important it is to clean and perform minor tweaks to prevent excessive wear and premature component failure.
Homeowners around Anaheim have trusted Alps Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc. to keep their homes comfortable throughout the year since 1979. Our technicians proudly offer heating and air conditioning maintenance, repair and installation along with indoor air quality solutions, attic insulation, water heater service, and energy efficiency upgrades. Call to schedule your AC service appointment with one of our trusted, NATE-certified technicians today.