Spring is here in Brea, CA, and we’ve already had our share hot weather in 2016. When you add that to the end of winter, when your air conditioner has sat unused for a number of months, it adds up to trouble. The simple act of sitting unused can bring trouble to your air conditioner that can reach up and bite you if you’re not careful. The good news is that most of them can be treated with a maintenance session performed by a qualified technician, and we recommend such maintenance visits once a year before cooling season begins. What kinds of post-winter problems does it address? Here’s 3 common ones that you should look out for.
1. Dusty Coils
Dust can settle on your condenser coils (which vents heat from the system) and the evaporator coils (which cools the air in preparation for it being blown into your home). In both cases, the dust interferes with those vital function, forcing your system to work much harder to do its job. That can increase the strain on other components and lead to a breakdown or worse if you’re not careful. It also raises the monthly cooling bills to compensate for the extra effort.
2. Low Refrigerant
Your air conditioner depends on a set amount of refrigerant to do its job. When a leak springs up, that amount is altered, and the same thing happens as dust on the coils: the system must work much harder to do its job and a breakdown is inevitable. Leaks in the off-season are particularly devastating because they can go on for months before anyone notices.
3. Air Filters
The air filter can become clogged with dust and hair over the winter, impeding air flow and again forcing your system to work harder. You need to change the air filter every month or so, and certainly do so before cooling season begins.
Call JC Mechanical with help correcting any post-winter air conditioning problems!