Not everyone realizes that their air conditioner needs to be cleaned. Like everything else, AC units gather dust and dirt, and when that debris is on the coils, it can impact the function and efficiency of your air conditioner. Therefore, it’s essential to know what the coils are, as well as where and why to clean them.
With this article, you’ll learn more about how to properly care for your AC unit.
The evaporator coil on your air conditioner is a critical component, as it cools the refrigerant in the air conditioner. The air conditioner’s refrigerant was just in your home, absorbing heat from the air. When it flows back outside, it needs to evaporate the heat by releasing it into the air. This is the air conditioner’s core function: removing heat & humidity from inside of your home.
Evaporator and condensor coils work together to cool your home, therefore one cannot work without the other. The condensor and it’s coils completes the second half of the cooling cycle, releasing much of the heat that was absorbed from your home to the outdoors.
When the coils are dirty, it prevents the release of heat. This can lower the efficiency of your air conditioner and cause poor performance, resulting in the air conditioner using more energy to produce the same amount of cold air. It could also cause your coils to “ice-up”, resulting in a “no cooling” situation. Good airflow is critical for coils because they both transfer the heat and plugged coils or dirty coils interferes with this process. It is therefore important to clean the evaporator coil whenever it develops some dust, dirt, or other debris.
Yes, you can clean your air conditioner coils yourself. Or, you can let your HVAC technician handle it as part of their yearly maintenance on the unit. Cleaning and annual maintenance are best done before turning the air conditioner on for the season or some point during the summer months.
Contact us to schedule your annual air conditioner maintenance today!
An air conditioner system consists of two coils. The evaporator coil is in the indoor portion of your air conditioner, and the condensor coil is located in the outdoor unit.
Wondering how to clean your coils? First, you need to ensure that the air conditioner is off, then hose the outdoor condensor coils. It is recommended to call in a professional to clean the indoor evaporator coil.
Cleaning the coils should be a quick process, and the compressed air or water from the hose should strip all of the dust or dirt off them. Don’t be tempted to use a cloth or other cleaning method; not only is it slower, but it could damage the coils.
They should be cleaned at least once per year, along with your other maintenance tasks.
Cleaning your air conditioner coils is just one of the many important maintenance services that your air conditioner needs once per year. The experts at Appleby Systems can handle it for you, along with all of the other AC maintenance required.
Contact us today to schedule your air conditioner maintenance service appointment.
