AC Maintenance Tips: How to Keep Your System Efficient

AC Maintenance Sugar Land: Providing Longevity And Increasing Efficiency

Frequently, we run into homeowners who are not familiar with purchasing, installing, and maintaining a building system as complex as the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system found in most modern homes. That might include:

  • New homeowners, learning for the first time to look after a home
  • A homeowner who recently experienced a major repair due to poor maintenance
  • A homeowner who recently replaced the HVAC and wants to protect the investment

For those folks we offer some simple tips for properly maintaining the HVAC system in your home, using a more familiar cycle of maintenance—auto maintenance.

AC Maintenance Sugar Land is Like an Oil Change

Dirt is the enemy of all things mechanical. In an internal combustion engine vehicle, oil keeps moving parts lubricated, but it also cleans the remnants of combustion–carbon and other chemicals–that can cling to the same moving. After a few months, the oil becomes a soup of good lubrication and collected contaminants. The filter helps some, but it all needs to be changed frequently.

HVAC maintenance includes a change in the air filter and instructions on the need to change the filter often—about every three months for most settings. Maintenance will include cleaning the condenser unit, the outdoor portion most often associated with air conditioning.

Dust, pollen, and grass clippings can completely coat the outside of this network of pipes, potentially causing the compressor to overheat. The technician will also warn you when the ductwork needs to be cleaned.

AC Maintenance Sugar Land is Like Tire Care

A car with flat tires cannot perform the primary function it was designed for—transportation. Vehicle maintenance includes keeping the tires properly inflated and preventing air from leaking out of the tires. HVAC maintenance also includes a touch of attention that resembles tire care.

All air conditioning and some heating functions require a closed loop of pipes that carry a refrigerant gas—one of several potential chemical formulas specially designed to absorb, carry, and release heat. Should this gas find a tiny hole and escape, the air conditioner will cease to cool and the heat pump will cease to heat properly.

Preventative maintenance tests the pressure of the refrigerant gas to ensure the network is properly “inflated” to perform heating and cooling tasks. Even a slight decrease in pressure can indicate a leak which will result in the loss of all the gas.

AC Maintenance Sugar Land is Like Battery Checks

Internal combustion engines require the precise delivery of electric charge in the proper sequence. The whole vehicle is controlled by complex electronics, from headlights to the dashboard, and all the cool gadgets available on current models. Both natural gas and electric HVAC systems have the same dependence on electronics; checking these components is essential for both the efficiency and longevity of the whole system.

  • The thermostat is the ignition for an HVAC system, the ON/OFF switch. Coincidentally, the thermostat is run on battery power and the batteries need to be changed every so often.
  • Sensors are in place throughout the system to ensure performance, efficiency, and safety. For instance, when heat is needed, the thermostat signals the burner assembly and the burner assembly ignites to produce heat. When the desired temperature is reached inside the home, the thermostat signals the burner to stop, and it does. However, the heat exchanger has plenty of heat left inside, so a sensor does not shut off the blower motor until the heat exchanger cools off sufficiently.

No part of this building system is unnecessary, and every part needs to be maintained regularly. It is recommended that homeowners schedule a preventative maintenance visit annually.

AC Maintenance Sugar Land Experts You Can Trust

Schedule your AC Maintenance Sugar Land and AC Repair consultation by calling All Cool AC & Heating at 281-238-9292 or contact us via email and let our NATE-certified AC Maintenance Sugar Land technicians put their experience to work for you.