Importance of HVAC Spring Maintenance

Spring is here and with it come certain maintenance tasks for your air conditioning system.

If you take this opportunity to prepare your  HVAC, you will enjoy cooler days ahead when summer finally rolls around. Here are tips for HVAC spring maintenance:

Allow your system to breathe

Outside maintenance work requires clear space to allow air to flow. To allow your unit to breathe, clear up to 3 feet of open space around the physical unit. Additionally, avoid putting up decks above the air conditioner. This not only helps the air conditioner to breathe, it also enables air conditioning repair technicians to access the unit easily.

After clearing any shrubs or plants within 3 feet of the air conditioner, you need to clean the compressor. This unit usually gets covered with leaves, seeds and other debris over time. Once you clear the debris around the compressor, use the brush attached to your vacuum cleaner to clean the fins gently. If any of the fins look bent, straighten them with a fin comb or a table knife. Finally, hose down the fins to get rid of stubborn debris and dirt.

Replace your filter

When was the last time you changed your filters? Chances are that you do not change the air filters very often. However, what most homeowners don’t know is that changing filters is the easiest way to prevent damage to your system.

When the filter is clogged with dirt, it slows down the process of cooling or heating. In addition, it can affect the air quality in your building. Normally, changing or cleaning the filter is all you need to enhance HVAC output and reduce the occurrence of allergic problems in people living in the building.

Check the belts

The belts that connect the blower to the motor tend to crack, wear out and break with time. Once the belt breaks, the whole unit malfunctions. To prevent this from happening, check your unit during the spring to make sure that air can circulate during summer months.

Check safety component.

Check the safety component of your HVAC unit to make sure it is working just in case something stops functioning. If and when one of the components fails, the safety component will detect issues such as voltage problems, unusual pressure, current and temperature as well as other problems in the unit.

Check the drainage.

Most air conditioners have a drainage hole on the base of the cabinet, just beneath the evaporator fins. This hole requires to be kept clear to keep the air conditioner working effectively. It is advisable to use a wire or paper clip to poke through the hole and clear it.

Schedule an AC tune-up.

Your cooling system has been sitting dormant for weeks, and just like any system, you need to take it for a test drive before putting it into use. Tuning up your air conditioning unit during the spring is likely to detect leaks, prevent costly repairs and address inefficient equipment.

Ultimately, it is common knowledge that 50 percent of all HVAC problems and failures occur due to improper maintenance. Since you do not want to stay in a building without air conditioning while you await costly repairs and you may not have the knowledge to carry out effective maintenance on your HVAC, now is a good time to call in the professionals to make sure everything is working properly.

To schedule your HVAC tune-up, contact Walkup Electrical today.