Over the years, I have been asked, “Is it really necessary to have semiannual HVAC maintenance? It cools. So, it must be working correctly!”  Well, folks, does your car run with dirty oil that hasn’t been changed in 20,000 miles? Sure it will run.  However, you are shortening the life of your engine and it’s operating inefficiently.

The same is true for your air conditioning system. Every year that your system operates causes degradation of certain wear components – contactors and capacitors. These components should be monitored and replaced as they fall from outside tolerance specifications.  A pitted contactor causes undue stress on the compressor. If pitted enough, there will be a serious voltage drop causing high energy consumption and eventual early life failure.  The same is true for capacitors. These little “batteries” allow the motors to run efficiently. Once outside their normal values, the motors are inefficient, draw more power, and ultimately fail.

A cooling season tuneup also includes a good outside coil washing and system monitoring.  A biodegradable coil cleanser will loosen the dirt and debris and allow the technician to flush the coil with water.  Spraying from the outside in is not recommended as it further impacts the debris.

The bottom line: maintenance is important and should be done every cooling season to insure optimum performance and a longer life for your air conditioning system. You can click here for more reasons to have your heating and cooling systems maintained.

On my next post, I’ll cover “adding some freon to get it going.”

Have a great Derby Weekend, Louisville!