Aircon is one of the most essential appliances in any household these days, especially in hot and tropical countries. In order to keep your aircon in proper working condition you will have to get it serviced regularly. There are certain facts you must know while servicing your aircon. Some of these facts are briefly described here under for your consideration.
If your aircon is not cooling properly then you can easily make it run properly just by cleaning its outdoor condenser or changing its filter before calling the aircon service provider. You can call the service provider if your aircon do not work properly even after doing these two things. There can also be possibility that your aircon is not able to cope with extremely hot weather conditions.
Most of the air conditioners have filter located behind the grille inside the home or within the equipment. In order to allow the filter to prevent the indoor coil getting dirty and clean the air properly you should clean or change the filter of your aircon regularly. If your aircon has 1†filter then it should be changed every month whereas 2†filter can be changed after every two months. You can use 4-5†filter for 6-12 months if your aircon cools your room properly. but you have more than two pets or the outdoors are very dusty like you are living in fields, on the side of dirt road or in construction area etc. then you will have to change your filter more frequently as it will get dirty fast.
You should keep the condenser of your aircon clean from all of its sides. Nothing should cling on its sides. If you see leaves, dirt, cottonwood, clippings of grass on its sides then first of all turn off your aircon. Then you should use water hose with a nozzle to rinse it from all of its sides. You should start rinsing the condenser from its top and go downwards by cleaning it from all of its sides.
If you see frost on the indoor or outdoor pipes of your aircon during summer season then again it will not cool your home properly because your system has got frozen. In order to resolve this issue you will have to defrost the system. You can defrost the system faster just by turning off the thermostat of your air conditioner and turning on its fan. Its fan will throw warm air on the frozen pipes to melt the ice on them and defrost the system quickly. Though it may take 1-2 hours to defrost the system but once it is defrosted your aircon will again start working properly at least for one or two days or till it freezes again. You will have to resolve the rot problem as soon as possible as it is not good to defrost and frost the system again and again for long. Main problem behind frost on the pipes is the unclean filter of your aircon. If the problem cannot be solved by cleaning the filter then either you should change it yourself or call the service provider.
Another important thing to keep in mind is the setting of the thermostat. Normally the difference between outdoor temperature and indoor temperature should be nearly 20 degree. Suppose outdoor temperature is 92 degree F then indoor temperature should not be less than 72 degree. But if it is more than 100 degree F outside your home then your aircon will have to work hard to reach 72 degree or whatever temperature you want indoors. However you should not set its thermostat at less than 70 degree F as it can freeze your aircon and will create problems in its proper working.
If you find that water is leaking from the outdoor pipe of your air conditioner then there can be some problem in the drain of primary condensation area of your device. The water can be running through the emergency drainage system of your aircon. You can easily detect this problem as the drain pipe is normally placed in an easily noticeable area. After detecting this problem you should immediately call your aircon service provider.
While planting new plants near the outdoor unit of your aircon you should not plant them at less than 12-36 inches away from it. If you already have plantation near the outside unit of your air conditioner then you can trim them to create at least 12-18 inch distance between them. It will allow your outdoor unit to breathe without any obstacle. You should ensure required clearance for the outdoor unit of your aircon by trimming the existing bushes from time to time.
If the refrigerant of your aircon leaks, then you should immediately call the service provider. If the leakage is repairable then he can top up gas aircon to let your air conditioner can start working properly again. The leak of refrigerant can be from the outdoor unit, indoor unit or copper lines of your aircon. If the leakage is not repairable then the service provider will have to replace the damaged part.
On the outdoor unit of your aircon there should not be anything that can hinder the free flow of air on the top of your air conditioner like fence, shade or awning etc. All such things can obstruct the free flow of air on your aircon and can affect its working in the long run.
If the thermostat in your aircon is programmable then you should not change its settings by more than 5 degrees especially when weather temperature is at extreme. On the contrary it will be very hard for your aircon to save the energy while bringing it to your desired level of indoor temperature.
Thus by know the things discussed in this write-up you can make a well informed decision while calling the aircon service provider as and when required. It will also help in minimising the defect in your air conditioning system as well as its repairing cost. You can also avoid repairing of your aircon frequently and enjoy its comfort for long by getting it serviced regularly.